--- title: "Paulée de la Côte Chalonnaise 2026: dates, programme & getting there" description: "16–18 Oct 2026, Chalon-sur-Saône. Chalon celebrates the end of the harvest with a weekend of tastings, confréries and photography." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/events/paulee-de-la-cote-chalonnaise lang: en updated: 2026-10-01 generated: 2026-10-09 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/events/paulee-de-la-cote-chalonnaise.png --- # Paulée de la Côte Chalonnaise > Paulée de la Côte Chalonnaise: Chalon celebrates the end of the harvest with a weekend of tastings, confréries and photography. The Paulée is the Côte Chalonnaise's harvest festival, held in the streets of Chalon each October. Winegrowers from Bouzeron, Rully, Mercurey, Givry and Montagny pour their wines along a tasting trail, the wine confréries parade in full dress, and photography, a nod to Chalon's own Nicéphore Niépce, hangs in the open air. ## Key facts - Type: Wine festival - Chalon-sur-Saône - 35 min from Beaune - When: Friday 16 – Sunday 18 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser) - Usual timing: A three-day weekend in mid-October, Friday to Sunday - Venue: [Old Town of Chalon-sur-Saône](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/centre-historique-chalon-sur-saone) - Entry: Paid or by invitation - Organised by: [Ville de Chalon-sur-Saône](https://www.chalon.fr/) - Official website: [paulee-cote-chalonnaise.fr](https://www.paulee-cote-chalonnaise.fr/) - Where: Chalon-sur-Saône · Saône-et-Loire - Location: 25 km south of Beaune · Saône-et-Loire - Coordinates: 46.7812, 4.8567 - From Beaune: ≈ 35 min · 35 km - €125 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) - Add the vineyards: our [full-day wine tour, €560](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day). ## History In Burgundy a paulée marks the end of the harvest. The word is said to come from the dialect word paule, a shovel, recalling the last shovelful of grapes tipped into the press. In Chalon the town and the confréries and winegrowers of the Côte Chalonnaise have turned the tradition into a public festival that mixes wine, food and the art of photography. The 2026 festival is the 27th edition. Each year a photography competition leads up to the weekend, and the selected pictures are shown on the Quai Gambetta. ## What to expect A tasting kit bought on Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, with a glass and a set of tasting tickets, opens the trail through partner cellars, bars and wine shops. On the Saturday the mutual-aid societies and wine confréries march from the Maison des Vins to the town hall and on to Place Saint-Vincent to lay flowers for the winegrowers' patron saint. Banquets, concerts and street food fill the rest of the weekend. ## Tips for the day Walking the streets is free; tastings need the kit, which costs 5 euros in 2026 and is paid by card only, and the banquets are booked separately. The confréries parade on Saturday 17 October from 3.30 pm. Chalon is about half an hour from Beaune, and with a driver waiting at the end of the trail nobody in the party has to drive. ## Did you know? More than 4,500 visitors bought a tasting kit over the Saturday and Sunday of the 2025 Paulée, a record edition. ## Around Paulée de la Côte Chalonnaise What to combine with Paulée de la Côte Chalonnaise on the same day, nearest first. ### Other events in October 2026 - **Friday 9 – Sunday 11 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Championnat du monde de l’œuf en meurette](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/championnat-monde-oeuf-en-meurette): Chefs from around the world compete to poach Burgundy's favourite egg dish at the Clos de Vougeot. (Food & markets · Vougeot) - **Saturday 10 – Sunday 11 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Salon de dégustation Pains Vins Fromages](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/salon-pains-vins-fromages-beaune): Bread, cheese and wine under Beaune's covered halls, run by the town's tourism students. (Food & markets · Beaune) - **Saturday, 10 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Show les papilles](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/show-les-papilles-dijon): Dijon's free festival of taste at the Cité internationale de la gastronomie et du vin. (Food & markets · Dijon) - **Saturday, 10 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Trail du Montrachet](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/trail-du-montrachet): A semi-nocturnal trail race through the vines and woods above Chassagne-Montrachet. (Sport · Chassagne-Montrachet) - **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, 11 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Marathon des Grands Crus](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marathon-des-grands-crus): A marathon on the closed Route des Grands Crus, from Dijon to the Clos de Vougeot and back. (Sport · Dijon) ### Nearby - **Friday 26 February – Sunday 7 March 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Carnaval de Chalon-sur-Saône](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/carnaval-de-chalon-sur-saone): Ten days of parades, brass bands and the burlesque Gôniots, ending with the burning of Old Carnival. (Tradition · Chalon-sur-Saône) - **Four days in the second half of July; the 2026 festival ran from 23 to 26 July.