The hilltop birthplace of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, overlooking Dijon.
€120one way from Beaune with a private driver
Private driver from Beaune: 45 min by road (50 km), €120 one way for the whole car.
Or add it to our full-day wine tour, €560.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
On a hill at the north-western edge of Dijon stands the castle where Bernard of Clairvaux was born in 1090. The Cistercian abbot became one of the most influential figures of medieval Europe. The site combines castle remains, 17th-century royal chapels and a 19th-century basilica, and a restoration is about to begin.
In the 11th century a castle was built on the hill to watch the road from Dijon to Châtillon-sur-Seine. Its lord, the knight Tescelin le Roux, married Aleth de Montbard, and their son Bernard was born here in 1090. He later became abbot of Clairvaux and the leading voice of the Cistercian order. The castle stayed with Tescelin's descendants until the 14th century.
In 1613 the Feuillant monks bought the castle, and from 1618 it became a royal monastery under the protection of Louis XIII, a great admirer of Saint Bernard. Two chapels bearing the arms of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria were added. After the Revolution the buildings stood abandoned until 1821, and the monastery was then taken apart stone by stone by private contractors.
In 1840 a canon bought the ruins and returned them to worship, and they were restored at the end of the century, taking on their present appearance. A basilica was built beside the castle in 1891 for the 800th anniversary of Bernard's birth. In 2024 the diocese of Dijon became owner of the whole site, and a restoration project with the Fondation du Patrimoine is due to start in October 2026 for about two years.
The listed parts include the old entrance tower of the castle, the basilica of Saint-Bernard and the building that links them, with its two 17th-century chapels and a 19th-century gallery. A 17th-century door from the Feuillant convent stands in the park. Together, the castle, the basilica and the village church of Saint-Bernard frame the Place des Feuillants at the top of the hill.
During the restoration only the project house opens every week, and the chapels and old library can be visited on a few summer dates.
Checked on on the official site.
During the restoration, the project house, set in a 17th and 18th-century winegrower's house, opens on Saturday afternoons, and you can view the site from the Place des Feuillants. The hilltop village is pleasant to stroll, with views over Dijon. Check the official website for opening times and the progress of the works.
What to combine with Château de Fontaine-lès-Dijon (Maison natale de saint Bernard) on the same day, nearest first.
Château de Fontaine-lès-Dijon (Maison natale de saint Bernard) is about 45 min from Beaune by road (50 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €120 for the whole car, up to 4 guests.
Did you know? The basilica beside the castle was built for the 800th anniversary of Bernard's birth in 1891, but it was never consecrated and only received its final roof a century later, in 1991.
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€120 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests
