Trail des Grands Crus

The Trail des Grands Crus is a 30-kilometer race with 600 meters of elevation gain that crosses the heart of Burgundy's most prestigious vineyards, starting from Nuits-Saint-Georges. This one-of-a-kind race takes runners through the Climats of the Burgundy vineyard, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015, where every parcel of vine bears a centuries-old name and produces wines among the most sought-after in the world.

The course winds between the vine rows of the Côte de Nuits, that narrow strip of east-facing limestone hillsides stretching from Dijon to Corgoloin. Runners tread the paths that separate legendary appellations: Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée, Nuits-Saint-Georges. Passing at the foot of the Clos de Vougeot, a 12th-century wine château founded by Cistercian monks from the Abbey of Cîteaux, and near the tiny vineyard of Romanée-Conti — the most expensive wine in the world — provides a moment charged with emotion for connoisseurs.

The 600 meters of elevation gain are built through climbs into the combes that cut into the vineyard hillside. These dry valleys, carved into Jurassic limestone, offer a striking contrast with the orderly vines on the lower slopes: boxwood and downy oak forests, flowering limestone grasslands, white cliffs, and scree. The trails running along the ridges of the Côte offer exceptional panoramas over the Saône plain, the vineyards below, and on clear days, the Alps and Mont Blanc on the horizon. The descent back toward the vines, on stony and sometimes slippery trails, demands attention.

Nuits-Saint-Georges is the wine capital of the Côte de Nuits, a small Burgundian town with discreet charm, featuring golden stone houses, tasting cellars, and its belfry. The Hospices de Nuits, founded in the 17th century on the model of the famous Hospices de Beaune, hold an annual charity auction of fine wines. The town is surrounded by renowned premier crus — Les Vaucrains, Les Saint-Georges, Les Pruliers — whose names resonate like music for wine lovers around the world.

For international runners, the Trail des Grands Crus is a multisensory experience that marries athletic effort with oenological discovery. Burgundy, accessible by high-speed train from Paris in ninety minutes, is one of the world's most prized gastronomic destinations. Autumn, when the vines don their blazing colors, is the ideal season to discover this course. Running between rows of pinot noir and chardonnay, on the clay-limestone soils that give Burgundy wines their inimitable character, is a privilege that only this race can offer.