** · [Chalon dans la Rue](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/chalon-dans-la-rue): Four days of street theatre, circus and dance that take over the centre of Chalon every July. (Culture · Chalon-sur-Saône) - **Saturday, 20 March 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Marathon des Vins de la Côte Chalonnaise](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marathon-des-vins-de-la-cote-chalonnaise): A costumed marathon through the Côte Chalonnaise vineyards, with wine and local food at the refreshment stops. (Sport · Givry) - **A weekend in early April, Friday evening to Sunday; the 2026 market ran from 3 to 5 April.** · [Marché aux Vins de Givry](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marche-aux-vins-de-givry): Givry's winegrowers pour the new releases under the town's round market hall each spring. (Wine festival · Givry) - **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) - **A three-day weekend in early September; the 2026 fête ran from 4 to 6 September.** · [Fête de la Vigne de Givry](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fete-de-la-vigne-givry): Givry's traditional village fête on the eve of the harvest, with music, a flea market and local wine. (Tradition · Givry) ### Villages - [Givry](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/givry) (8 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) (12 km away): The largest vineyard of the Côte Chalonnaise, known above all for its reds. - [Rully](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/rully) (14 km away): Crisp whites, supple reds and a cradle of Burgundy's sparkling wine, below a medieval château. ### Châteaux - [Château de Taisey](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-taisey) (3 km away): A graceful house of the 1680s beside an old square tower, on a terrace above the Saône. - [Château de Germolles](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-germolles) (8 km away): The best-preserved residence of the Valois dukes of Burgundy, a country palace made for a duchess. - [Château de Saint-Germain-lès-Buxy](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-saint-germain-les-buxy) (10 km away): A moated medieval castle reinvented in the romantic troubadour style by Viollet-le-Duc's son-in-law. ### Things to do - [Old Town of Chalon-sur-Saône (Centre historique de Chalon-sur-Saône)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/centre-historique-chalon-sur-saone), 1 km away: Half-timbered houses, riverside quays and an island in the Saône, explored on a signed walking trail. - [Nicéphore Niépce Museum (Musée Nicéphore Niépce)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-nicephore-niepce), 1 km away: A museum of photography in the home town of its inventor, from the first cameras to digital images. - [Chalon-sur-Saône Market (Marché de Chalon-sur-Saône)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/marche-de-chalon-sur-saone), 1 km away: A Friday and Sunday morning food market on Place Saint-Vincent, in front of the cathedral. ### Restaurants - [Cédric Burtin](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/cedric-burtin-saint-remy) (4 km away · 2 MICHELIN stars): Two stars in a converted mill on the southern edge of Chalon-sur-Saône. ## Questions about Paulée de la Côte Chalonnaise ### When is Paulée de la Côte Chalonnaise 2026? Paulée de la Côte Chalonnaise 2026 takes place in Chalon-sur-Saône (Old Town of Chalon-sur-Saône): Friday 16 – Sunday 18 October 2026. ### Where does Paulée de la Côte Chalonnaise take place? Paulée de la Côte Chalonnaise takes place in Chalon-sur-Saône (Saône-et-Loire), at Old Town of Chalon-sur-Saône. ### Is Paulée de la Côte Chalonnaise free to attend? No, Paulée de la Côte Chalonnaise is not free: you need a ticket or an invitation. Check the official website for prices and booking. ### How do you get to Paulée de la Côte Chalonnaise from Beaune? Chalon-sur-Saône is about 35 min from Beaune by road (35 km). The easiest way is a private driver: from €125 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 Paulée de la Côte Chalonnaise? Yes. Your driver collects you in Beaune or at your hotel in an electric Polestar 2 (up to 4 guests), waits while you enjoy Paulée de la Côte Chalonnaise and drives you back. For the busiest weekends, book a few weeks ahead. → [Full-day wine tour, €560](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day) ## Book - [Book a driver for this day](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=driver&place=sight:oldchalon&date=2026-10-16): 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: