--- title: "Église Saint-Nicolas, Beaune: Romanesque Church Visit" description: "Romanesque parish church in the Faubourg Saint-Nicolas, with a 15th-century porch of chimeras and a tufa spire. 20 to 30 minutes, an easy stop by car." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-saint-nicolas-beaune lang: en updated: 2026-10-01 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/eglise-saint-nicolas-beaune.png --- # Saint-Nicolas Church, Beaune (Église Saint-Nicolas) > Saint-Nicolas Church, Beaune: a Romanesque parish church outside the old walls, with a porch carved with chimeras and a stone spire. Saint-Nicolas Church, Beaune is in Beaune. Allow 20 to 30 minutes. The Église Saint-Nicolas stands in the Faubourg Saint-Nicolas, just north of the ramparts. It is a quiet and handsome Romanesque church, well away from the busy streets of the centre. It makes a pleasant short detour after the Porte Saint-Nicolas, the grand 18th-century gate on the northern edge of the old town. ## Key facts - Type: Abbeys & churches - Location: In Beaune - Coordinates: 47.0312, 4.8429 - In Beaune itself - Allow 20 to 30 minutes - Where: [Beaune · Côte-d'Or](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/beaune) - Official website: [paroisse-beaune.org](https://www.paroisse-beaune.org) - In Beaune, where your driver is based. - €290 for a [half-day wine tour](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/half-day) starting here, up to 4 guests ## Getting there Coming by train or plane? [Transfers from stations and airports](https://www.cote-privee.com/transfers) ## History The church was built outside the town walls in the Middle Ages to serve the northern suburb of Beaune. Sources place its origins in the 12th or 13th century, and it was altered in the 14th and 15th centuries. The 15th century gave it its porch, decorated with chimeras, and a bell tower topped by a spire of tufa stone. The church has been classified as a historic monument since 1921. ## What you will see Start outside, where the carved chimeras of the porch reward a close look and the stone spire rises above the low houses of the faubourg. If the door is open, step inside for a moment of calm, far from the busy centre. The walk out along the rue du Faubourg Saint-Nicolas also gives a feel for everyday Beaune beyond its walls. The heritage inventory calls the porch a caquetoire, and its exposed timber frame has a beam with engoulants, carved monster heads that seem to swallow it. Inside, rib vaults rest on capitals carved with stylised flowers and plants, the windows have no figurative stained glass, and an 18th-century altar painting shows Saint Nicholas bringing three orphans back to life. A priest is recorded here as early as 1290, and the porch and roof were restored from 1908 to 1910 by the architect Eugène Méhu. It was first placed on the list of historic monuments in 1889 and fully classified in 1921, and in 1949 the stone slabs of the nave roof gave way to flat tiles. ## Planning your visit Allow 20 to 30 minutes, plus about a quarter of an hour on foot each way from the centre. It is a working parish church, so visit outside Mass times, which are listed on the parish website. Mass is said on Saturdays at 18:00 and on Sundays at 9:15, except in July and August. It pairs well with the Porte Saint-Nicolas and a walk along the northern ramparts. ## Did you know? Unlike the Collégiale inside the walls, Saint-Nicolas was built in the faubourg outside them, and its bell tower is capped by a 15th-century spire built of tufa. ## Around Saint-Nicolas Church, Beaune What to combine with Saint-Nicolas Church, Beaune on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/beaune) (1 km away): The wine capital of Burgundy, with the Hôtel-Dieu, old ramparts and cellars beneath its streets. - [Chorey-lès-Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/chorey-les-beaune) (3 km away): A village on the gentle land just north of Beaune, known for supple and fruity reds. - [Aloxe-Corton](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/aloxe-corton) (4 km away): A small village under the hill of Corton, where Charlemagne once gave away his vines. ### Châteaux - [Château de Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-beaune) (1 km away): Louis XI's fortress in the Beaune ramparts, now home to the Bouchard Père & Fils wine house. - [Château de Chorey](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-chorey) (3 km away): A moated manor with lone round towers and a dovecote, at the edge of Chorey. - [Château de Challanges](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-challanges) (3 km away): A 19th-century country house in a wooded park south-east of Beaune, now a hotel. ### Things to do - [Shrine of the Child Jesus, Beaune (Sanctuaire de l’Enfant-Jésus de Beaune)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/sanctuaire-enfant-jesus-beaune), 1 km away: The former Carmel of Beaune, a place of prayer devoted to the Child Jesus since the 17th century. - [Domaine Chanson](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-chanson-bastion-beaune) (1 km away): Visit the massive rampart tower where Domaine Chanson ages its wines, in the heart of Beaune. - [Beaune Town Hall (Former Ursuline Convent), Hôtel de Ville de Beaune (ancien couvent des Ursulines)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/hotel-de-ville-beaune-couvent-des-ursulines), 1 km away: Beaune's town hall, housed in a 17th-century Ursuline convent with a carved front added in 1817. ### Restaurants - [Clos du Cèdre](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/clos-du-cedre-beaune) (1 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A winemaker's mansion by Beaune's ramparts, with a starred kitchen and a cellar of over 1,000 wines - [Le Carmin](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/le-carmin-beaune) (1 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): Christophe Quéant's poised, product-first cooking in a Renaissance house on place Carnot - [Table de Levernois](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/table-de-levernois) (5 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A Relais & Châteaux country house outside Beaune, with its own kitchen garden and 1,800 wines ### Events - **Friday 13 – Sunday 15 November 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Vente des Vins des Hospices de Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/vente-des-vins-hospices-de-beaune): Burgundy's great charity wine auction, first held in 1859 and now staged each November in Beaune's covered halls. (Wine auction · Beaune) - **Saturday 10 – Sunday 11 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Salon de dégustation Pains Vins Fromages](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/salon-pains-vins-fromages-beaune): Bread, cheese and wine under Beaune's covered halls, run by the town's tourism students. (Food & markets · Beaune) - **Friday 16 – Sunday 18 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Vignobles en Scène](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/vignobles-en-scene-beaune): An October weekend of one-off wine experiences along the Route des Grands Crus. (Wine festival · Beaune and the Côte de Beaune) - **Friday, 13 November 2026 – Tuesday, 5 January 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Lumières à Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/lumieres-a-beaune): Light projections on Beaune's landmarks, every evening in summer and from the Vente des Vins to early January. (Culture · Beaune) - **Friday 13 – Saturday 14 November 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Semi-Marathon de la Vente des Vins de Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/semi-marathon-vente-des-vins-beaune): Burgundy's best-known half marathon, run through Pommard, Volnay and Meursault on the Vente des Vins weekend. (Sport · Beaune) - **Friday 13 – Saturday 14 November 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Fête des Grands Vins de Bourgogne](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fete-des-grands-vins-de-bourgogne): Every Burgundy appellation in one hall, poured by the growers themselves, on the Vente des Vins weekend. (Wine festival · Beaune) - **Wednesday 2 – Sunday 6 December 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Beaune Blues Boogie Festival](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/beaune-blues-boogie-festival): Five nights of boogie-woogie, blues and swing in Beaune's theatres and wine cellars. (Music · Beaune) - **Saturday 12 – Sunday 13 December 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Le Festi’Noël](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festi-noel-marche-de-noel-beaune): Beaune's Christmas market by the Porte Marie de Bourgogne, with crafts, treats and mulled wine. (Christmas · Beaune) - **Thursday 1 – Sunday 4 April 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Festival Beethoven à Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-beethoven-beaune): A spring chamber music festival devoted to Beethoven, led by the cellist Sung-Won Yang. (Music · Beaune) - **Each year over several weeks in late spring and early summer, usually ending in early July** · [Mois des Climats](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/mois-des-climats): A festival of visits, walks and tastings celebrating Burgundy's UNESCO-listed Climats. (Culture · Beaune and the Côte-d'Or vineyards) - **Usually Ascension Thursday, in May, with staggered departures from late morning** · [Beaune Saveurs de Vignes](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/beaune-saveurs-de-vignes): A gourmet walk through Beaune's vineyards, with growers pouring at every stop. (Wine festival · Beaune) - **Usually four consecutive weekends in July** · [Festival international d’opéra baroque de Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-opera-baroque-beaune): Since 1983, a summer festival of baroque opera in the Hôtel-Dieu courtyard and Beaune's historic churches. (Music · Beaune) - **Late September, over four days from Thursday to Sunday (24 to 27 September in 2026)** · [Festival d’automne Jazz O’Verre](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-jazz-o-verre-beaune): Four days of jazz in Beaune at the end of September, in the spirit of a good glass of wine. (Music · Beaune) - **Early October, on a Saturday, with starts from late morning (3 October in 2026)** · [L’Automnale](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/l-automnale-beaune-cyclos): An autumn cycling tour of the Côte and Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, from 44 to 90 km. (Sport · Beaune) ## Questions about Saint-Nicolas Church, Beaune ### How long does a visit to Saint-Nicolas Church, Beaune take? For the visit, allow 20 to 30 minutes. ### When is Saint-Nicolas Church, Beaune open? Opening days and times change during the year, so check the official website (paroisse-beaune.org) before you go. Your driver can plan the day around them. ### Can a private driver take us to Saint-Nicolas Church, Beaune? 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, €290](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/half-day) ## Book - [Book](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=wine-tour&option=half&place=sight:saintnicolas): Half-day wine tour from Beaune: €290 for the car, up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - - --- Canonical page: