--- title: "Château Pontus de Tyard: Visit, Opening Times & History" description: "Birthplace in 1521 of Pontus de Tyard, poet of La Pléiade, with a vineyard of fifty old grape varieties. Open summer Sundays, by private driver." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-pontus-de-tyard lang: en updated: 2026-10-01 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/chateaux/chateau-pontus-de-tyard.png --- # Château Pontus de Tyard > Château Pontus de Tyard: the fortified birthplace of Pontus de Tyard, Renaissance poet of La Pléiade, with conservation vineyards and orchards. Château Pontus de Tyard is in Bissy-sur-Fley (Saône-et-Loire), 49 min by road (56 km) from Beaune. Opening hours: 15 June to 20 September: Sunday, 14:30 to 18:30 · Admission: Free entry · 15th and 16th century · Private driver from Beaune: €170 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. In the quiet hills west of Buxy, the château of Bissy-sur-Fley is where the poet Pontus de Tyard was born in 1521. Its walls, towers and farm buildings enclose a peaceful courtyard. Saved by the devotion of its owners and a local association, it opens its gates on summer Sundays. ## Key facts - Type: Manor - Location: 45 km south of Beaune · Saône-et-Loire - Coordinates: 46.6634, 4.6219 - 49 min from Beaune - Open to visitors, 15 June to 20 September - 15th and 16th century - Commune: Bissy-sur-Fley · Saône-et-Loire - Style: Late medieval fortified manor - Heritage: Registered historic monument - From Beaune: ≈ 49 min · 56 km - €170 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): 49 min by road (56 km), €170 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 Tyard family became lords of Bissy after Claude de Tyard married Françoise de Bissy in 1350. In 1478 Étienne de Tyard lived here, and his son Jean became lieutenant general of the bailiwick of Mâcon. Jean's son Pontus was born at Bissy in 1521. Around the middle of the 16th century, after the death of his brothers, Pontus inherited the estate. Pontus de Tyard became a leading humanist and one of the poets of La Pléiade. His Erreurs amoureuses appeared in 1549, and he also wrote on music, astronomy and philosophy. In 1578 he became bishop of Chalon-sur-Saône and defended the royal cause against the Catholic League. He resigned his see in 1594 and died in 1605, after which his nephews kept the fief. In the 19th century the estate was turned into a farm. From 1951 Madame de la Poix de Fréminville devoted herself to saving the buildings, and in 2001 the association Renaissance du château Pontus de Tyard was founded to restore, study and bring the place to life. In 2015 the château received the Maison des Illustres label, given to homes of notable French figures. ## Architecture The château keeps a long rectangular enclosure with a carriage gate at each end, the southern one flanked by a square tower. The rectangular main house has a round tower, a square tower, an oblong tower and a stair tower on its façade. One tower, known as La Panneterie, is dated to around 1300. Inside are four large rooms with fireplaces and a small chapel beneath a dovecote. ## Opening hours and tickets - Opening hours: 15 June to 20 September: Sunday, 14:30 to 18:30 - Admission: Free entry Checked on 1 October 2026 on [tourisme-sud-cote-chalonnaise.com](https://www.tourisme-sud-cote-chalonnaise.com/chateaux/chateau-pontus-de-tyard-PCUBOU071223588.html). ## Visiting The château can be visited freely on Sunday afternoons from mid-June to September, and groups of eight or more can book a guided tour. Take time for the grounds: a conservation orchard of 16th-century fruit varieties, a vineyard of old grape varieties and a poetic garden. ## Did you know? The estate grows a conservation vineyard of about fifty old grape varieties that may have existed in the 16th century, beside a collection of eighty types of Chardonnay. ## Around Château Pontus de Tyard What to combine with Château Pontus de Tyard on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Montagny](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/montagny) (6 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) (16 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 Sercy](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-sercy) (8 km away): A storybook castle beside a pond, crowned by one of the oldest surviving timber hoardings in France. - [Château de Ponneau](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-ponneau) (9 km away): A small 15th-century manor near Buxy, with an arcaded gallery and a chapel of Saint James dated 1447. - [Château de Rosey](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-rosey) (11 km away): An elegant 1767 country house built by a royal falconer on a hillside south of Givry. ### Things to do - [Saint-Martin Church, Chapaize (Église Saint-Martin de Chapaize)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-saint-martin-chapaize), 15 km away: An early Romanesque priory church whose tall Lombard bell tower rises over the countryside west of Tournus. - [Southern Burgundy Greenway (Voie Verte de Bourgogne du Sud)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/voie-verte-givry-cluny), 16 km away: A car-free cycle path on an old railway line, running from the Givry vineyards to Cluny. - [Taizé Community (Communauté de Taizé)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/communaute-de-taize), 17 km away: An ecumenical community of brothers in a Burgundian village, where visitors may join the daily prayer. ### Events - **Late August, over about six days; the 2026 festival ran from 25 to 30 August.** · [Musicales en Côte Chalonnaise](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/musicales-en-cote-chalonnaise): Chamber music in Romanesque churches around Buxy, each concert followed by a tasting with a local grower. (Music · Buxy) ## Questions about Château Pontus de Tyard ### How far is Château Pontus de Tyard from Beaune? Château Pontus de Tyard is about 49 min from Beaune by road (56 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €170 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### Can you visit Château Pontus de Tyard? Yes, Château Pontus de Tyard 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 Pontus de Tyard? 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:pontusdetyard): €170 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - --- Canonical page: