--- title: "Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay 2026: dates, programme & getting there" description: "16 Nov – 16 Feb 2027, Marmagne (Abbaye de Fontenay). A giant crèche, illuminated gardens and a Christmas market at a UNESCO-listed Cistercian abbey." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/events/noel-a-l-abbaye-de-fontenay lang: en updated: 2026-10-08 generated: 2026-10-09 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/events/noel-a-l-abbaye-de-fontenay.png --- # Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay > Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay: a giant crèche, illuminated gardens and a Christmas market at a UNESCO-listed Cistercian abbey. In winter the Abbaye de Fontenay dresses for Christmas: its gardens are illuminated and a large traditional crèche is set up in the cloister. On one weekend in December the abbey also hosts a Christmas market and guided visits by torchlight. The illuminations last from mid-November to mid-February. ## Key facts - Type: Christmas - Marmagne - 1 h 14 from Beaune - When: Monday, 16 November 2026 – Tuesday, 16 February 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser) - Usual timing: From mid-November to mid-February, with a Christmas market on a weekend in mid-December - Venue: [Fontenay Abbey](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/abbaye-de-fontenay) - Entry: Paid or by invitation - Organised by: [Abbaye de Fontenay](https://www.abbayedefontenay.com/) - Official website: [abbayedefontenay.com](https://www.abbayedefontenay.com/evenements) - Where: Marmagne · Côte-d'Or - Location: 75 km north-west of Beaune · Côte-d'Or - Coordinates: 47.6397, 4.3894 - From Beaune: ≈ 1 h 14 · 99 km - €265 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) ## History Bernard of Clairvaux founded Fontenay in 1118, and the abbey keeps its main 12th-century buildings. It was listed as a historic monument in 1862 and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. After the Revolution the abbey became a paper mill. In 1906 the Lyon banker Édouard Aynard bought the site and began removing the industrial buildings, and Fontenay is still a family property today. ## What to expect Walk through the lit gardens and into the cloister to see the crèche, then, on the market weekend, browse stands of local food and crafts, with food served on site. On the Saturday and Sunday of the market, torchlit guided tours at nightfall, on booking, show the abbey in a very different light. ## Tips for the day The illuminations and crèche can be seen from 10 am to noon and from 2 pm to 5 pm. The entry ticket covers the abbey, the illuminations, the crèche and, on the market weekend, the market; book torchlit tours in advance on the abbey's website. Fontenay is about 1 hour 15 minutes from Beaune, and a driver makes it easy to stay for a torchlit tour on a dark December evening. ## Did you know? Fontenay was founded by Bernard of Clairvaux in 1118 and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. ## Around Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay What to combine with Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay on the same day, nearest first. ### Other events in November 2026 - **Runs Sunday 11 October – Monday 30 November 2026** · [Marché aux truffes de Noyers](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marche-aux-truffes-de-noyers): Burgundy truffles, a giant omelette and a clanging bell in the medieval squares of Noyers. (Food & markets · Noyers) - **Runs Saturday 31 October – Wednesday 11 November 2026** · [Foire internationale et gastronomique de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/foire-gastronomique-dijon): Burgundy's great food fair, held every autumn in Dijon since 1921. (Food & markets · Dijon) - **Tuesday 3 – Sunday 15 November 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Les Symphonies d’Automne](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/symphonies-d-automne-macon): Mâcon's festival of the voice, built around an international competition for young opera singers. (Music · Mâcon) - **Usually from the last Saturday of November to the first Sunday of January.** · [Les Fééries de Noël de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/feeries-de-noel-dijon): Chalets, vin chaud, an ice rink and a big wheel across the heart of Dijon. (Christmas · Dijon) - **Usually from late November to early December.** · [Les Nuits d’Orient et d’ailleurs](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/nuits-d-orient-et-d-ailleurs-dijon): Dijon's winter festival of music, dance and art from the Orient and beyond. (Culture · Dijon) - **Friday 13 – Saturday 14 November 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Fête des Grands Vins de Bourgogne](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fete-des-grands-vins-de-bourgogne): Every Burgundy appellation in one hall, poured by the growers themselves, on the Vente des Vins weekend. (Wine festival · Beaune) ### Nearby - **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) - **Saturday 10 – Sunday 11 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Venise au Palais](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/venise-au-palais-ancy-le-franc): Venetian carnival costumes parade through a Renaissance palace designed by an Italian architect. (Culture · Ancy-le-Franc) - **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) - **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) ### Châteaux - [Château de Montbard et Parc Buffon](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-montbard-parc-buffon) (4 km away): The towers of a ducal castle, reshaped by the naturalist Buffon into terraced gardens above his home town. - [Château de Montfort](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-montfort) (7 km away): A ruined 13th-century fortress on a rocky plateau, linked to the story of the Shroud of Turin. - [Château de Lantilly](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-lantilly) (11 km away): The 'château of a hundred windows', with 18th-century interiors and a celebrated flowering kitchen garden. ### Things to do - [Fontenay Abbey (Abbaye de Fontenay)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/abbaye-de-fontenay), 1 km away: One of the best-preserved Cistercian abbeys in the world, alone in a quiet wooded valley of the Auxois. - [Buffon’s Great Forge (Grande Forge de Buffon)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/grande-forge-de-buffon), 10 km away: An 18th-century ironworks built by the naturalist Buffon on the banks of the Armançon. - [MuséoParc Alésia](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/museoparc-alesia) (13 km away): The battlefield where Caesar defeated Vercingetorix, with a modern museum, Roman siege works and a Gallo-Roman town. ## Questions about Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay ### When is Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay 2026? Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay 2026 takes place in Marmagne (Fontenay Abbey): Monday, 16 November 2026 – Tuesday, 16 February 2027. ### Where does Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay take place? Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay takes place in Marmagne (Côte-d'Or), at Fontenay Abbey. ### Is Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay free to attend? No, Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay is not free: you need a ticket or an invitation. Check the official website for prices and booking. ### How do you get to Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay from Beaune? Marmagne is about 1 h 14 from Beaune by road (99 km). The easiest way is a private driver: from €265 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 Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay? Yes. Your driver collects you in Beaune or at your hotel in an electric Polestar 2 (up to 4 guests), waits while you enjoy Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay 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 for this day](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=driver&place=sight:fontenay&date=2026-11-16): 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: