--- title: "Château de Montculot: History and the Poet Lamartine" description: "Romantic poet Alphonse de Lamartine stayed here from 1801 and owned it from 1826 to 1831. Façade seen from the D35 road, private driver from Beaune." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-montculot lang: en updated: 2026-09-29 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/chateaux/chateau-de-montculot.png --- # Château de Montculot > Château de Montculot: the Hautes-Côtes country house linked to the Romantic poet Alphonse de Lamartine. Château de Montculot is in Urcy (Côte-d'Or), 36 min by road (36 km) from Beaune. Private, seen from outside · 15th and 18th centuries · Private driver from Beaune: €125 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. In a quiet valley near Urcy, in the hills west of the Côte de Nuits, the Château de Montculot is linked to one of France's Romantic poets, Alphonse de Lamartine. His uncle bought it in 1760, and the young Lamartine came to stay from 1801. He inherited it in 1826 but had to sell it in 1831. ## Key facts - Type: Classical château - Location: 25 km north of Beaune · Côte-d'Or - Coordinates: 47.2727, 4.8414 - 36 min from Beaune - Private, seen from outside - 15th and 18th centuries - Commune: Urcy · Côte-d'Or - Style: Classical (18th century) - Heritage: Registered historic monument - From Beaune: ≈ 36 min · 36 km - €360 for a [half-day wine tour](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/half-day) plus one hour, from Beaune, up to 4 guests ## Getting there - [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver): 36 min by road (36 km), €125 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 Montculot began as a 15th-century castle. From 1751 it was enlarged, and the work was still unfinished when Louis-François de Lamartine bought the estate in 1760. He decorated the interior and laid out the gardens, with water features fed by springs from the surrounding hills. His nephew, the future poet Alphonse de Lamartine, first came to stay in 1801 and returned often. Alphonse inherited Montculot on his uncle's death in 1826 and continued to improve it, but he had to part with it only five years later, in 1831. Today the château belongs to a private company. In 2003 the whole château, its gate and the grounds of its park and garden were listed as a historic monument, recognising both the house and its setting. ## Architecture The house is rectangular, with a ground floor, an upper floor and attics under a broken mansard roof, and a wing set at a right angle holds the former chapel. Inside, the rooms keep 18th-century panelling and marble fireplaces. Early 16th-century mouldings survive in the square tower beside the main block, and a large dovecote stands near the house. ## Visiting Montculot is private and not open to visitors. Its long façade stands close to the D35 road, about 1.5 km north-east of Urcy, so it can be seen in passing. The drive through the Hautes-Côtes from Gevrey-Chambertin or Nuits-Saint-Georges, past woods and small villages, is a pleasant way to reach it. ## Did you know? Alphonse de Lamartine owned Montculot for only five years, from 1826 to 1831, yet the heritage record still names him as the house's most famous resident. ## Around Château de Montculot What to combine with Château de Montculot on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Fixin](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/fixin) (10 km away): A quiet wine village with Napoleon in the woods, a Romanesque church in the vines and firm reds. - [Marsannay-la-Côte](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/marsannay-la-cote) (11 km away): Gateway to the Côte de Nuits and Burgundy's only village appellation making red, white and rosé. - [Gevrey-Chambertin](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/gevrey-chambertin) (11 km away): Nine grands crus, more than any other Burgundy village, led by Chambertin and Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. ### Châteaux - [Château de Barbirey](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-barbirey) (7 km away): A country house in the Ouche valley, known for its terraced kitchen garden and park. - [Manoir de la Perrière](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/manoir-de-la-perriere) (10 km away): A Cistercian manor above Fixin, with one of the oldest wine presses in Burgundy. - [Château de Couchey](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-couchey) (10 km away): A medieval fortified house that grew into a château at the western edge of Couchey. ### Things to do - [Noisot Park and Museum (Parc et Musée Noisot)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/parc-noisot-fixin), 10 km away: A pine-covered hillside above Fixin, created by a loyal grenadier as a shrine to Napoleon. - [Combe Lavaux–Jean Roland Nature Reserve (Réserve naturelle de la Combe Lavaux - Jean Roland)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/combe-lavaux-nature-reserve), 10 km away: Limestone cliffs, dry grassland and ravine forest just above the grand cru vineyards of Gevrey-Chambertin. - [Saint-Antoine Church, Fixey (Église Saint-Antoine de Fixey)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-saint-antoine-de-fixey), 10 km away: A small Romanesque church above the vines of Fixin, with a stone roof and a glazed-tile bell tower. ### Restaurants - [La Table d’Hôte, La Rôtisserie du Chambertin](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-table-d-hote-rotisserie-du-chambertin-gevrey) (11 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A starred tasting table in an eighteenth-century house in the heart of Gevrey-Chambertin - [Auberge de la Charme](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/auberge-de-la-charme-prenois) (12 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A starred village inn above Dijon where Burgundy meets the spice routes of Asia ## Questions about Château de Montculot ### How far is Château de Montculot from Beaune? Château de Montculot is about 36 min from Beaune by road (36 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €125 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### Can you visit Château de Montculot? Château de Montculot is private and not open to visitors. You can see it from the road or the village, and your driver can stop there on the way. ### Can a private driver take us to Château de Montculot? 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. → [Half-day wine tour plus one hour, €360](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/half-day) ## Book - [Book a driver here](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=wine-tour&option=half&place=chateau:montculot): Half-day wine tour plus one hour from Beaune: €360 for the car, up to 4 guests ## Sources - --- Canonical page: