--- title: "Château de Bazoches: Visit, Opening Times and History" description: "Vauban bought it with Louis XIV's reward for Maastricht in 1673. His bedroom, study and engineers' gallery, near Vézelay. Private driver from Beaune." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-bazoches lang: en updated: 2026-10-01 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/chateaux/chateau-de-bazoches.png --- # Château de Bazoches > Château de Bazoches: the castle Vauban bought with a royal reward, and turned into a workshop for his military engineers. Château de Bazoches is in Bazoches (Nièvre), 1 h 23 by road (115 km) from Beaune. Opening hours: 7 February to 3 January, hours vary with the season · Admission: Adults €12, reduced €10 · 12th to 17th centuries · Private driver from Beaune: €300 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. Bazoches stands on the edge of the Morvan, about 20 minutes from Vézelay and an hour and 45 minutes from Beaune. Built in the 12th century, it became the home of Vauban, Louis XIV's great military engineer. His descendants still own it, and it opens to visitors with furnished rooms and souvenirs of the marshal. ## Key facts - Type: Medieval fortress - Location: 90 km north-west of Beaune · Nièvre - Coordinates: 47.3807, 3.7949 - 1 h 23 from Beaune - Open to visitors, 7 February to 3 January - 12th to 17th centuries - Commune: Bazoches · Nièvre - Style: Medieval fortress, 17th-century residence of Vauban - Heritage: Listed historic monument - Official website: [chateau-bazoches.com](https://www.chateau-bazoches.com/) - From Beaune: ≈ 1 h 23 · 115 km - €300 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) ## Getting there - [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver): 1 h 23 by road (115 km), €300 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 The castle was built in the late 12th century on a trapezoidal plan with corner towers and a keep. In the 1670s Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban bought it with the reward that Louis XIV gave him after the capture of Maastricht in 1673. The castle had already been altered in the 15th century. Vauban settled here with his family and transformed the interiors. Vauban turned Bazoches into a kind of headquarters. He created lodgings and workshops where the military engineers working under his orders drew up plans for the fortifications of the kingdom. He also worked on his own writings here, including the Dîme royale, published in 1707, a bold proposal for fairer taxation. The castle still belongs to descendants of his eldest daughter, Charlotte, and was classified as a historic monument in 1994. ## Architecture Bazoches keeps its medieval plan: a trapezoid with four round towers and a square keep around an inner courtyard. The moats were filled in around 1840. Inside, the marshal's bedroom still has its furniture, itself classified. His study is a small polygonal room with a painted ceiling in trompe-l'œil. The courtyard has been restored following Vauban's own plans. ## Opening hours and tickets - Opening hours: - 7 February to 31 March: every day, 14:00 to 18:00 - 1 April to 30 September: every day, 9:30 to 18:00 - 1 October to 11 November: every day, 9:30 to 17:00 - 14 November to 13 December: Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00 - 19 December to 3 January: every day, 10:00 to 17:00 - Closed: 1 January and 25 December - Admission: Adults €12, reduced €10 Guided tours (€15) start on Tuesdays at 10:00 and 16:00 and on Saturdays and Sundays at 16:00. Checked on 1 October 2026 on [the official site](https://www.chateau-bazoches.com/informations-pratiques/). ## Visiting Visitors see the furnished rooms, Vauban's bedroom and study and the gallery where his engineers worked, then the restored courtyard. Allow about an hour. Bazoches pairs naturally with Vézelay and its basilica, about 20 minutes away by road. ## Did you know? Vauban paid for Bazoches with the reward Louis XIV gave him after the capture of Maastricht in 1673, then filled it with engineers drawing plans for the king's fortresses. ## Around Château de Bazoches What to combine with Château de Bazoches on the same day, nearest first. ### Châteaux - [Château de Chastellux](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-chastellux) (7 km away): A towered fortress at the gateway to the Morvan, still lived in by the family of its name. - [Château de Vault-de-Lugny](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-vault-de-lugny) (14 km away): A moated castle with a tall square keep near Avallon, now an intimate five-star hotel. ### Things to do - [Site archéologique des Fontaines Salées](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/fontaines-salees) (8 km away): Salt springs used for more than 4,000 years, with oak well casings, a Gallo-Roman bath complex and a discovery centre below Vézelay. - [Domaine La Croix Montjoie](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-la-croix-montjoie) (9 km away): A family estate making Vézelay whites in an old château farm, with a terrace facing the basilica across the valley. - [Église Notre-Dame de Saint-Père](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-notre-dame-saint-pere) (9 km away): A luminous Gothic church at the foot of Vézelay hill, with a 50-metre bell tower and a carved porch restored after Viollet-le-Duc. ### Restaurants - [Le Valucien](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/le-valucien-vault-de-lugny) (14 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A starred table with Mauritian accents inside a moated castle near Avallon. ## Questions about Château de Bazoches ### How far is Château de Bazoches from Beaune? Château de Bazoches is about 1 h 23 from Beaune by road (115 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €300 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### Can you visit Château de Bazoches? Yes, Château de Bazoches 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 Château de Bazoches? 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. → [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) ## Book - [Book a driver here](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=driver&place=chateau:bazoches): €300 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - --- Canonical page: