--- title: "Remparts de Beaune: 2.5 km Walk Round the Old Town Walls" description: "Signed 2.5 km walk past medieval towers, 17th-century bastions, gardens and wine cellars in the towers. 1 to 2 hours, guided walks July to October." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/remparts-de-beaune lang: en updated: 2026-09-30 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/remparts-de-beaune.png --- # Beaune Ramparts (Remparts de Beaune) > Beaune Ramparts: a 2.5 km walk around Beaune's towers, bastions and gardens, with wine cellars inside the old walls. Beaune Ramparts is in Beaune. Allow 1 to 2 hours · UNESCO World Heritage. Beaune has kept a large part of its fortified walls, and a signposted walk of about 2.5 kilometres follows them around the old town. Along the way you pass medieval towers, 17th-century bastions, a grand 18th-century gate and shady gardens. Several of the massive towers now shelter the cellars of well-known wine houses. ## Key facts - Type: Heritage - Location: In Beaune - Coordinates: 47.0256, 4.8348 - In Beaune itself - Allow 1 to 2 hours - UNESCO World Heritage - Where: [Beaune · Côte-d'Or](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/beaune) - Official website: [remparts-beaune.fr](https://www.remparts-beaune.fr) - 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 Beaune's first wall was a small Roman castrum, built in the late 3rd century. As the town prospered under the Dukes of Burgundy, a larger wall with gates and watchtowers rose between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the rivers were diverted to fill the moats. After the death of Charles the Bold in 1477, Burgundy passed to the French crown, and Louis XI ordered a castle to hold the town. Louis XI's fortress was completed in 1527. In the early 16th century, low, massive towers such as the Grosse Tour, the Tour des Dames and the Tour des Filles were built to resist cannon fire. During the Thirty Years' War, in 1637, bastions such as Saint-Martin, Notre-Dame and Sainte-Anne were added. In 1656 Queen Christina of Sweden made a ceremonial entry through the Bretonnière quarter. In peacetime the walls found new uses. In 1765 Mayor Jean-François Maufoux turned the Saint-Martin bastion into a promenade, now the Square des Lions, and in 1770 a grand new gate, the Porte Saint-Nicolas, was built at the northern entrance. The Porte Saint-Nicolas has been a classified historic monument since 1908. Today the thick walls keep wine at a steady temperature for houses such as Patriarche and Chanson. ## What you will see Follow the signed route, with 17 stops marked by information panels and QR codes in French and English. Highlights include the Tour Renard, the Grosse Tour, the Saint-Jacques wash-house of 1887, where the Bouzaize river reappears after flowing under the Hôtel-Dieu, and the Square des Lions with its rare trees. Much of the route runs along the top of the walls, with views into gardens and wine-house courtyards. ## Planning your visit Allow one to two hours at an easy pace, in comfortable shoes. Most of the route is accessible, though a few sections have steps. Good starting points are near the tourist office or the Collégiale. The association Les Amis des Remparts runs a few guided walks between July and October, in French only; check the official website for dates. ## Did you know? The Saint-Martin bastion, built in 1637, was opened as a public promenade in 1765. Two stone lions guard the stairway up to it, which is why it is called the Square des Lions. ## Around Beaune Ramparts What to combine with Beaune Ramparts 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) (4 km away): A village on the gentle land just north of Beaune, known for supple and fruity reds. - [Pommard](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/pommard) (4 km away): A red-wine village between Beaune and Volnay, known for deep, firm Pinot Noir. ### 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 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. - [Château de Pommard](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-pommard) (3 km away): A Régence château of 1726 and a 20-hectare walled vineyard at the entrance to Pommard. ### Things to do - [Sensation Vin](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/sensation-vin-beaune) (1 km away): Blind-tasting wine classes in the centre of Beaune, in French and English, since 2006. - [Bouchard Aîné & Fils](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/bouchard-aine-et-fils-beaune) (1 km away): A sensory introduction to Burgundy wine in the cellars of an 18th-century Beaune mansion. - [Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame, Beaune (Collégiale Notre-Dame de Beaune)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/collegiale-notre-dame-beaune), 1 km away: One of Burgundy's last great Romanesque churches, with five tapestries of the Life of the Virgin. ### 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) ### Guides about Beaune Ramparts - [Beaune in one day](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/beaune-in-one-day) - [Tasting on a Sunday or a Monday](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/wine-tasting-burgundy-sunday-monday) ## Questions about Beaune Ramparts ### How long does a visit to Beaune Ramparts take? For the visit, allow 1 to 2 hours. ### When is Beaune Ramparts open? Opening days and times change during the year, so check the official website (remparts-beaune.fr) before you go. Your driver can plan the day around them. ### Is Beaune Ramparts a UNESCO World Heritage site? Yes. Beaune Ramparts is part of a site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. ### Can a private driver take us to Beaune Ramparts? 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:remparts): Half-day wine tour from Beaune: €290 for the car, up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - - - --- Canonical page: