Promenade de Marestel

This walk gives you a chance to admire the Jongieux winegrowing landscape from the Marestel hillside. The route reveals architectural nuggets large and small: sartos, fortified houses and castles.

The Marestel walk is a discovery of the listed site of Jongieux-Marestel. The emblematic "Altesse" grape variety, from which "Roussette" is made, is grown here. Along the way, it's possible to see the Château de la Mar, located at the foot of the Marestel hillside; its name derives from the Mareste family to which the castle belonged when it was built around the 14th century. This heritage building is remarkable for its various facades and mullioned windows. Today, the château is home to a winery and bed & breakfast. Several villages and hamlets are set amidst the vineyards, with small buildings characteristic of the winegrowing landscape: the cellars known locally as "sartos". The Marestel hillside was consolidated and redeveloped after a violent storm in 1995 caused extensive damage. This initiative is helping to combat erosion. (We recommend you take this walk outside the harvest period, to help the grape harvest run smoothly).