--- title: "Source of the Seine: How to Visit the River’s Spring" description: "The Seine rises in a stone grotto with a nymph statue, on a Gallo-Roman sacred site. A 30 to 45 minute stop, just over an hour from Beaune by driver." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/sources-de-la-seine lang: en updated: 2026-09-30 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/sources-de-la-seine.png --- # Source of the Seine (Sources de la Seine) > Source of the Seine: the quiet green valley where the Seine begins, guarded by a stone grotto and a river nymph. Source of the Seine is in Source-Seine (Côte-d'Or), 56 min by road (68 km) from Beaune. Allow 30 to 45 minutes · Private driver from Beaune: €195 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. The Seine, the river of Paris, begins as a trickle in a small wooded valley on the Langres plateau, north-west of Dijon. The main spring sits in an artificial grotto with a statue of a reclining nymph. Around it lie the buried remains of a Gallo-Roman sanctuary to Sequana, goddess of the river. ## Key facts - Type: Nature & viewpoints - Where: Source-Seine · Côte-d'Or - Location: 50 km north of Beaune · Côte-d'Or - Coordinates: 47.4861, 4.7169 - 56 min from Beaune - Allow 30 to 45 minutes - Source-Seine - From Beaune: ≈ 56 min · 68 km - €195 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): 56 min by road (68 km), €195 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 In Gallo-Roman times, between the 1st and the end of the 4th century, a sanctuary here honoured Sequana, the goddess of the Seine. Pilgrims came here and left offerings. Excavations since the 19th century have found temples, bathing pools and hundreds of offerings, including about 300 carved oak figures and a bronze statue of Sequana. These finds are now in the Musée archéologique of Dijon. The City of Paris bought the land around the source in 1864. The following year it built the grotto over the main spring and installed a statue of a nymph by the Dijon sculptor François Jouffroy. The worn original was replaced by a copy in 1934. The archaeological site is a listed historic monument, and in 2019 the valley was also protected as a classified site. ## What you will see A path leads from the road into a small landscaped valley. The first spring rises inside the stone grotto, where the nymph reclines above the water. Just below, the young Seine is only a stream, and a tiny stone bridge, often called the first bridge over the Seine, lets you cross it in a single stride. The setting is simple and calm, with meadows and woods around, and it takes little time to see. ## Planning your visit Allow 30 to 45 minutes. The source is a little over an hour from Beaune, beside a quiet country road, and fits easily into a day with the MuséoParc Alésia or Flavigny-sur-Ozerain. Check with the Côte-d'Or tourist board for opening times and access conditions. ## Did you know? The tiny stone bridge below the grotto is named after Paul Lamarche, who looked after the park for more than 50 years. It was built in the 1970s to keep visitors' feet dry. ## Around Source of the Seine What to combine with Source of the Seine on the same day, nearest first. ### Châteaux - [Château de Salmaise](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-salmaise) (5 km away): A medieval castle on a rocky spur, cut off by rock-hewn ditches, in a hill village. - [Château de Frôlois](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-frolois) (8 km away): A stern medieval castle on a rocky spur, with warm period rooms that open in summer. - [Château de Posanges](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-posanges) (16 km away): A compact moated castle with four round towers, built in the 1440s for a ducal servant. ### Things to do - [Église Saint-Genest de Flavigny-sur-Ozerain](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-saint-genest-flavigny) (14 km away): A village church with galleries on two levels, a carved Gothic tribune and a hundred statues, now under restoration inside. - [Flavigny-sur-Ozerain](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/flavigny-sur-ozerain) (14 km away): A walled hilltop village of stone lanes, medieval gates and aniseed sweets, facing the Alésia battlefield. - [Les Anis de Flavigny](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/anis-de-flavigny) (14 km away): Aniseed sweets made in a Benedictine abbey, with a Carolingian crypt beneath the workshops. ## Questions about Source of the Seine ### How far is Source of the Seine from Beaune? Source of the Seine is about 56 min from Beaune by road (68 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €195 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### How long does a visit to Source of the Seine take? For the visit, allow 30 to 45 minutes. ### Can a private driver take us to Source of the Seine? 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:seine): €195 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - --- Canonical page: