--- title: "Mystère de sainte Reine 2027: dates, programme & getting there" description: "The last weekend of August, Alise-Sainte-Reine. A village pageant retelling the martyrdom of Saint Reine, with torchlit and costumed processions." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/events/mystere-de-sainte-reine lang: en updated: 2026-09-29 generated: 2026-10-09 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/events/mystere-de-sainte-reine.png --- # Mystère de sainte Reine > Mystère de sainte Reine: a village pageant retelling the martyrdom of Saint Reine, with torchlit and costumed processions. At the end of every August the people of Alise-Sainte-Reine retell the martyrdom of Reine, a young Gallic noblewoman put to death in 253. Costumed processions cross the village on the Saturday evening and the Sunday morning, and a play, the mystère, is performed in the open-air Théâtre des Roches. ## Key facts - Type: Tradition - Alise-Sainte-Reine - 1 h 04 from Beaune - When: The last weekend of August. The 2027 dates are not announced yet. - Nearby: [MuséoParc Alésia](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/museoparc-alesia) - Entry: Paid or by invitation - Official website: [mysteredesaintereine.com](https://www.mysteredesaintereine.com/) - Where: Alise-Sainte-Reine · Côte-d'Or - Location: 65 km north-west of Beaune · Côte-d'Or - Coordinates: 47.5364, 4.4916 - From Beaune: ≈ 1 h 04 · 82 km - €230 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) ## History The organisers date the celebration of Saint Reine in the village back to 866, and for several centuries, almost without interruption, the villagers have told her story for pilgrims and spectators. The costumed procession follows a ritual unchanged since the 1650s. In the play, Reine, awakened to the Christian faith by her nurse, refuses the advances of the Roman governor Olibrius and will not renounce her faith. In 2026 the performances were given on 29 and 30 August. ## What to expect On the Saturday a torchlit procession leads to the evening performance at 9 pm. On the Sunday the historical procession sets off at 10 am from the Hôpital Sainte-Reine, and the play is performed again at 3 pm. The cast are villagers, and watching them carry on a tradition this old, in the village where Caesar besieged Vercingetorix, is a rare sight. ## Tips for the day Book tickets through the official website. The MuséoParc Alésia and Flavigny are a few minutes away, so the pageant can round off a day in the Auxois. Alise-Sainte-Reine is about 1 hour 15 minutes from Beaune, and a driver spares you the road home after the Saturday night performance. ## Did you know? The costumed procession that opens the pageant has followed the same ritual since the 1650s. ## Around Mystère de sainte Reine What to combine with Mystère de sainte Reine on the same day, nearest first. ### Other events in August 2027 - **Runs Tuesday 25 May – Tuesday 31 August 2027** · [Les Vin’dredis de la Halle](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/vindredis-halle-chambertin): Summer Friday tastings and gourmet evenings at the Halle Chambertin in Gevrey. (Wine festival · Gevrey-Chambertin) - **Runs Sunday 6 June – Thursday 30 September 2027** · [Lumières à Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/lumieres-a-beaune): Light projections on Beaune's landmarks, every evening in summer and from the Vente des Vins to early January. (Culture · Beaune) - **Runs Thursday 24 June – Tuesday 31 August 2027** · [L’Été Frappé](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/l-ete-frappe-macon): A free summer-long festival of concerts and shows in the streets and parks of Mâcon. (Music · Mâcon) - **Runs Friday 25 June – Thursday 30 September 2027** · [Le Brunch des Halles](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/brunch-des-halles-dijon): Summer Sunday brunches cooked by local chefs under Dijon's iron market hall. (Food & markets · Dijon) - **Runs Tuesday 6 July – Tuesday 31 August 2027** · [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) - **Runs Monday 19 July – Tuesday 31 August 2027** · [Les Grandes Heures de Cluny](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/grandes-heures-de-cluny): A summer festival of classical music in Cluny's churches, with a wine tasting after each concert. (Music · Cluny) ### Nearby - **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) - **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) - **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) - **Monday, 31 May 2027 (Expected dates, not yet confirmed)** · [Fête de la Bague](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fete-de-la-bague-semur-en-auxois): France's oldest horse race, run every 31 May along the chestnut-lined mall of Semur-en-Auxois. (Tradition · Semur-en-Auxois) - **The Ascension weekend, from Thursday to Sunday.** · [Journées gourmandes du Grand Morvan](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/journees-gourmandes-du-grand-morvan): Saulieu's food fair on Ascension weekend, with cooking contests in a town famous for its great chefs. (Food & markets · Saulieu) ### Châteaux - [Château de Bussy-Rabutin](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-bussy-rabutin) (4 km away): The home of a disgraced courtier in exile, painted wall to wall with portraits and mottoes. - [Château de Lantilly](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-lantilly) (8 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 - [MuséoParc Alésia](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/museoparc-alesia) (2 km away): The battlefield where Caesar defeated Vercingetorix, with a modern museum, Roman siege works and a Gallo-Roman town. - [Les Anis de Flavigny](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/anis-de-flavigny) (4 km away): Aniseed sweets made in a Benedictine abbey, with a Carolingian crypt beneath the workshops. - [Flavigny-sur-Ozerain](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/flavigny-sur-ozerain) (4 km away): A walled hilltop village of stone lanes, medieval gates and aniseed sweets, facing the Alésia battlefield. ## Questions about Mystère de sainte Reine ### When is Mystère de sainte Reine 2027? The 2027 dates of Mystère de sainte Reine have not been announced yet. Usual timing: the last weekend of August.. The organiser publishes them on mysteredesaintereine.com. ### Where does Mystère de sainte Reine take place? Mystère de sainte Reine takes place in Alise-Sainte-Reine (Côte-d'Or). ### Is Mystère de sainte Reine free to attend? No, Mystère de sainte Reine is not free: you need a ticket or an invitation. Check the official website for prices and booking. ### How do you get to Mystère de sainte Reine from Beaune? Alise-Sainte-Reine is about 1 h 04 from Beaune by road (82 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 Mystère de sainte Reine? Yes. Your driver collects you in Beaune or at your hotel in an electric Polestar 2 (up to 4 guests), waits while you enjoy Mystère de sainte Reine 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:alesia): 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: