If you choose us to travel in Vienne and its surroundings, there is a high chance you meet Julie: read the portrait of one of our best guide in the Rhone Valley and its surroundings.
Julie is a professional licensed guide and her team propose “local + secret” discovery tours in between Lyon and Provence, all along the Rhone Valley. She became a tour guide as she wanted to combine her different passions, social and cultural curiosity, her skill with foreign languages and her pride for beautiful French heritage. Respect of the environment is also very important for her, so she tries to work with producers in biodynamic and sustainable agriculture as much as possible.
I trained as a professional tour guide and I always have been fascinated about wine. I started my company in April 2017 as I wanted to offer small group, authentic and “off the beaten path” tours. To transport people I had to pass an exam, kind of license. Then I bought my first minivan. I mostly work with family run wineries, where my guests can meet the winemaker and talk to them. The encounter with locals is something very important for me; it is the best way to discover a culture and a territory.
Of course, I take more precautions, the minivan is always disinfected, and masks and hydro alcoholic gel are at the disposal of the clients. I choose even smaller places than before, not touristy at all. There is never a crowd or a queue.
The first one is in Vienne, le Mont Pipet, which has a gorgeous view on the town, the Rhône River and the vineyards. The other one is in Condrieu, at the riverbank, there is a place where the river makes a turn, it is so peaceful, we can see the water, the vineyards and the old stones houses built along the river.
A lot of people ignore the town of Vienne, which is beautiful and full of roman ruins and medieval buildings. It is really a place to discover and we can easily spend a full day there.
A tour guide should be passionate, friendly, smiling and should know their territory very well.
I love goat cheese; my favorite one is the Rigotte de Condrieu, a small, round and sweet local cheese that goes perfectly with a glass of local viognier! I also really like the Quenelle de brochet, a pike dumpling usually cooked in a crayfish sauce, so tasty!
All the tours are memorable! But I remember once when I took a family to a local winery, we had a lunch there, outside in the middle of the vineyard. The winemaker sat with us and spent a lot of time with us.
We talked, laughed. It was magical, as if time had stopped.
One of my favorite experience is the “Cheese and wine tour”, because people can discover and feel the local culture. We visit a farm in the middle of the countryside, we see goats, taste lovely cheese and then go to a local winery to pair the local cheese with the local wine.
All of her tours are based on encounters with locals, for her that’s the best memory a visitor can have upon returning back home! If you ever travel with us, you might encounter Julie on one or many of your tours. Do not hesitate to contact us or check our sample itineraries 100% customizable directly on our website.
If you enjoyed this portrait of one of our local insider, check out our portrait of Sarah: our passionate guide in Normandy.
