--- title: "Things to Do in Burgundy with Kids: a Family Day from Beaune" description: "Castles with drawbridges, a medieval building site, Dijon's owl trail and sweet factories: family days from Beaune, €75 per hour per car." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-with-children lang: en updated: 2026-10-04 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/guides/burgundy-with-children.png --- # Burgundy with children, or without wine: a family day from Beaune > For a family day from Beaune, pair the Château de Châteauneuf, a walled medieval fortress that is free for children under 12, with the moated Château de Commarin and the sweet factory Les Anis de Flavigny, where visits and tastings are free: allow about 8 hours with a driver, €600 per car for up to four guests at €75 per hour. Dijon, 40 minutes away, makes an easier day with its owl trail, a 316-step tower and a gingerbread factory, and from April to early November the Chantier médiéval de Guédelon, where a 13th-century castle is being built by hand, is worth a long day. Written and checked by Côte Privée, updated 4 October 2026 ## In short - The Château de Châteauneuf opens all year except on Mondays and is free for children under 12; its investigation booklet, in French, suits ages 7 and up. - Guédelon opens from 2 April to 1 November 2026, 10.00 to 17.30, closed on some Tuesdays and Wednesdays: allow at least 4 hours on site and about 2 h 30 each way from Beaune. - Les Anis de Flavigny (free visits and tasting), Le Cassissium (syrups for children) and the Moutarderie Edmond Fallot (make your own mustard) are food stops that children enjoy. - A driver by the hour costs €75 per hour per car for up to four guests, children included: €450 for 6 hours in Dijon, €600 for 8 hours of castles. Castles, a medieval building site, Dijon's owl trail and sweet factories: days children enjoy. ## Which châteaux near Beaune work best with children? The Château de Châteauneuf and the Château de Commarin, 4 km apart in the Auxois and about 45 minutes from Beaune, make the best pair: one is a fortress on a ridge with round towers and a drawbridge, the other a family château, still lived in, with wide moats and a park. At Châteauneuf, children under 12 go in free, 12 to 17s pay €4.50 and adults €6. Children from 7 can follow an investigation booklet in French, and a shorter trail suits the youngest; guided tours run in French and English, and the visit leaflet exists in 14 languages, including English, German, Chinese and Arabic. Commarin, open since 28 March 2026 every day except Tuesdays and Wednesdays, also sells a cheaper ticket for the park alone. Ten minutes from Beaune, the Château de Savigny-lès-Beaune surrounds its medieval castle with collections of fighter jets, Abarth racing cars, motorbikes and fire engines. Allow 1 to 2 hours, and keep the picnic for the tables of the car park, as picnics are not allowed inside the grounds. | Château | From Beaune | Open in 2026 | Children | Good to know | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Château de Châteauneuf | About 45 minutes | All year except Mondays, 9.45 to 12.30 and 14.00 to 17.30 (18.00 in July and August) | Free under 12, €4.50 from 12 to 17 | Booklet in French from age 7; pushchairs stay in the courtyard | | Château de Commarin | About 45 minutes, 4 km from Châteauneuf | From 28 March, daily except Tuesday and Wednesday, 10.00 to 18.00 | €4.60 from 6 to 16, park only €4 | Furnished rooms, moats and a park | | Château de Savigny-lès-Beaune | 10 minutes | Daily 9.00 to 18.30 until 24 October, then Thursday to Monday 10.00 to 17.30 | Free up to 7, €8.50 from 8 to 17 | Jets, racing cars, motorbikes; no booking needed | | Chantier médiéval de Guédelon | About 2 h 30 | 2 April to 1 November, 10.00 to 17.30, closed on some Tuesdays and Wednesdays | Free under 5, €13 from 5 to 17 online more than 72 hours ahead | Allow at least 4 hours | ## Is Guédelon worth the drive with children? Yes, for children old enough to enjoy a long day: at the Chantier médiéval de Guédelon, about forty craftspeople are building a 13th-century fortified castle with the tools and materials of the Middle Ages, and you walk among the quarrymen, stonemasons, carpenters, blacksmiths and rope makers as they work. In 2026 the site opens from 2 April to 1 November, 10.00 to 17.30, except on some Tuesdays and Wednesdays: check its calendar before choosing a date, and allow at least 4 hours there. Two workshops cost €8.50 each on top of the entry and are best booked online: stone carving, open to all and suggested from age 6, and an archaeology dig for children of 8 to 14, each lasting 1 hour to 1 h 15. Entry costs €19 for adults and €13 for children of 5 to 17 when booked online more than 72 hours ahead, €21 and €15 otherwise, and children under 5 go in free; a family pass for two adults and two children costs €61 online. The site has places to eat, picnic areas and a free car park, and dogs on a lead are welcome. Guédelon is about 2 h 30 from Beaune, so with the visit it makes a day of about 10 hours: €750 per car for up to four guests. ## What do children like in Dijon? Dijon, 47 km and about 40 minutes from Beaune, works well with children because its sights are close together and several are free. Les Halles de Dijon, the covered market, open on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7.00 to 13.00. - The Parcours de la Chouette: children hunt for the owl arrows set in the pavement along 22 stops while parents read the history in the booklet, sold at the tourist office. The good-luck owl itself is carved on the wall of the Église Notre-Dame de Dijon. - The Tour Philippe le Bon: 316 steps up to a terrace 46 metres high with a 360-degree view, on guided climbs of about 45 minutes for up to 18 people, from €6, booked at the tourist office on rue des Forges. - The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon, inside the Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne: the permanent collections are free, including the tombs of the dukes with their alabaster mourners. It is closed on Tuesdays. - The Jardin de l'Arquebuse, near the station: a botanical garden with the natural history museum and a planetarium; the museum is closed on Tuesdays and on Saturday and Sunday mornings. - La Fabrique de pain d'épices Mulot & Petitjean, the oldest gingerbread maker in Dijon: large windows look down on the bakers, audioguides speak English and German, and tickets cost €9 for adults and €7 for 10 to 17s, Tuesday to Saturday. - Time to run about: an old-style carousel on place François Rude, summer fountains on the Place de la Libération, playgrounds in the Jardin Darcy and, further out, the Parc de la Colombière with animal enclosures and pedal cars, or the Lac Kir for a swim in hot weather. ## Which food stops are fun for children, and which serve alcohol? Burgundy's sweet and mustard makers welcome families, and most visits end with a tasting that children can share; of the stops below, only [the Cassissium](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/cassissium) in Nuits-Saint-Georges also pours liqueurs, for the adults. Les Anis de Flavigny is the highlight. Inside a former Benedictine abbey in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, a 40-minute guided tour of the workshop runs on weekdays only, from 9.20 to 11.20 and from 14.00 to 16.40 between 6 April and 30 October 2026; the crypt, the small museum, a game of guessing the 13 flavours, wooden games and the café are open every day in season, and visits and tastings are free. At the Moutarderie Edmond Fallot in Beaune, children make their own mustard on the Découvertes tour, at fixed times, so book ahead. In Dijon, the Boutique Maille serves mustard from the pump, and La Boutique Atelier Fallot sometimes makes a mustard with Meursault wine in front of visitors, so ask which jars contain wine if your family avoids alcohol. In Beaune, L'Atelier des Bonbons lets children watch sweets being cooked and shaped by hand on Thursday and Saturday afternoons. | Stop | Where | What children do | Good to know | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Les Anis de Flavigny | Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, about 1 h 15 from Beaune | Watch aniseeds roll in copper pans, guess flavours, play wooden games | Free; workshop tours on weekdays only, booking advised | | Moutarderie Edmond Fallot | Beaune | Make their own mustard | Tours at fixed times, booking advised | | Le Cassissium | Nuits-Saint-Georges, about 20 minutes from Beaune | Museum, film, factory tour, syrup tasting | Adults taste crème de cassis and liqueurs; daily from April to October, Tuesday to Saturday in winter | | L'Atelier des Bonbons | Beaune | Watch sugar being cooked and shaped by hand | Thursday at 15.00, Saturday at 14.30 and 16.00, about 45 minutes | ## How do child seats, pushchairs and halal or vegetarian lunches work? Child seats are available on request: give the children's ages when you book. Children count as guests, so one car takes four people at most, and every price on this page is per car. Mention a pushchair with your luggage when you book. Some visits are easier without one: Châteauneuf does not allow pushchairs inside the château, the lanes of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain are steep and cobbled in places, Guédelon is only partly accessible and much of the visit follows forest paths, and the workshop at Les Anis de Flavigny is up a flight of stairs. Many Burgundian classics are cooked with wine or contain pork: bœuf bourguignon, for instance, is beef braised in red wine with lardons. If you eat halal or vegetarian food, tell us when you book: we help you choose restaurants and can ask them in advance. Markets make simple lunches: the Marché de Beaune on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, or Les Halles de Dijon. On the road, the driver stops whenever you ask, for prayer or a break. ## What does a family day with a driver cost? [A driver by the hour](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) costs €75 per hour per car for up to four guests, from 3 to 12 hours, so a family of four pays the same as a couple. Tolls, parking and waiting are included; entrance tickets and meals are paid on the spot. For a family of four, the 8-hour castle day comes to €150 per person before tickets, and [the prices page](https://www.cote-privee.com/prices) lists every rate. If one of you would like a wine tasting on the way, say so when you book: tastings are paid directly to the domaine, and if wine becomes the point of the day, the fixed-price [wine tours](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours) cost less than the same hours by the hour, €290 for 4 hours and €560 for 8. | Day | Stops | Hours | Price per car, up to four guests | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Beaune half day | Château de Savigny-lès-Beaune, Le Cassissium | 4 | €300 | | Dijon | Parcours de la Chouette, Tour Philippe le Bon, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Mulot & Petitjean | 6 | €450 | | Auxois castles | Château de Châteauneuf, Château de Commarin, Les Anis de Flavigny | 8 | €600 | | Guédelon | Chantier médiéval de Guédelon | 10 | €750 | ## What does the castle day look like, hour by hour? Plan it for a Thursday or a Friday: Châteauneuf closes on Mondays, Commarin on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and the workshop tours at Les Anis de Flavigny run on weekdays only. At the weekend, keep the two châteaux and swap the workshop tour for a walk through Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France; the crypt, museum and shop of Les Anis de Flavigny stay open. - 9.00 Pickup at your hotel in Beaune, with the child seats fitted. - 9.45 Château de Châteauneuf as it opens: the ramparts, the restored rooms and the chapel, with the booklet or the 45-minute guided tour, then a walk through the village. - 11.30 Château de Commarin, 4 km away: the furnished rooms, the 14th-century chapel, the kitchens and the park. - 12.45 Lunch in the Auxois, or a picnic bought at the market the day before. - 14.30 Les Anis de Flavigny: the workshop tour, the crypt, the museum and the tasting. - 15.45 Back to Beaune, about 1 h 15, arriving around 17.00. ## When is the best time for a family trip to Burgundy? From April to October almost everything is open: Guédelon from 2 April to 1 November 2026, the Cassissium every day from April to October, the Château de Savigny-lès-Beaune every day until 24 October, and the Hôtel-Dieu des Hospices Civils de Beaune every day of the year. In Beaune itself, the Visiotrain tours the town in 35 to 40 minutes from in front of the Hôtel-Dieu, at €10 for adults and €6 for children of 3 to 12. In winter, plan around closures. Châteauneuf stays open all year, and in 2026 it is free for everyone on the first Sunday of each month from January to May and from October to December, but the workshop tours at Les Anis de Flavigny stop from 11 November to February, and Savigny closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from late October, except during the autumn and Christmas school holidays. For the rest of Beaune on foot, see [Beaune in one day](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/beaune-in-one-day), and for the seasons and events, [when to visit Burgundy](https://www.cote-privee.com/when-to-visit). ## Frequently asked questions ### Do you provide child seats? Yes, on request. Give the children's ages when you book. Children count as guests, so one car takes four people at most. ### Is Burgundy worth visiting with children if we do not drink wine? Yes. The castles of the Auxois, the building site at Guédelon, Dijon's owl trail and the sweet, mustard and gingerbread makers fill several days, and the vineyards make a lovely backdrop without a single tasting. ### How long is the drive to Guédelon? About 2 h 30 each way from Beaune. With at least 4 hours on site, plan a day of about 10 hours: €750 per car for up to four guests with a driver by the hour. ### Can children taste anything at the Cassissium? Yes. Children are welcome on the tour and taste syrups, while adults try crème de cassis and liqueurs. Booking the guided tour is strongly recommended in high season. ### Which visits are free for children? Les Anis de Flavigny is free for everyone, and so are the permanent collections of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon. Châteauneuf is free under 12, Savigny up to 7 and Guédelon under 5. ### Can we find halal or vegetarian food? Yes, with a little planning. Many Burgundian dishes use wine or pork, so tell us your needs when you book: we help you choose restaurants and ask them in advance, and markets and picnic areas make easy lunches. ## Places in this guide - [Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/beaune): The wine capital of Burgundy, with the Hôtel-Dieu, old ramparts and cellars beneath its streets. - [Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/dijon): Burgundy's historic capital, city of the Valois dukes and northern gateway to the Route des Grands Crus. - [Nuits-Saint-Georges](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/nuits-saint-georges): The wine town that names the Côte de Nuits, with 41 premiers crus and a lively old centre. - [Château de Châteauneuf](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-chateauneuf): A walled medieval fortress on a rocky ridge, watching over the Auxois from its village of stone houses. - [Château de Commarin](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-commarin): A lived-in family château with medieval towers, wide moats and rare Renaissance heraldic tapestries. - [Château de Savigny-lès-Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-savigny-les-beaune): A 14th-century castle with four round towers, and a park full of fighter jets. - [Guédelon Castle (Chantier médiéval de Guédelon)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/chateau-de-guedelon): A 13th-century castle being built today, by hand, with the tools and materials of the Middle Ages. - [Les Anis de Flavigny](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/anis-de-flavigny): 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): A walled hilltop village of stone lanes, medieval gates and aniseed sweets, facing the Alésia battlefield. - [Le Cassissium](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/cassissium): A museum and working liqueur house devoted to Burgundy's blackcurrant, with a tasting to finish. - [Edmond Fallot Mustard Mill (Moutarderie Edmond Fallot)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/moutarderie-fallot-beaune): An independent family mustard mill since 1840, still grinding seeds between millstones on the edge of Beaune. - [Fallot Shop and Workshop, Dijon (La Boutique Atelier Fallot)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/fallot-dijon): An independent family mustard house, with a tasting shop and workshop near the owl. - [Boutique Maille](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/maison-maille-dijon): Maille's historic Dijon mustard shop, where fresh mustard is served from the pump. - [Mulot & Petitjean Gingerbread Factory (La Fabrique de pain d’épices Mulot & Petitjean)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/mulot-petitjean): Dijon's historic gingerbread maker, with a museum space above the working bakery. - [L’Atelier des Bonbons](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/atelier-des-bonbons-beaune): Watch artisan confectioners cook and shape hand-made sweets in a small Beaune workshop. - [The Owl’s Trail (Parcours de la Chouette)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/parcours-de-la-chouette): Follow bronze owl arrows set in the pavement on a self-guided walk through old Dijon. - [Church of Notre-Dame, Dijon (Église Notre-Dame de Dijon)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/notre-dame-dijon): A 13th-century Gothic church with a famous clock, false gargoyles and Dijon's lucky owl. - [Tower of Philip the Good (Tour Philippe le Bon)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/tour-philippe-le-bon): Climb 316 steps up the dukes' 46-metre tower for a sweeping view over Dijon's rooftops. - [Palace of the Dukes and Estates of Burgundy (Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/palais-des-ducs-dijon): The seat of Burgundy's dukes and later of its Estates, now Dijon's town hall and museum. - [Dijon Fine Arts Museum (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-des-beaux-arts-dijon): One of the oldest museums in France, home to the tombs of the Valois dukes of Burgundy. - [Arquebuse Botanical Garden (Jardin de l’Arquebuse)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/jardin-de-l-arquebuse): A botanical garden, natural history museum and planetarium beside Dijon station. - [Darcy Garden (Jardin Darcy)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/jardin-darcy): Dijon's first public garden, built over Henry Darcy's reservoir and guarded by a polar bear. - [Colombière Park (Parc de la Colombière)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/parc-de-la-colombiere): A 17th-century park laid out for the Princes of Condé, crossed by a Roman road. - [Lake Kir (Lac Kir)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/lac-kir): Dijon's lake, opened in 1964 and named after the mayor who gave kir its name. - [Dijon Covered Market (Les Halles), Les Halles de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/halles-de-dijon): Dijon's 19th-century iron market hall, busy with Burgundy produce four mornings a week. - [Hospices de Beaune (Hôtel-Dieu), Hôtel-Dieu des Hospices Civils de Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/hospices-de-beaune-hotel-dieu): Beaune's 15th-century hospital for the poor, crowned by its famous roofs of glazed, patterned tiles. - [Visiotrain](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/visiotrain-beaune): A small electric tourist train with commentary that loops through Beaune's old town and past its vineyards. - [Beaune Market (Marché de Beaune)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/marche-de-beaune): Beaune's Saturday market fills the covered halls and squares facing the Hôtel-Dieu with local produce. ## Sources - 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