--- title: "Château de Tramayes: History of a House Fortified in 1598" description: "Mathurin Bullion fortified this house from 1598, a year before Henri IV allowed it. A friend of Lamartine bought it in 1808. Private, by private driver." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-tramayes lang: en updated: 2026-09-29 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/chateaux/chateau-de-tramayes.png --- # Château de Tramayes > Château de Tramayes: a fortified house of 1598 on a pass south-west of Cluny, later owned by a friend of Lamartine. Château de Tramayes is in Tramayes (Saône-et-Loire), 1 h 18 by road (106 km) from Beaune. Private, seen from outside · 16th century · Private driver from Beaune: €280 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. The château of Tramayes stands on the pass between the valleys of the Grosne and the Valouze, south-west of Cluny. Its house with angled square towers was fortified from 1598, work that Henri IV authorised the following year. In 1808 it was bought by Claude Bruys, a notary and a friend of Lamartine. ## Key facts - Type: Manor - Location: 80 km south of Beaune · Saône-et-Loire - Coordinates: 46.3069, 4.6031 - 1 h 18 from Beaune - Private, seen from outside - 16th century - Commune: Tramayes · Saône-et-Loire - Style: Late 16th-century fortified house - Heritage: Registered historic monument - From Beaune: ≈ 1 h 18 · 106 km - €280 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 18 by road (106 km), €280 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 lordship of Tramayes appears in 1380. In the mid-16th century Jean and then Mathurin Bullion, of a Mâcon family that rose to high office, gathered its different parts. In 1599 Mathurin obtained permission from Henri IV to fortify his house, work he had already begun the year before. In 1672 Claude Bullion bought the rights to the town's four yearly fairs and its weekly market. The estate then changed hands several times before being sold, at the end of the 17th century, to Claude-Hippolyte de Damas, lord of Dompierre and Audour, whose family kept it until the Revolution. In 1808 the notary Claude Bruys, mayor of Tramayes and a friend of Lamartine, bought the château. From 1825 he filled the moats, levelled the walls, remodelled the rooms and created a park. ## Architecture The house once stood inside a vast rectangular enclosure with towers, now gone. It has a rectangular main block flanked by two square towers set at an angle, a taller square tower and an overhanging turret. On the east, a door framed in vermiculated rustication sits beneath the slot of a vanished drawbridge and the corbels of an old projecting lookout. The dovecote is also listed. ## Visiting The château is a private home and is not open for tours, so please respect the owners' privacy. Tramayes lies on the scenic road between Cluny and the Lamartine country, close to the Château de Saint-Point and its lake, which makes it an easy stop on a Lamartine day. ## Did you know? In 1599 Henri IV gave Mathurin Bullion permission to fortify his house at Tramayes, although the building work had already started the year before. ## Around Château de Tramayes What to combine with Château de Tramayes on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Pouilly-Fuissé](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/pouilly-fuisse) (11 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) (12 km away): Fresh Chardonnay from villages that wrap around Pouilly-Fuissé, beneath the Roche de Solutré. - [Viré-Clessé](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/vire-clesse) (24 km away): Two neighbouring villages of the Haut-Mâconnais, joined in one appellation for generous Chardonnay. ### Châteaux - [Château de Saint-Point](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-saint-point) (4 km away): Lamartine's beloved home, remodelled in English Gothic taste, with his study, his museum and his tomb. - [Château de Pierreclos](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-pierreclos) (7 km away): A medieval castle turned wine estate on a rocky spur near Solutré, full of Lamartine memories. - [Maison de Lamartine](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/maison-de-lamartine-milly) (9 km away): The childhood home of Alphonse de Lamartine, a winegrowers' house that inspired some of his finest poems. ### Things to do - [Rock of Vergisson (Roche de Vergisson)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/roche-de-vergisson), 9 km away: Solutré's quieter twin, a limestone cliff above the village of Vergisson with views across the vineyards. - [Rock of Solutré (Roche de Solutré)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/roche-de-solutre), 9 km away: A limestone escarpment rising above the Pouilly-Fuissé vineyards, famous for its Ice Age hunters. - [Solutré Museum of Prehistory (Musée de Préhistoire de Solutré)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-de-prehistoire-de-solutre), 9 km away: A half-buried museum at the foot of the rock, telling the story of Solutré's Ice Age hunters. ### Restaurants - [L’O des Vignes](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/l-o-des-vignes-fuisse) (11 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A Meilleur Ouvrier de France cooking in the heart of Pouilly-Fuissé. - [La Table de Chaintré](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-table-de-chaintre) (13 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): One menu a week, one husband-and-wife team, in a former village grocery near Mâcon. - [L’Auberge du Cep](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/auberge-du-cep-fleurie) (15 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A historic inn in the Beaujolais cru village of Fleurie, starred again since 2021. ## Questions about Château de Tramayes ### How far is Château de Tramayes from Beaune? Château de Tramayes is about 1 h 18 from Beaune by road (106 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €280 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### Can you visit Château de Tramayes? Château de Tramayes 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 Tramayes? 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:tramayes): €280 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - --- Canonical page: