--- title: "Collégiale Notre-Dame de Montréal: How to Visit and What to See" description: "The collegiate church of Notre-Dame crowns the hilltop village of Montréal, in the Serein valley between Avallon and Noyers." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/collegiale-notre-dame-montreal lang: en updated: 2026-10-08 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/collegiale-notre-dame-montreal.png --- # Collégiale Notre-Dame de Montréal > Collégiale Notre-Dame de Montréal: a small 12th-century church on a hilltop village, with one of the oldest rose windows in France and richly carved Renaissance stalls. Collégiale Notre-Dame de Montréal is in Montréal (Yonne), 1 h 19 by road (109 km) from Beaune. Allow 30 to 45 minutes · Private driver from Beaune: €285 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. The collegiate church of Notre-Dame crowns the hilltop village of Montréal, in the Serein valley between Avallon and Noyers. Built in the second half of the 12th century, between the Romanesque and the Gothic, it so impressed Viollet-le-Duc that he called it a true architectural jewel. Inside are carved Renaissance stalls, a lord's gallery and an English alabaster altarpiece. ## Key facts - Type: Abbeys & churches - Where: Montréal · Yonne - Location: 85 km north-west of Beaune · Yonne - Coordinates: 47.5461, 4.0369 - 1 h 19 from Beaune - Allow 30 to 45 minutes - Montréal - Official website: [destinationgrandvezelay.com](https://www.destinationgrandvezelay.com/) - From Beaune: ≈ 1 h 19 · 109 km - €285 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 19 by road (109 km), €285 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 The lords of Montréal ruled a prosperous fortified town on this hill. In 1068 Anséric II founded a chapter of ten canons here. When Bernard of Clairvaux preached the Second Crusade at Vézelay in 1146, Anséric III took the cross and vowed to build a new church if he came home alive. Work began around 1150 beside his castle, and his son Anséric IV finished it. In 1521 King Francis I presided over the Estates of Burgundy at Montréal, and his gift to the canons is thought to have paid for the carved stalls. During the Revolution the village was renamed Mont-Serein and the church became a temple of the Supreme Being: the tympanum was hammered off and painted with republican slogans that can still be made out. In the 19th century the building was close to ruin. Viollet-le-Duc, then restoring Vézelay, praised it in his writings, the church was listed in 1846, and repairs costing more than 100,000 francs saved it. In 1971 thieves took four panels of the alabaster altarpiece. ## What you will see Outside, look at the wide portal with its flower-carved columns and multi-lobed arches, its 12th-century iron hinges, and the eight-spoked rose window above, which Viollet-le-Duc compared to the west rose of Notre-Dame de Paris. Inside, the nave has rib vaults while the aisles keep Romanesque groin vaults. Over the entrance, a stone gallery with a late 12th-century altar was probably reserved for the lord's family. In the choir, the stalls carved between 1530 and 1550, attributed to the Rigolley brothers of Nuits-sur-Armançon, show Bible scenes, foliage and misericords that are all different. Look too for the 15th-century alabaster altarpiece from a Nottingham workshop. ## Planning your visit Allow 30 to 45 minutes, more with a walk up through the village gates. Montréal is about 12 km east of Avallon and about 1 hour 15 minutes from Beaune, so it combines well with Avallon, Noyers or the Château d'Époisses. The church stands on an esplanade at the top of the village, with views over the Serein valley. It is still used for Sunday Mass, so please be discreet during services. For opening times and guided visits, ask the Grand Vézelay tourist office in Avallon. ## Did you know? Montréal's church was never a parish church at first: the parish lay at Cherisy, 4 km away by the river, and only in the 17th century did the canons open their church to the villagers. ## Around Collégiale Notre-Dame de Montréal What to combine with Collégiale Notre-Dame de Montréal on the same day, nearest first. ### Châteaux - [Château d’Époisses](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-d-epoisses) (11 km away): A double-walled fortress in the cheese village of Époisses, home to the same family since 1661. - [Château de Vault-de-Lugny](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-vault-de-lugny) (15 km away): A moated castle with a tall square keep near Avallon, now an intimate five-star hotel. - [Château de Bourbilly](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-bourbilly) (18 km away): The Serein valley home of Saint Jeanne de Chantal and the Marquise de Sévigné, still lived in today. ### Things to do - [Musée du Costume](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-du-costume-avallon) (12 km away): A new exhibition of period clothes every year, in the rooms of a town house once owned by the princes of Condé. - [Avallon](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/avallon) (12 km away): A walled town on a granite spur above the Cousin valley, with Romanesque portals and a clock tower. - [Collégiale Saint-Lazare d’Avallon](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/collegiale-saint-lazare-avallon) (12 km away): A pilgrimage church whose 12th-century portals carry some of the richest Romanesque carving in Burgundy. ### Restaurants - [Le Valucien](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/le-valucien-vault-de-lugny) (15 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A starred table with Mauritian accents inside a moated castle near Avallon. ### Events - **Two weekends in late July and early August, at nightfall.** · [Montréal en Lumière](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/montreal-en-lumiere): A night-time walk through the history of a medieval hill village, told by some sixty costumed performers. (Culture · Montréal) ## Questions about Collégiale Notre-Dame de Montréal ### How far is Collégiale Notre-Dame de Montréal from Beaune? Collégiale Notre-Dame de Montréal is about 1 h 19 from Beaune by road (109 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €285 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### How long does a visit to Collégiale Notre-Dame de Montréal take? For the visit, allow 30 to 45 minutes. ### When is Collégiale Notre-Dame de Montréal open? Opening days and times change during the year, so check the official website (destinationgrandvezelay.com) before you go. Your driver can plan the day around them. ### Can a private driver take us to Collégiale Notre-Dame de Montréal? 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:montrealcollegiale): €285 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - --- Canonical page: