--- title: "Fête de la Bague 2027: dates, programme & getting there" description: "France's oldest horse race, run every 31 May along the chestnut-lined mall of Semur-en-Auxois." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fete-de-la-bague-semur-en-auxois lang: en updated: 2026-10-01 generated: 2026-10-09 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/events/fete-de-la-bague-semur-en-auxois.png --- # Fête de la Bague > Fête de la Bague: France's oldest horse race, run every 31 May along the chestnut-lined mall of Semur-en-Auxois. Every 31 May, Semur-en-Auxois gives itself over to the Course de la Bague, a horse race held since 1639 and billed as the oldest in France. The winner still receives a gold ring struck with the town's arms. Around it the town holds a street fair, a funfair, two other historic races and fireworks. ## Key facts - Type: Tradition - Semur-en-Auxois - 1 h 05 from Beaune - When: The race is run every 31 May, whatever the day of the week, amid about ten days of festivities in late May and early June. Expected dates, not yet confirmed · Monday, 31 May 2027. - Venue: [Semur-en-Auxois](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/semur-en-auxois) - Organised by: [Ville de Semur-en-Auxois](https://www.ville-semur-en-auxois.fr/) - Official website: [ville-semur-en-auxois.fr](https://www.ville-semur-en-auxois.fr/fete-de-la-bague/) - Where: Semur-en-Auxois · Côte-d'Or - Location: 65 km north-west of Beaune · Côte-d'Or - Coordinates: 47.4955, 4.3568 - From Beaune: ≈ 1 h 05 · 83 km - €230 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) ## History The Bague is run on the mall, the broad avenue of chestnut trees now called the Cours Charles-de-Gaulle, which becomes a racecourse for the day over 2,112 metres of beaten earth. The Timbale, a trotting race for harnessed horses, uses the same course, and the oldest of the three races, the Chausses, is run on foot through the cobbled streets. The Chausses disappeared in 1652 and was revived in 1978. Legend links it to games in honour of Hercules, said to have founded the town, while the tourist office also cites a royal ordinance of 1369 in which Charles V encouraged sport over games of chance. ## What to expect In 2026 the festivities opened on 29 May with a concert and a torchlight procession, and the Timbale races for draught and trotting horses followed the next day. On 31 May a fair of about a kilometre and a half filled the streets from 8 am, and the Bague races began at 3.30 pm. The Chausses and the fireworks followed a week later, with a funfair running throughout. ## Tips for the day Watch the races from along the Cours Charles-de-Gaulle and arrive early on 31 May, when the fair draws thousands of visitors. The full programme is posted on the town's website ahead of the festivities. Semur is about an hour from Beaune, and on such a busy day being dropped off and collected is far easier than parking. ## Did you know? Since 1651 the winner of the Bague has received a gold ring struck with the arms of Semur. ## Around Fête de la Bague What to combine with Fête de la Bague on the same day, nearest first. ### Other events in May 2027 - **Usually the first weekend of May, Saturday 10:00 to 18:00 and Sunday 10:00 to 17:00** · [Bienvenue à Savigny](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/bienvenue-a-savigny): Savigny-lès-Beaune's growers open their cellars on the first weekend of May. (Wine festival · Savigny-lès-Beaune) - **Long held over five days in late August and early September; in 2026 it moved to a May weekend and an early-October weekend.** · [Festival Musique au Chambertin](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-musique-au-chambertin): Classical concerts and tastings in the wine villages around Gevrey-Chambertin since 1988. (Music · Gevrey-Chambertin) - **Each year over several weeks in late spring and early summer, usually ending in early July** · [Mois des Climats](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/mois-des-climats): A festival of visits, walks and tastings celebrating Burgundy's UNESCO-listed Climats. (Culture · Beaune and the Côte-d'Or vineyards) - **Usually the first half of July, with a prelude of concerts on weekends in May** · [Festival De Bach à Bacchus](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-de-bach-a-bacchus-meursault): Meursault's summer festival of music and wine, with concerts in the village and tastings with the musicians. (Music · Meursault) - **The week of Ascension in May; the 14th festival ran from 12 to 17 May 2026.** · [Festival Cluny Danse](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-cluny-danse): Contemporary dance in the streets and theatres of Cluny over the Ascension week. (Culture · Cluny) - **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) ### Nearby - **A weekend in May.