--- title: "Église Notre-Dame de Saint-Père: How to Visit and What to See" description: "The church of Notre-Dame stands in Saint-Père, the village at the foot of the hill of Vézelay, beside the river Cure." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-notre-dame-saint-pere lang: en updated: 2026-10-08 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/eglise-notre-dame-saint-pere.png --- # Église Notre-Dame de Saint-Père > Église Notre-Dame de Saint-Père: a luminous Gothic church at the foot of Vézelay hill, with a 50-metre bell tower and a carved porch restored after Viollet-le-Duc. Église Notre-Dame de Saint-Père is in Saint-Père (Yonne), 1 h 27 by road (123 km) from Beaune. Allow 30 minutes · Private driver from Beaune: €320 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. The church of Notre-Dame stands in Saint-Père, the village at the foot of the hill of Vézelay, beside the river Cure. Built from the 13th to the 15th century, it is a jewel of Burgundian Gothic, as the village itself puts it. Its tall bell tower and its deep porch announce a bright, bare interior. ## Key facts - Type: Abbeys & churches - Where: Saint-Père · Yonne - Location: 95 km north-west of Beaune · Yonne - Coordinates: 47.4582, 3.7654 - 1 h 27 from Beaune - Allow 30 minutes - Saint-Père - Official website: [saint-pere.fr](https://www.saint-pere.fr/l-eglise-notre-dame-commune-de-saint-pere-89) - From Beaune: ≈ 1 h 27 · 123 km - €320 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 27 by road (123 km), €320 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 Saint-Père grew up around a monastery for women founded in about 858 by Count Girart de Roussillon. After it was looted, the community moved up the hill at the end of the 9th century, where it became the abbey of Vézelay. According to Viollet-le-Duc, the abbey began the present church in about 1240. Dedicated to the Virgin, it only became the parish church in the 16th century, replacing the old church of Saint-Pierre, which gave the village its name and whose ruins stand at its southern edge. By the 19th century the church was in a very poor state. It was on the first list of historic monuments in 1840, and in 1841 the young Viollet-le-Duc, then working on the basilica of Vézelay, took charge of its restoration. He worked on the choir, the chapels and the nave from 1842 to 1844 and finished with the bell tower in 1868. Paul Boeswillwald restored the porch at the end of the 1880s. When the church was again in danger in 1987, the villagers founded an association in 1988 to save it, and their work won heritage prizes in 2002. ## What you will see Look first at the 13th-century bell tower, 50 metres high, square for three storeys and octagonal at the top. The porch, from the early 14th century, hides the main door. Under it, a carved couple, a woman beside a man holding a model of a church, are thought to be the founders, and a woman's tomb is dated 1258. Above, the gable recalls that of the basilica of Vézelay. Inside, a pure and luminous nave leads to a choir ringed by five radiating chapels. ## Planning your visit Allow about 30 minutes. Saint-Père is 2 km below Vézelay and about 1 hour 30 minutes from Beaune, so the church fits easily into a day at Vézelay, together with the Fontaines Salées, 1.5 km to the south. Park in the village and walk to the church. It is a place of worship, so please be discreet during services. For opening times and guided visits, ask the Vézelay tourist office. ## Did you know? The abbey of Vézelay began in the valley: its first community of women lived at Saint-Père before moving up the hill in the late 9th century. ## Around Église Notre-Dame de Saint-Père What to combine with Église Notre-Dame de Saint-Père on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Irancy](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/irancy) (29 km away): The red wine village of the Yonne, set in a bowl of vines and cherry trees. ### Châteaux - [Château de Vault-de-Lugny](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-vault-de-lugny) (8 km away): A moated castle with a tall square keep near Avallon, now an intimate five-star hotel. - [Château de Bazoches](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-bazoches) (9 km away): The castle Vauban bought with a royal reward, and turned into a workshop for his military engineers. - [Château de Chastellux](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-chastellux) (12 km away): A towered fortress at the gateway to the Morvan, still lived in by the family of its name. ### Things to do - [Site archéologique des Fontaines Salées](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/fontaines-salees) (1 km away): Salt springs used for more than 4,000 years, with oak well casings, a Gallo-Roman bath complex and a discovery centre below Vézelay. - [Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, Vézelay (Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Vézelay)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/basilique-de-vezelay), 2 km away: A Romanesque masterpiece crowning a hill, where Saint Bernard preached the Second Crusade. - [Maison Jules-Roy](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/maison-jules-roy-vezelay) (2 km away): The writer Jules Roy's last home in Vézelay, with his study kept as he left it and terraced gardens facing the basilica. ### Restaurants - [Le Valucien](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/le-valucien-vault-de-lugny) (8 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A starred table with Mauritian accents inside a moated castle near Avallon. ### Events - **A Saturday in mid or late January.** · [Saint-Vincent des Quatre Coteaux du Vézelien](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/saint-vincent-des-quatre-coteaux-du-vezelien): The winter feast of the Vézelay growers, with mass, mulled wine, a procession and a long banquet. (Tradition · Vézelay, Saint-Père, Asquins and Tharoiseau) ## Questions about Église Notre-Dame de Saint-Père ### How far is Église Notre-Dame de Saint-Père from Beaune? Église Notre-Dame de Saint-Père is about 1 h 27 from Beaune by road (123 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €320 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### How long does a visit to Église Notre-Dame de Saint-Père take? For the visit, allow 30 minutes. ### When is Église Notre-Dame de Saint-Père open? Opening days and times change during the year, so check the official website (saint-pere.fr) before you go. Your driver can plan the day around them. ### Can a private driver take us to Église Notre-Dame de Saint-Père? 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:notredamestpere): €320 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - --- Canonical page: