--- title: "Abbaye de La Ferté: Visit, Opening Times & History" description: "First daughter-house of Cîteaux, founded in 1113, with its abbot's palace of the 17th and 18th centuries. Guided tours in summer, by private driver." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/abbaye-de-la-ferte lang: en updated: 2026-10-01 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/chateaux/abbaye-de-la-ferte.png --- # Abbaye de La Ferté > Abbaye de La Ferté: the palace of the first daughter-house of Cîteaux, with 18th-century rooms, scientific collections and a landscaped park. Abbaye de La Ferté is in Saint-Ambreuil (Saône-et-Loire), 46 min by road (51 km) from Beaune. Guided tours only: 1 July to 31 August: every day except Saturday, tours start between 10:30 and 11:30 and between 14:30 and 16:30; Saturday, tours start between 10:30 and 11:30 · Guided tour: Paid · 18th century · Private driver from Beaune: €160 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. La Ferté was the first daughter-house of the great Cistercian abbey of Cîteaux, founded in 1113 beside the marshes of the Grosne. The abbey church has gone, but the elegant abbot's palace survives intact. The owning family welcomes visitors to its furnished rooms, scientific collections and park. ## Key facts - Type: Classical château - Location: 40 km south of Beaune · Saône-et-Loire - Coordinates: 46.6707, 4.8185 - 46 min from Beaune - Open to visitors, 1 July to 31 August - 18th century - Commune: Saint-Ambreuil · Saône-et-Loire - Style: Classical abbot's palace - Heritage: Listed historic monument - Official website: [abbayedelaferte.com](https://www.abbayedelaferte.com) - From Beaune: ≈ 46 min · 51 km - €160 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) - Or add it to our [full-day wine tour, €560](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day). ## Getting there - [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver): 46 min by road (51 km), €160 one way for the whole car. Coming by train or plane? [Transfers from stations and airports](https://www.cote-privee.com/transfers) Estimates per vehicle for up to 4 guests, tolls included. Your price is confirmed when you book. ## History In 1113 Stephen Harding, abbot of Cîteaux, sent the monk Philibert and a few brothers to found the order's first daughter-house here, between the forest of Bragny and the Grosne marshes. Gifts from the ducal court and local lords, especially the Gros de Brancion, soon made it rich. With Pontigny, Clairvaux and Morimond, La Ferté became one of the four elder daughters of Cîteaux. The abbey was fortified in 1415, yet in 1570 Protestant troops under Admiral Coligny set it on fire. Rebuilding took decades. In 1682 Abbot Claude Petit built the abbot's lodging and the cloister, and around 1760 Abbot Filzjean de Chemilly added the central frontispiece bearing his arms. The last abbot had the interiors redecorated by the Chalon architect Rameau, with work by the sculptor Guillaume Boichot. At the Revolution only fourteen monks remained, and some buildings housed a cotton mill. The abbey was sold in 1791, and the church and most of the monastery were demolished. The abbot's palace survived and became the Château de la Ferté. In the 20th century it came to Baron Thénard, a descendant of the chemist Louis Jacques Thénard, and it was classified in 1993. ## Architecture The abbot's palace is a long classical building of the late 17th and 18th centuries. A two-storey central block of three bays carries a pediment, flanked by wings of four bays under mansard roofs and corner pavilions. Inside, a vast staircase leads to salons with carved panelling and original furniture. The monks' refectory survives, and a gallery displays scientific instruments from the 19th century. ## Opening hours and tickets - Guided tours only: 1 July to 31 August: every day except Saturday, tours start between 10:30 and 11:30 and between 14:30 and 16:30; Saturday, tours start between 10:30 and 11:30 - Guided tour: Paid Guided tours start at 10:30, 11:30, 14:30, 15:30 and 16:30, and from March to June private visits are by appointment. Checked on 1 October 2026 on [the official site](https://www.abbayedelaferte.com/visite-du-palais-abbatial/). ## Visiting Guided tours of the palace run in July and August, followed by a free walk in the English-style park. From March to the end of June, private visits can be booked by appointment, and the palace also opens for the European Heritage Days in September. The family also offers rooms in the dovecote and the gatehouse, and tastings of their wines. A rare-plants fair takes place each April. ## Did you know? From this quiet corner of the Chalonnais, La Ferté founded daughter-houses as far away as Italy, Greece and Lebanon, spreading the Cistercian way of life around the Mediterranean. ## Around Abbaye de La Ferté What to combine with Abbaye de La Ferté on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Montagny](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/montagny) (12 km away): A white-only appellation of hillside vineyards around Buxy, with a wealth of premiers crus. - [Givry](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/givry) (14 km away): A small wine town of 18th-century monuments, whose red wine is linked by legend to Henri IV. - [Mercurey](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/mercurey) (20 km away): The largest vineyard of the Côte Chalonnaise, known above all for its reds. ### Châteaux - [Château de Ruffey](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-ruffey) (5 km away): A castle with rock-cut ditches and round towers in a quiet hamlet of Sennecey-le-Grand. - [Château de Sennecey-le-Grand](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-sennecey-le-grand) (5 km away): The remains of the proud Bauffremont château, where Sennecey-le-Grand now has its town hall. - [Château de Saint-Germain-lès-Buxy](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-saint-germain-les-buxy) (6 km away): A moated medieval castle reinvented in the romantic troubadour style by Viollet-le-Duc's son-in-law. ### Things to do - [Nicéphore Niépce’s House (Maison Nicéphore Niépce)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/maison-nicephore-niepce), 7 km away: The country house near Chalon where Nicéphore Niépce made the oldest surviving camera photograph. - [Église Saint-Pierre de Chalon-sur-Saône](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-saint-pierre-chalon-sur-saone) (12 km away): A Baroque church with twin domed towers, where the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny took their first vows. - [Nicéphore Niépce Museum (Musée Nicéphore Niépce)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-nicephore-niepce), 13 km away: A museum of photography in the home town of its inventor, from the first cameras to digital images. ### Restaurants - [Cédric Burtin](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/cedric-burtin-saint-remy) (10 km away · 2 MICHELIN stars): Two stars in a converted mill on the southern edge of Chalon-sur-Saône. - [L’Écrin de Yohann Chapuis](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/l-ecrin-de-yohann-chapuis-tournus) (14 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): An intimate starred dining room in Tournus, from the chef who helped Lameloise win back its third star. - [Aux Terrasses](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/aux-terrasses-tournus) (14 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A starred family house in Tournus, now in its second generation. ## Questions about Abbaye de La Ferté ### How far is Abbaye de La Ferté from Beaune? Abbaye de La Ferté is about 46 min from Beaune by road (51 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €160 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### Can you visit Abbaye de La Ferté? Yes, Abbaye de La Ferté welcomes visitors. Opening days and times change with the seasons, so check its official website before you go. ### Can a private driver take us to Abbaye de La Ferté? Yes. Your driver collects you in Beaune or at your hotel in an electric Polestar 2 (up to 4 guests), waits while you visit and plans the rest of the day with you. The driver speaks English, French, Mandarin Chinese and Arabic. → [Full-day wine tour, €560](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day) ## Book - [Book a driver here](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=driver&place=chateau:laferte): €160 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - - --- Canonical page: