--- title: "Nolay, Burgundy: Medieval Market Hall and Monday Market" description: "Small market town 18 km from Beaune with a timber hall dated 1388 under heavy stone slabs. Market on Monday mornings. Private driver from Beaune." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/nolay-medieval-market-hall lang: en updated: 2026-09-30 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/nolay-medieval-market-hall.png --- # Nolay and Its Medieval Market Hall (Nolay et ses halles médiévales) > Nolay and Its Medieval Market Hall: a small medieval market town with a 14th-century hall roofed in heavy Burgundy stone slabs. Nolay and Its Medieval Market Hall is in Nolay (Côte-d'Or), 26 min by road (23 km) from Beaune. Allow 1 to 2 hours · Private driver from Beaune: €100 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. Nolay is a small market town about 18 kilometres from Beaune, where the vineyards meet farming country. Its old centre keeps half-timbered houses, a church with a jacquemart on its bell tower, and one of the oldest covered market halls still standing in France. On Monday mornings the weekly market brings the town to life. ## Key facts - Type: Heritage - Where: Nolay · Côte-d'Or - Location: 18 km south-west of Beaune · Côte-d'Or - Coordinates: 46.9519, 4.6333 - 26 min from Beaune - Allow 1 to 2 hours - Nolay - Official website: [nolay.com](https://www.nolay.com/en/) - From Beaune: ≈ 26 min · 23 km - €100 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) - Or add it to our [half-day wine tour, €290](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/half-day). ## Getting there - [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver): 26 min by road (23 km), €100 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 Nolay grew on a Gallo-Roman site and prospered as a crossroads between wine country and farmland. Its great timber market hall is its landmark. A beam in the frame bears the date 1388, taken to be the year it was built. The roof is covered with laves, thin slabs of Burgundy limestone weighing 600 to 800 kilos per square metre, carried on oak and chestnut timbers. The hall was classified as a historic monument on 13 July 1907, and the French state bought it in 1936. Its roof was completely rebuilt in 1951. Excavations in 1995 showed that it once sheltered the town's communal oven, removed in 1763 because of the fire risk to the timber frame. Around the hall stand houses from the 15th to the 17th centuries. Nolay also has famous connections. Lazare Carnot, the mathematician known as the Organiser of Victory during the French Revolution, was born here on 13 May 1753, and a plaque marks his birthplace. A bronze statue by Roulleau stands in his honour. Félix Kir, the priest and later mayor of Dijon whose name lives on in the kir aperitif, was parish priest here from 1924 to 1928. ## What you will see Start at the market hall and look up at its dense web of timbers and its heavy stone roof. The church of Saint-Martin stands close by, with its jacquemart on the bell tower. Then wander the lanes past half-timbered houses to the Carnot statue. On Mondays the market fills the square by the town hall. The tourist office also runs guided tours of the town. ## Planning your visit Monday morning is the liveliest time, with the weekly market. Nolay also makes a good base for the Cirque du Bout du Monde, a few kilometres north, and it marks the end of the Voie des Vignes extension from Santenay. Bikes can be hired at the tourist office. Check the official website for opening times. ## Did you know? Canon Félix Kir, whose name lives on in the kir aperitif, served as parish priest of Nolay from 1924 to 1928, long before he became mayor of Dijon. ## Around Nolay and Its Medieval Market Hall What to combine with Nolay and Its Medieval Market Hall on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Maranges](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/maranges) (5 km away): Three villages on the last slopes of the Côte de Beaune, sharing one appellation for bright, fruity reds. - [Saint-Aubin](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/saint-aubin) (6 km away): A valley village just over the hill from Montrachet, where most vineyards are classified premier cru. - [Santenay](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/santenay) (6 km away): Spa town and wine village near the southern end of the Côte de Beaune, known for its reds. ### Châteaux - [Château de La Rochepot](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-la-rochepot) (4 km away): The Pot family's medieval fortress, rebuilt with glazed tile roofs by the Carnot family. - [Château de la Crée](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-la-cree) (6 km away): A 19th-century wine manor in Santenay-le-Haut, above cellars from the time of Nicolas Rolin. - [Château de Santenay (Domaine du Château Philippe le Hardi)](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-philippe-le-hardi), 6 km away: The Duke of Burgundy's castle at Santenay, now a large wine estate with glazed tile roofs. ### Things to do - [Cirque du Bout du Monde](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/cirque-du-bout-du-monde) (4 km away): A limestone amphitheatre near Nolay, with sheer cliffs, a spring-fed waterfall and falcons overhead. - [Mont de Sène (Hill of the Three Crosses), Mont de Sène (Montagne des Trois Croix)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/mont-de-sene-trois-croix), 5 km away: A 521-metre summit crowned by three crosses, looking over the vineyards of Santenay and the Maranges. - [Domaine Bader-Mimeur](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-bader-mimeur-chassagne-montrachet) (8 km away): A family estate that has farmed almost all the historic vines of the Château de Chassagne-Montrachet since 1919. ### Restaurants - [Ed.Em](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/ed-em-chassagne-montrachet) (8 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A starred couple's table in the heart of Montrachet country, with 600 wines to match - [Maison Lameloise](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/maison-lameloise-chagny) (10 km away · 3 MICHELIN stars): Burgundy's only three-star table, in a former coaching inn twenty minutes south of Beaune. - [Auprès du Clocher](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/aupres-du-clocher-pommard) (14 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): Pommard's newly starred table, where the butcher's son cooks beside the church ### Events - **A Saturday in mid-December, from morning to late evening** · [Marché de Noël de Nolay](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marche-de-noel-de-nolay): A village Christmas market under Nolay's medieval hall, ending with a lantern procession. (Christmas · Nolay) ## Questions about Nolay and Its Medieval Market Hall ### How far is Nolay and Its Medieval Market Hall from Beaune? Nolay and Its Medieval Market Hall is about 26 min from Beaune by road (23 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €100 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### How long does a visit to Nolay and Its Medieval Market Hall take? For the visit, allow 1 to 2 hours. ### When is Nolay and Its Medieval Market Hall open? Opening days and times change during the year, so check the official website (nolay.com) before you go. Your driver can plan the day around them. ### Can a private driver take us to Nolay and Its Medieval Market Hall? 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 a driver here](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=driver&place=sight:nolay): €100 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - --- Canonical page: