A 14th-century castle with four round towers, and a park full of fighter jets.
€290for a half-day wine tour from Beaune, up to 4 guests
Private driver from Beaune: 11 min by road (6 km), €60 one way for the whole car.
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Savigny's castle pairs a moated medieval fortress with a 17th-century Petit Château, in a park crossed by the Rhoin stream. Since 1979 it has belonged to the Pont family, who opened museums of motorcycles, racing cars, vineyard tractors and fighter aircraft. It is also a working wine estate with its own tasting room.
Jean de Frolois, Marshal of Burgundy, built the castle around 1340 for Duke Eudes IV. In 1478 Louis XI had it dismantled to punish its lord for siding with Mary of Burgundy against him. Only the stone brackets of the old machicolations survive on two towers. In the early 17th century the Bouhier family took over and restored it. Jean Bouhier added a grand staircase modelled on Mansart's at Maisons-Laffitte, and in the 1670s his son Bénigne built the Petit Château.
In 1689 the estate passed to the Migieu family and later, by marriage, to the Comtes de La Loyère. In 1719 the exiled Duchesse du Maine was lodged here for several months. The vine scientist Jules Guyot died at Savigny in 1872. In 1979 Michel Pont, a wine grower and former rally driver, bought the château, restored it and filled the grounds with his collections. He died in 2021, and his family still runs the estate.
The main castle is U-shaped, with a round tower at each corner and a ring of moats. The towers wear pepper-pot roofs of flat tiles. The Petit Château next door is more playful, with walls set with decorative pierced stones, oval and round windows and a cluster of small roofs. Inside the main castle, look for the 17th-century grand staircase.
Last entry is one hour before closing.
Checked on on the official site.
Savigny is open every day from late March to late October. In winter it closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays outside the school holidays, and for about three weeks in January. One ticket covers the castle, the vaulted cellars, the park and all the collections, including about 100 fighter jets and some 250 motorcycles. Plan one to two hours, and add a tasting of the estate's wines.
What to combine with Château de Savigny-lès-Beaune on the same day, nearest first.
Château de Savigny-lès-Beaune is about 11 min from Beaune by road (6 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €60 for the whole car, up to 4 guests.
Did you know? The château presents its collection as the largest group of fighter aircraft in the world, with around 100 jets parked in the grounds, including 11 MiGs and four Patrouille de France aircraft.
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Half-day wine tour from Beaune: €290 for the car, up to 4 guests