** · [Fêtes médiévales de Semur-en-Auxois](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fetes-medievales-de-semur-en-auxois): A weekend of medieval fantasy, music and a banquet beneath the towers of Semur-en-Auxois. (Tradition · Semur-en-Auxois) - **Sunday, 18 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Marché de la Saint-Simon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marche-de-la-saint-simon-flavigny): Flavigny's great autumn fair, with crafts, farm produce and aniseed sweets in the lanes of a hilltop village. (Food & markets · Flavigny-sur-Ozerain) - **Saturday, 28 November 2026 – Sunday, 10 January 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Exposition de crèches et féerie de Noël](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/exposition-de-creches-flavigny-sur-ozerain): About ninety nativity scenes light up the windows of a medieval hilltop village through the Christmas season. (Christmas · Flavigny-sur-Ozerain) - **The last weekend of August.** · [Mystère de sainte Reine](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/mystere-de-sainte-reine): A village pageant retelling the martyrdom of Saint Reine, with torchlit and costumed processions. (Tradition · Alise-Sainte-Reine) - **Monday, 16 November 2026 – Tuesday, 16 February 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/noel-a-l-abbaye-de-fontenay): A giant crèche, illuminated gardens and a Christmas market at a UNESCO-listed Cistercian abbey. (Christmas · Marmagne) - **Two weekends in late July and early August, at nightfall.** · [Montréal en Lumière](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/montreal-en-lumiere): A night-time walk through the history of a medieval hill village, told by some sixty costumed performers. (Culture · Montréal) ### Châteaux - [Donjon de Semur-en-Auxois (Tour de l’Orle d’Or)](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/donjon-de-semur-en-auxois), 2 km away: Four huge towers of the dukes of Burgundy's castle still guard the old town of Semur. - [Château de Lantilly](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-lantilly) (6 km away): The 'château of a hundred windows', with 18th-century interiors and a celebrated flowering kitchen garden. - [Château de Marigny-le-Cahouët](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-marigny-le-cahouet) (9 km away): A moated castle of the plain, with towers, a drawbridge and a Gothic Revival gate. ### Things to do - [Semur-en-Auxois](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/semur-en-auxois) (2 km away): A fortified town on a pink granite spur, looped by the river Armançon and guarded by great towers. - [Collégiale Notre-Dame de Semur-en-Auxois](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/collegiale-notre-dame-semur-en-auxois) (2 km away): A tall, narrow Gothic church whose windows show the drapers and butchers of Semur at work, and one remembers American soldiers. - [MuséoParc Alésia](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/museoparc-alesia) (10 km away): The battlefield where Caesar defeated Vercingetorix, with a modern museum, Roman siege works and a Gallo-Roman town. ## Questions about Fête de la Bague ### When is Fête de la Bague 2027? The 2027 dates of Fête de la Bague have not been announced yet. Usual timing: the race is run every 31 May, whatever the day of the week, amid about ten days of festivities in late May and early June.. The organiser publishes them on ville-semur-en-auxois.fr. ### Where does Fête de la Bague take place? Fête de la Bague takes place in Semur-en-Auxois (Côte-d'Or), at Semur-en-Auxois. ### How do you get to Fête de la Bague from Beaune? Semur-en-Auxois is about 1 h 05 from Beaune by road (83 km). The easiest way is a private driver: from €230 for the whole car, up to 4 guests, with no parking to find and nobody at the wheel after a glass of wine. ### Can we book a private driver for Fête de la Bague? Yes. Your driver collects you in Beaune or at your hotel in an electric Polestar 2 (up to 4 guests), waits while you enjoy Fête de la Bague and drives you back. For the busiest weekends, book a few weeks ahead. → [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) ## Book - [Book a driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=driver&place=sight:semur): No parking to find, no one left as the designated driver: everyone enjoys a glass. Your driver waits and drives you back: no parking to find, and everyone can enjoy a glass. ## Sources - - - - [The full events calendar](https://www.cote-privee.com/events) --- Canonical page: