--- title: "Musée des Arts Naïfs et Populaires de Noyers: How to Visit and What to See" description: "In the heart of Noyers, an old school now holds a museum of unusual variety." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-des-arts-naifs-et-populaires-noyers lang: en updated: 2026-10-08 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/musee-des-arts-naifs-et-populaires-noyers.png --- # Musée des Arts Naïfs et Populaires de Noyers > Musée des Arts Naïfs et Populaires de Noyers: Naive paintings, ex-votos, tin toys and Hokusai albums on three floors of an old school in the village of Noyers. Musée des Arts Naïfs et Populaires de Noyers is in Noyers (Yonne), 1 h 30 by road (128 km) from Beaune. Opening hours: 3 April to 30 September, hours vary with the season · Admission: Adults €4, reduced €3 · Allow 1 to 1.5 hours · Private driver from Beaune: €330 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. In the heart of Noyers, an old school now holds a museum of unusual variety. Over three floors and 1,500 square metres, it shows naive painting from France and beyond, popular art from around the world, a collector's cabinet of the 19th century and finds from the medieval castle. It is closed for works until April 2027. ## Key facts - Type: Museums - Where: Noyers · Yonne - Location: 100 km north-west of Beaune · Yonne - Coordinates: 47.6966, 3.9932 - 1 h 30 from Beaune - Open 3 April to 30 September - Allow 1 to 1.5 hours - Nearby: [Chablis](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/chablis) - Official website: [noyers-en-bourgogne.com](https://www.noyers-en-bourgogne.com/etablissements_culturels/106034) - From Beaune: ≈ 1 h 30 · 128 km - €330 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) - Or add it to our [long-day wine tour, €880](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/long-day). ## Getting there - [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver): 1 h 30 by road (128 km), €330 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 When he died on 18 July 1876, the scholar Jean-Étienne Miltiade Simonnet de Bresse de Préfontaine left all his property to Noyers to found a museum and a library, and the museum opened in 1881 in the former collège. It still shows his collections of paintings, furniture, engravings, casts and medals. In 1920 a navy doctor and traveller, Dr Soupey, gave it a set of albums of the Manga by the Japanese artist Hokusai, published between 1814 and 1848. The museum was reborn in 1987, when the painter Jacques Yankel, son of the School of Paris painter Michel Kikoïne, gave about a hundred naive paintings, where anonymous artists hang beside masters such as Bombois, Bauchant, Nikifor and Vivin. Deposits followed, among them anti-fascist works by Déchelette in 2001 and sixty naive canvases from Jean-Marc Luce's collection in 2005. Around 120 ex-votos and a large gift of popular art collected by Jacqueline Selz and Yvon Taillandier complete the collections. The museum holds the Musée de France label, and 2026 marks 150 years since the founder's bequest. ## What you will see Start with the naive paintings of the Yankel donation, then the canvases of Kikoïne. The popular art rooms show wooden, papier-mâché and tin toys, religious images, whistles and ex-votos in wax and silver from southern Europe, Asia and Latin America, presented as works of art. One room is given to lithographed tin boxes from Serge Moreau's collection. Elsewhere you find the founder's cabinet of curiosities, archaeology from the castle and the village, and Hokusai's albums of drawings. ## Opening hours and tickets - Opening hours: - 3 April to 31 May: Saturday and Sunday, 14:30 to 18:00 - 1 to 30 June: every day except Tuesday, 11:00 to 12:30 and 14:00 to 18:00 - 1 July to 31 August: every day except Tuesday, 10:00 to 12:30 and 13:00 to 18:30 - 1 to 30 September: every day except Tuesday, 11:00 to 12:30 and 14:00 to 18:00 - Admission: Adults €4, reduced €3 - Booking: Not needed Checked on 8 October 2026 on [destinationgrandvezelay.com](https://www.destinationgrandvezelay.com/musee-des-arts-naifs-et-populaires/). ## Planning your visit Allow an hour to an hour and a half. The museum is at 25 rue de l'Église in the centre of Noyers, about 25 minutes from Chablis and about 1 hour 30 minutes from Beaune. It is closed for works from 1 October 2026 to early April 2027. In a normal year it opens at weekends in spring, every day except Tuesday from June to September, with longer hours in July and August. Temporary exhibitions run in summer. ## Did you know? The museum's Hokusai albums were given in 1920 by Dr Soupey, a navy doctor who brought back objects from Africa and South-East Asia. ## Around Musée des Arts Naïfs et Populaires de Noyers What to combine with Musée des Arts Naïfs et Populaires de Noyers on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Chablis](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/chablis) (19 km away): Burgundy's northern outpost, where Chardonnay grows on fossil-rich limestone above the river Serein. - [Irancy](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/irancy) (25 km away): The red wine village of the Yonne, set in a bowl of vines and cherry trees. - [Saint-Bris](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/saint-bris) (26 km away): Burgundy's Sauvignon village, built over a maze of medieval cellars. ### Châteaux - [Château de Viviers](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-viviers) (13 km away): A 17th-century wine château on the high slopes east of Chablis, now farmed organically, with guest rooms. - [Château de Béru](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-beru) (14 km away): A family château above the Chablis vineyards, with a rare sundial and moon dial, and biodynamic wines. - [Château d’Ancy-le-Franc](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-d-ancy-le-franc) (15 km away): An Italian Renaissance palace in northern Burgundy, designed by Serlio and lined with painted rooms. ### Things to do - [Noyers-sur-Serein](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/noyers-sur-serein) (1 km away): A walled medieval village in a loop of the Serein, with timber-framed squares and fortified gates. - [Vieux Château de Noyers](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/vieux-chateau-de-noyers) (1 km away): The overgrown ruins of one of Burgundy's great medieval fortresses, on a spur above the Serein, brought back to life by volunteers. - [Collégiale Notre-Dame de Montréal](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/collegiale-notre-dame-montreal) (17 km away): A small 12th-century church on a hilltop village, with one of the oldest rose windows in France and richly carved Renaissance stalls. ### Events - **Saturday 24 – Sunday 25 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Fête des Vins de Chablis](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fete-des-vins-de-chablis): Chablis celebrates its new vintage every year on the fourth weekend of October. (Wine festival · Chablis) - **An autumn Sunday, usually in late October, sometimes followed by a second market in November.** · [Marché aux truffes de Noyers](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marche-aux-truffes-de-noyers): Burgundy truffles, a giant omelette and a clanging bell in the medieval squares of Noyers. (Food & markets · Noyers) - **Saturday, 24 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Marathon de Chablis](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marathon-de-chablis): A festive marathon through the Chablis vineyards, run in costume on the Saturday of the wine festival. (Sport · Chablis) - **A weekend in early December.** · [Marché de Noël de La Chablisienne](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marche-de-noel-de-la-chablisienne): A weekend of local crafts and festive wines at the cooperative cellar of Chablis before Christmas. (Christmas · Chablis) - **Sunday, 24 January 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Saint-Vincent tournante du Tonnerrois](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/saint-vincent-tournante-du-tonnerrois): The winter wine festival of the Tonnerre growers, hosted by a different village each year. (Tradition · Vézinnes, 2027 host) - **Saturday 6 – Sunday 7 February 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Saint-Vincent tournante du Chablisien](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/saint-vincent-tournante-du-chablisien): The winter wine festival of the Chablis vineyard, hosted by a different village each year. (Tradition · Maligny, 2027 host) - **A weekend in early April.** · [Les Vinées Tonnerroises](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/vinees-tonnerroises): The wine fair of the Tonnerrois, held inside a vast 13th-century hospital. (Wine festival · Tonnerre) - **The last Sunday of April.** · [Balade gourmande du Chablisien](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/balade-gourmande-du-chablisien): A spring walk of about ten kilometres through the Chablis vines, with food and wine stands along the way. (Food & markets · Chablis, route changes each year) - **A few evenings in July.** · [Festival du Chablisien](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-du-chablisien): Summer evening concerts in the churches and barns of the Chablis vineyard. (Music · Chablis and nearby villages) - **Most of July.** · [Rencontres musicales de Noyers](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/rencontres-musicales-de-noyers): Chamber music and masterclasses in a walled medieval village, with local wines poured after the concerts. (Music · Noyers) - **A three-day weekend at the end of July.** · [Gargouillosium](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/gargouillosium-noyers): Twenty stone carvers, three days and a crop of new gargoyles at the old castle of Noyers. (Culture · Noyers) - **Thursday 26 – Saturday 28 August 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Musiques en Tonnerrois](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/musiques-en-tonnerrois): A roving festival of chamber music and new works in Tonnerre, a Renaissance château and village churches. (Music · Tonnerre and nearby villages) ## Questions about Musée des Arts Naïfs et Populaires de Noyers ### How far is Musée des Arts Naïfs et Populaires de Noyers from Beaune? Musée des Arts Naïfs et Populaires de Noyers is about 1 h 30 from Beaune by road (128 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €330 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### How long does a visit to Musée des Arts Naïfs et Populaires de Noyers take? For the visit, allow 1 to 1.5 hours. ### When is Musée des Arts Naïfs et Populaires de Noyers open? Opening days and times change during the year, so check the official website (noyers-en-bourgogne.com) before you go. Your driver can plan the day around them. ### Can a private driver take us to Musée des Arts Naïfs et Populaires de Noyers? 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. → [Long-day wine tour, €880](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/long-day) ## Book - [Book a driver here](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=driver&place=sight:artsnaifsnoyers): €330 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - --- Canonical page: