--- title: "Site archéologique des Fontaines Salées: How to Visit and What to See" description: "The Fontaines Salées lie in the valley of the Cure, about 1.5 km south of Saint-Père and 3 km from Vézelay." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/fontaines-salees lang: en updated: 2026-10-08 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/fontaines-salees.png --- # Site archéologique des Fontaines Salées > Site archéologique des Fontaines Salées: Salt springs used for more than 4,000 years, with oak well casings, a Gallo-Roman bath complex and a discovery centre below Vézelay. Site archéologique des Fontaines Salées is in Saint-Père (Yonne), 1 h 26 by road (121 km) from Beaune. Opening hours: 1 April to 5 November: every day, 10:00 to 12:30 and 14:00 to 18:30 · Admission: Adults €6.50, reduced €3 · Allow 1 to 1.5 hours · Private driver from Beaune: €315 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. The Fontaines Salées lie in the valley of the Cure, about 1.5 km south of Saint-Père and 3 km from Vézelay. Salty water rises here where two geological faults cross, and people have used it for more than 4,000 years. A discovery centre and an open-air site show wooden well casings, the remains of Gallo-Roman baths and a sanctuary. ## Key facts - Type: Heritage - Where: Saint-Père · Yonne - Location: 95 km north-west of Beaune · Yonne - Coordinates: 47.4493, 3.7768 - 1 h 26 from Beaune - Open 1 April to 5 November - Allow 1 to 1.5 hours - Official website: [saint-pere.fr](https://www.saint-pere.fr/fontaines-salees-de-saint-pere-yonne) - From Beaune: ≈ 1 h 26 · 121 km - €315 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 26 by road (121 km), €315 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 About 4,300 years ago, at the end of the Neolithic, people sank hollowed oak trunks into the sand to catch the salty water, and some of these casings are still in place. The water holds 9 to 12 grams of salt per litre, and from the Iron Age it was boiled to make salt. The Gauls built a circular sanctuary around one of the springs. After the Roman conquest a sanctuary with baths grew up here, enlarged in the 2nd century with heated rooms and an exercise court. Invaders destroyed the baths in the second half of the 3rd century, but salt making went on in the ruins. The salt tax of the Middle Ages put an end to it, and the site disappeared under silt and earth. In 1934 the medievalist René Louis, looking for a battlefield from the epic of Girart de Roussillon, began excavating and uncovered the baths. The site was protected as a historic monument in 1936 and 1942, and a new visitor centre by the architect Jean-Paul Philippon opened in 2017. ## What you will see The visit has two parts. In the discovery centre, lit panels with texts and drawings trace 4,300 years of history, and models, plans and finds from the excavations explain what people did here. Outside, you walk freely among the remains with a plan-guide, available in English, German, Dutch, Italian and Spanish, and panels along the way: the foundations of the baths and their pools, the sacred enclosure around a spring, and the ancient wooden well casings. Children aged 8 to 12 can follow a game trail on the free Guidigo app. ## Opening hours and tickets - Opening hours: 1 April to 5 November: every day, 10:00 to 12:30 and 14:00 to 18:30 - Admission: Adults €6.50, reduced €3 - Booking: Not needed Checked on 8 October 2026 on [the official site](https://www.saint-pere.fr/fontaines-salees-de-saint-pere-yonne). ## Planning your visit Allow an hour to an hour and a half. The site is on the road from Saint-Père to Pierre-Perthuis, a few minutes' drive from Vézelay and about 1 hour 30 minutes from Beaune, so it fits easily into a day at Vézelay. It is open every day from April to early November, with a lunch break. Parking is free, the site is accessible to wheelchair users, and dogs on a lead are welcome. Guided tours can be booked. ## Did you know? One of the wells still gives off bubbles of gas from time to time, mostly nitrogen with more than 6 percent helium. ## Around Site archéologique des Fontaines Salées What to combine with Site archéologique des Fontaines Salées on the same day, nearest first. ### Châteaux - [Château de Bazoches](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-bazoches) (8 km away): The castle Vauban bought with a royal reward, and turned into a workshop for his military engineers. - [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 Chastellux](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-chastellux) (11 km away): A towered fortress at the gateway to the Morvan, still lived in by the family of its name. ### Things to do - [Église Notre-Dame de Saint-Père](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-notre-dame-saint-pere) (1 km away): 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. - [Domaine La Croix Montjoie](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-la-croix-montjoie) (2 km away): A family estate making Vézelay whites in an old château farm, with a terrace facing the basilica across the valley. - [Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, Vézelay (Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Vézelay)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/basilique-de-vezelay), 3 km away: A Romanesque masterpiece crowning a hill, where Saint Bernard preached the Second Crusade. ### 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. ## Questions about Site archéologique des Fontaines Salées ### How far is Site archéologique des Fontaines Salées from Beaune? Site archéologique des Fontaines Salées is about 1 h 26 from Beaune by road (121 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €315 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### How long does a visit to Site archéologique des Fontaines Salées take? For the visit, allow 1 to 1.5 hours. ### When is Site archéologique des Fontaines Salées 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 Site archéologique des Fontaines Salées? 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:fontainessalees): €315 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - --- Canonical page: