Ternand and its surroundings - Beaujolais - Ternand

You'll love:
• Ternand, a Petites Cités de Caractère® (Small Towns of Character), and its old medieval village, coiled like a snail around its church.
• The rounded landscape, highlighted by vineyards and crops bordering the forests.
• The well-kept greenery both outside and in the heart of the village.
• The panoramic views of the Beaujolais Vert forests contrasting with the wine-growing hillsides. On the east side, the village of Oingt is easily spotted with its keep tower.

You'll enjoy it best:
• Between May and September, strolling through the flower-filled old village and the Rejonière gardens.
• On Sunday afternoons, stepping through the gates of the medieval church to admire the choir decorated with 11th-century paintings.
• Taking advantage of the picnic tables in the Espace Saint-Victor and the Terrasse Jean de Forez to linger in the medieval setting of the old town. • By making an appointment with one of the village's winemakers.

A bit of history:
Ternand reached its peak in the Middle Ages with the fortifications and keep erected on the orders of the Archbishops of Lyon, Jean Belles-Mains and Renaud de Forez. The harmonious design of its stepped, tiered buildings crowns a natural slope alternating between vineyards, fields, and planted groves. The ruins of the castle and keep, the church with its 15th-century porch, and old residences from the 14th and 15th centuries (the so-called tailor's house) bear witness to the time when Ternand was a stronghold.
While walking through the old streets of the town and along the rampart walk, it is possible to see traces of this marble, which is a distinctive geological feature of Ternand.