--- title: "Cathédrale Saint-Vincent, Chalon-sur-Saône: Reopened 2025" description: "Begun about 1080 and reopened in October 2025 after restoration: Romanesque capitals and a canons' cloister. 45 minutes. Private driver from Beaune." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/cathedrale-saint-vincent-chalon-sur-saone lang: en updated: 2026-09-30 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/cathedrale-saint-vincent-chalon-sur-saone.png --- # Saint-Vincent Cathedral, Chalon-sur-Saône (Cathédrale Saint-Vincent de Chalon-sur-Saône) > Saint-Vincent Cathedral, Chalon-sur-Saône: a Romanesque and Gothic cathedral, newly reopened, beside the region's only surviving canons' cloister. Saint-Vincent Cathedral, Chalon-sur-Saône is in Chalon-sur-Saône (Saône-et-Loire), 35 min by road (35 km) from Beaune. Allow 45 minutes · Private driver from Beaune: €125 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. Chalon's former cathedral stands on Place Saint-Vincent, at the heart of the old town. Begun in the late 11th century and built over some four hundred years, it mixes Romanesque, Gothic and 19th-century work. After two years of closure for restoration, it reopened in October 2025, revealing bright Romanesque capitals and rediscovered painted decoration. ## Key facts - Type: Abbeys & churches - Where: Chalon-sur-Saône · Saône-et-Loire - Location: 25 km south of Beaune · Saône-et-Loire - Coordinates: 46.7825, 4.8590 - 35 min from Beaune - Allow 45 minutes - Chalon-sur-Saône - Official website: [achalon.com](https://www.achalon.com/offres/cathedrale-saint-vincent-chalon-sur-saone-fr-4437135/) - From Beaune: ≈ 35 min · 35 km - €125 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) - Or add it to our [half-day wine tour plus one hour, €360](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/half-day). ## Getting there - [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver): 35 min by road (35 km), €125 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 Building began around 1080 and continued in seven campaigns until the early 16th century, with an eighth in the 19th century. The first phases, up to about 1160, raised the lower parts of the choir, transept and nave in the Burgundian Romanesque style also seen at Cluny, Autun and Paray-le-Monial. From the 13th to the 16th century the choir was rebuilt, the nave walls were raised and stone vaults were added. Families and confraternities added private chapels along the nave in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the neo-Gothic facade came later. Chalon is the only city in Burgundy-Franche-Comté to have kept its complete cathedral group: the church, the former bishop's palace, the canons' houses and the cloister, which reopened in 2019 after restoration. Work on the chapels is expected to continue until 2027. ## What you will see Inside, look closely at the capitals of the nave and choir, now cleaned to a bright white and in places still showing traces of their original colours. Paintings rediscovered during the restoration of 2024 and 2025 give the interior a vivid new look. Then step into the canons' cloister, whose outer walls date from around the year 1000. Three galleries with trefoil arches are 14th century, while the north gallery is a modern reconstruction. ## Planning your visit The cathedral is a place of worship, so visits pause during services, and some chapels remain under restoration until 2027. Allow 45 minutes including the cloister. The square outside is lined with half-timbered houses and cafés, and hosts the market on Friday and Sunday mornings. Check the official website for opening times. ## Did you know? The outer walls of the cloister have been dated to around the year 1000, which makes them older than most of the cathedral that stands beside them. ## Around Saint-Vincent Cathedral, Chalon-sur-Saône What to combine with Saint-Vincent Cathedral, Chalon-sur-Saône on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Givry](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/givry) (9 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) (9 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 - [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. - [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. - [Côte Chalonnaise Wine House (Maison des Vins de la Côte Chalonnaise)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/maison-des-vins-cote-chalonnaise), 1 km away: A tasting room in Chalon offering a jury-selected range of 144 wines from the Côte Chalonnaise. ### 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 Saint-Vincent Cathedral, Chalon-sur-Saône ### How far is Saint-Vincent Cathedral, Chalon-sur-Saône from Beaune? Saint-Vincent Cathedral, Chalon-sur-Saône is about 35 min from Beaune by road (35 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €125 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### How long does a visit to Saint-Vincent Cathedral, Chalon-sur-Saône take? For the visit, allow 45 minutes. ### When is Saint-Vincent Cathedral, Chalon-sur-Saône open? Opening days and times change during the year, so check the official website (achalon.com) before you go. Your driver can plan the day around them. ### Can a private driver take us to Saint-Vincent Cathedral, Chalon-sur-Saône? 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. → [Half-day wine tour plus one hour, €360](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/half-day) ## Book - [Book a driver here](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=driver&place=sight:chaloncathedral): €125 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - - --- Canonical page: