--- title: "Fontenay Abbey: Tickets, Visit Length and What to See" description: "A 12th-century Cistercian abbey founded by Bernard of Clairvaux, UNESCO-listed since 1981. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours, 1 h 15 from Beaune with a private driver." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/abbaye-de-fontenay lang: en updated: 2026-10-01 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/abbaye-de-fontenay.png --- # Fontenay Abbey (Abbaye de Fontenay) > Fontenay Abbey: One of the best-preserved Cistercian abbeys in the world, alone in a quiet wooded valley of the Auxois. Fontenay Abbey is in Marmagne (Côte-d'Or), 1 h 14 by road (99 km) from Beaune. Opening hours: 3 April to 1 November: every day, 10:00 to 18:00; 2 November to 2 April: every day, 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 17:00 · Admission: Paid · Allow 1.5 to 2 hours · Private driver from Beaune: €265 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. Fontenay Abbey lies at the end of a green valley near Montbard, about 1 hour 15 minutes north-west of Beaune. Founded by Bernard of Clairvaux, it keeps its main 12th-century buildings. The church, cloister, dormitory and forge still show the plain beauty of early Cistercian life. ## Key facts - Type: Abbeys & churches - Location: 75 km north-west of Beaune · Côte-d'Or - Coordinates: 47.6397, 4.3894 - 1 h 14 from Beaune - Open all year - Allow 1.5 to 2 hours - Where: Marmagne · Côte-d'Or - Official website: [abbayedefontenay.com](https://www.abbayedefontenay.com/en/) - From Beaune: ≈ 1 h 14 · 99 km - €265 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) ## Getting there - [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver): 1 h 14 by road (99 km), €265 one way for the whole car. Coming by train or plane? [Transfers from stations and airports](https://www.cote-privee.com/transfers) Estimates per vehicle for up to 4 guests, tolls included. Your price is confirmed when you book. ## History Bernard of Clairvaux founded Fontenay in 1118. In 1130 the monks settled in a marshy valley fed by springs, drained the land and built a church between 1139 and 1147. Pope Eugene III consecrated it in 1147. One early resident was Ebrard, a former bishop of Norwich, who retired here around 1145. The monks lived from the fields, woods and streams of their valley. In 1259 King Louis IX freed the abbey from taxes, and in 1269 it became a royal abbey. The Revolution emptied the abbey, and in 1791 it was sold and turned into a paper mill. In 1820 the paper maker Élie de Montgolfier, nephew of the balloon inventors, bought it. The mill closed in 1905. The Lyon banker Édouard Aynard, who had married into the Montgolfier family, bought the site in 1906 and removed the industrial additions. His descendants still own and run the abbey, which UNESCO listed as a World Heritage Site in 1981. ## What you will see The visit follows the daily life of the monks. You enter the bare, luminous abbey church, then walk the cloister and the vaulted chapter house. Upstairs, the monks' dormitory has a great timber roof shaped like an upturned ship's hull. Across the lawn stands the forge, a long workshop by the stream where a hydraulic hammer is on show. Formal gardens and the wooded valley complete the setting. ## Opening hours and tickets - Opening hours: - 3 April to 1 November: every day, 10:00 to 18:00 - 2 November to 2 April: every day, 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 17:00 - Admission: Paid - Booking: Not needed Checked on 1 October 2026 on [the official site](https://www.abbayedefontenay.com/horaires-des-visites). ## Planning your visit Allow one and a half to two hours. The abbey is about 1 hour 15 minutes from Beaune, and pairs well with Montbard or the MuséoParc Alésia on the same day. Visits are self-guided, and guided tours can be booked on the abbey's website. Wear comfortable shoes for the gardens and grounds. ## Did you know? Fontenay receives almost no public money. Apart from a few major restorations, the family who owns it pays for its upkeep with ticket sales and its own resources. ## Around Fontenay Abbey What to combine with Fontenay Abbey on the same day, nearest first. ### 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 - [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. - [Semur-en-Auxois](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/semur-en-auxois) (17 km away): A fortified town on a pink granite spur, looped by the river Armançon and guarded by great towers. ### Events - **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) ### Guides about Fontenay Abbey - [The Climats of Burgundy](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/climats-of-burgundy-unesco) ## Questions about Fontenay Abbey ### How far is Fontenay Abbey from Beaune? Fontenay Abbey is about 1 h 14 from Beaune by road (99 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €265 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### How long does a visit to Fontenay Abbey take? For the visit, allow 1.5 to 2 hours. ### When is Fontenay Abbey open? Opening days and times change during the year, so check the official website (abbayedefontenay.com) before you go. Your driver can plan the day around them. ### Is Fontenay Abbey a UNESCO World Heritage site? Yes. Fontenay Abbey is part of a site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. ### Can a private driver take us to Fontenay Abbey? Yes. Your driver collects you in Beaune or at your hotel in an electric Polestar 2 (up to 4 guests), waits while you visit and plans the rest of the day with you. The driver speaks English, French, Mandarin Chinese and Arabic. → [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) ## Book - [Book a driver here](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=driver&place=sight:fontenay): €265 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - - --- Canonical page: