--- title: "Remparts d’Autun et tour des Ursulines: How to Visit and What to See" description: "When Augustus founded Augustodunum, he granted the new capital of the Aedui a wall about 6 kilometres long." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/remparts-d-autun-tour-des-ursulines lang: en updated: 2026-10-08 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/remparts-d-autun-tour-des-ursulines.png --- # Remparts d’Autun et tour des Ursulines > Remparts d’Autun et tour des Ursulines: Six kilometres of Roman walls, two thirds still standing, ending at a medieval tower crowned by the Virgin. Remparts d’Autun et tour des Ursulines is in Autun (Saône-et-Loire), 48 min by road (54 km) from Beaune. Allow 1 to 1.5 hours · Private driver from Beaune: €165 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. When Augustus founded Augustodunum, he granted the new capital of the Aedui a wall about 6 kilometres long. More than two thirds of it survives, an exceptional state of preservation for a Roman town wall, with some 30 of its round towers still visible. The best-preserved stretch runs along the boulevard Mac-Mahon up to the Tour des Ursulines, a medieval keep at the southern tip of the town. ## Key facts - Type: Heritage - Where: Autun · Saône-et-Loire - Location: 40 km west of Beaune · Saône-et-Loire - Coordinates: 46.9416, 4.2986 - 48 min from Beaune - Allow 1 to 1.5 hours - Autun - Official website: [autun-tourisme.com](https://www.autun-tourisme.com/en/offers/remparts-autun-en-3456755/) - From Beaune: ≈ 48 min · 54 km - €165 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): 48 min by road (54 km), €165 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 The wall was built at the end of the 1st century BC, in a time of Roman peace, and was above all a mark of honour, a rare privilege granted by the emperor himself. It enclosed about 200 hectares of steep ground bounded by streams, and the curtain wall, about 2.5 metres thick, also held back the terraces on which the town was built. It had 57 round towers about ten metres across and four great gates, of which the Porte d'Arroux, the Porte Saint-André and part of the Porte Saint-Andoche remain. At the end of the 3rd century a smaller enclosure of about ten hectares was built at the southern tip of the town; extended in the Middle Ages, it became the fortified upper town around the cathedral. At its southern end stood the castle of Riveau, a ducal and later royal citadel. After the Wars of Religion the townspeople asked for it to be dismantled, and between 1595 and 1602 only its octagonal keep was spared. The keep was given to the Ursuline nuns in 1647, hence its name, and a three-metre statue of the Virgin by the Autun architect and sculptor Claude Quarré has crowned it since 1862. ## What you will see Follow the boulevard Mac-Mahon along the outside of the wall, where Roman masonry of small stones rises above the road, broken by rounded towers. The walk climbs to the Tour des Ursulines, built on Roman foundations, with twin round-arched windows below its terrace and the white statue on top. From there, the lanes of the upper town lead back to the Cathédrale Saint-Lazare; on the rue des Bancs, below the Musée Rolin, stand the remains of the 12th-century gate of the upper town. ## Planning your visit The walls can be seen freely at any time from the boulevard Mac-Mahon and the paths around the upper town. The Tour des Ursulines is privately owned, so it is seen from outside. Allow an hour to an hour and a half, combined with the cathedral, a few minutes' walk away. The tourist office's cultural trail through Autun follows the walls and the main monuments; wear comfortable shoes for the slopes. ## Did you know? In the Roman town, every street of the regular grid ended at one of the towers of the wall. ## Around Remparts d’Autun et tour des Ursulines What to combine with Remparts d’Autun et tour des Ursulines on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Maranges](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/maranges) (27 km away): Three villages on the last slopes of the Côte de Beaune, sharing one appellation for bright, fruity reds. ### Châteaux - [Château de Sully](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-sully) (15 km away): A moated Renaissance château where Marshal Mac-Mahon was born, still home to his family. - [Château de Morlet](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-morlet) (16 km away): A fortified manor near Épinac with a striking Renaissance gatehouse of 1584. - [Château d’Épinac](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-d-epinac) (17 km away): Nicolas Rolin's castle above the Drée valley, which gave its name to the town of Épinac. ### Things to do - [Saint-Lazare Cathedral, Autun (Cathédrale Saint-Lazare d’Autun)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/cathedrale-saint-lazare-autun), 1 km away: A Romanesque cathedral whose Last Judgement portal, signed by the sculptor Gislebertus, survived under plaster. - [Couhard Stone (Pierre de Couhard)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/pierre-de-couhard-autun), 1 km away: A mysterious Roman pyramid on the hillside above Autun, with a wide view over the town. - [Croix de la Libération](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/croix-de-la-liberation-autun) (1 km away): A great stone cross raised in 1945 on a hill above Autun, with the widest view over the town. ## Questions about Remparts d’Autun et tour des Ursulines ### How far is Remparts d’Autun et tour des Ursulines from Beaune? Remparts d’Autun et tour des Ursulines is about 48 min from Beaune by road (54 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €165 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### How long does a visit to Remparts d’Autun et tour des Ursulines take? For the visit, allow 1 to 1.5 hours. ### When is Remparts d’Autun et tour des Ursulines open? Opening days and times change during the year, so check the official website (autun-tourisme.com) before you go. Your driver can plan the day around them. ### Can a private driver take us to Remparts d’Autun et tour des Ursulines? 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:rempartsautun): €165 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - --- Canonical page: