--- title: "Château de Besseuil: Hotel and Restaurant in Viré-Clessé" description: "A 17th-century manor remodelled around 1737, restored 2005 to 2007, now a hotel with a gourmet restaurant and organic vines. Stay or dine, private driver." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-besseuil lang: en updated: 2026-09-29 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/chateaux/chateau-de-besseuil.png --- # Château de Besseuil > Château de Besseuil: a 17th-century manor among the Viré-Clessé vines, now a hotel and restaurant with its own organic vineyard. Château de Besseuil is in Clessé (Saône-et-Loire), 1 h 07 by road (87 km) from Beaune. Hotel and restaurant · 17th century · Private driver from Beaune: €240 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. The château of Besseuil stands on a slope just north of Clessé, in the heart of the Viré-Clessé wine country. Built in the 17th century and remodelled around 1737, it was fully restored between 2005 and 2007. Today it is a hotel with a gourmet restaurant and its own organic vines. ## Key facts - Type: Manor - Location: 70 km south of Beaune · Mâconnais - Coordinates: 46.4179, 4.8200 - 1 h 07 from Beaune - Hotel and restaurant - 17th century - Commune: Clessé · Saône-et-Loire - Style: 17th-century manor remodelled around 1737 - Official website: [chateaudebesseuil.com](https://chateaudebesseuil.com) - From Beaune: ≈ 1 h 07 · 87 km - €240 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) - Or add it to our [full-day wine tour plus two hours, €700](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day). ## Getting there - [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver): 1 h 07 by road (87 km), €240 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 Records show that in 1590 a lordship at Clessé belonged to the canons of Saint-Pierre in Mâcon. In the mid-16th century the estate was owned by Pierre de Sagie of Mâcon, who may have built a first house. In 1646 his son-in-law, Archambaud de Chanuet, a tax receiver in Mâcon, inherited the domain and built a true château, which stayed in his family until the Revolution. Around 1737 major alterations gave the château its present appearance. In the 19th century the architect Viollet-le-Duc described it as a little jewel. Between May 2005 and October 2007, in a project lasting some two and a half years, the building was completely restored under the direction of the Swiss architect André Meillard. It now welcomes guests as a hotel and restaurant, surrounded by its own vineyard. ## Architecture A courtyard lined with outbuildings and closed by a carriage gate with a fine iron grille precedes the château on the west. The main house is a rectangle under a hipped roof of curved tiles, with a pavilion of equal height at each end and a stair tower in the centre of the façade. Inside, a great fireplace is dated 1657, and a 17th-century chapel stands in the park. ## Visiting Besseuil is a hotel and restaurant, so the best way to enjoy it is to stay or to book a table. Rooms are spread between the château, with family suites and working fireplaces, and the converted outbuildings. The estate also makes organic Viré-Clessé wine from its own vineyard. Check the official website for bookings and opening days. ## Did you know? The great fireplace in the ground-floor hall carries the date 1657 twice, once on its curved lintel and again in the cartouche at the centre of its hood. ## Around Château de Besseuil What to combine with Château de Besseuil on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Viré-Clessé](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/vire-clesse) (4 km away): Two neighbouring villages of the Haut-Mâconnais, joined in one appellation for generous Chardonnay. - [Pouilly-Fuissé](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/pouilly-fuisse) (16 km away): Burgundy's great southern white, grown beneath the limestone cliffs of Solutré and Vergisson. - [Saint-Véran](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/saint-veran) (19 km away): Fresh Chardonnay from villages that wrap around Pouilly-Fuissé, beneath the Roche de Solutré. ### Châteaux - [Château de Vaux-sous-Targes](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-vaux-sous-targes) (2 km away): An Italianate villa of 1830 in the Mâconnais, built by a Basque shipowner on a medieval moated site. - [Château de Chazoux](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-chazoux) (9 km away): A modest wine estate house near Mâcon that hides richly painted rooms and a landscaped park. - [Château de Cruzille](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-cruzille) (10 km away): A fortress on a spur above Cruzille, marked by the Wars of Religion and the Liberation of 1944. ### Things to do - [Azé Caves (Grottes d’Azé)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/grottes-d-aze), 5 km away: Two caves in the Mâconnais hills: an underground river and a prehistoric cave of bears and lions. - [Domaine Fichet](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-fichet-ige) (6 km away): A family estate in the hamlet of Le Martoret at Igé, whose growers trace their roots back to 1408. - [Cave de Lugny](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/cave-de-lugny) (7 km away): A 1927 cooperative, the leading producer of Mâcon-Villages, with a shop below the Charmes vineyard. ### Restaurants - [La Marande](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-marande-montbellet) (7 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A family-run country house in the northern Mâconnais, starred since 2014. - [Le Raisin](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/le-raisin-pont-de-vaux) (9 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A family house in the Bresse, a short hop across the Saône from the Mâconnais vineyards. - [La Huchette](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-huchette-replonges) (14 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): Bresse produce with a Mediterranean accent, just across the Saône from Mâcon. ### Events - **Sunday, 18 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [La Tournuscimes](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/la-tournuscimes): Burgundy's biggest organised walk, on foot, by mountain bike or on horseback through the autumn Mâconnais. (Sport · Chardonnay) - **The third weekend of April, Saturday and Sunday; the 25th edition was held on 18 and 19 April 2026.** · [Printemps du Cru Viré-Clessé](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/printemps-du-vire-clesse): The whole Viré-Clessé appellation opens its cellars on the third weekend of April. (Wine festival · Viré) - **A Thursday in May, from late afternoon into the evening; in 2026 it fell on 14 May.** · [Chardonnay Day à Chardonnay](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/chardonnay-day): The world's favourite white grape is toasted in the Mâconnais village that gave it its name. (Wine festival · Chardonnay) - **Late August; in 2026 it opened on 23 August in Ozenay, then ran from 26 to 29 August in Viré and Tournus.** · [Détours en Tournugeois](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/detours-en-tournugeois): Brass bands, street theatre and village dances between Tournus and the Mâconnais vineyards at the end of summer. (Culture · Tournus) ## Questions about Château de Besseuil ### How far is Château de Besseuil from Beaune? Château de Besseuil is about 1 h 07 from Beaune by road (87 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €240 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### Can you visit Château de Besseuil? Château de Besseuil is a hotel and restaurant: you can stay or dine there, and guests can usually enjoy its grounds. ### Can a private driver take us to Château de Besseuil? 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 plus two hours, €700](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day) ## Book - [Book a driver here](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=driver&place=chateau:besseuil): €240 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - --- Canonical page: