--- title: "Santenay, Burgundy: Wine Tasting and Spa Town" description: "A spa town and red wine village in the south of the Côte de Beaune, with 11 premier crus below the Mont de Sène. Private driver from Beaune, 23 min." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/santenay lang: en updated: 2026-10-02 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/villages/santenay.png --- # Santenay > Santenay: Spa town and wine village near the southern end of the Côte de Beaune, known for its reds. Santenay is a wine village (Côte de Beaune), 23 min by road (19 km) from Beaune. Red and white wines · 11 premiers crus · Private driver from Beaune: €90 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. Santenay spreads along the foot of the slope below the Mont de Sène, the hill of the Three Crosses. It is a wine village with a twist: salty springs made it a spa town, and it still has a thermal centre. Most of its wine is red Pinot Noir, with 11 premier cru climats and some fine whites. ## Key facts - Type: Wine village - Region: Côte de Beaune - Location: 17 km south-west of Beaune · Côte de Beaune - Coordinates: 46.9127, 4.6964 - 23 min from Beaune - Red and white wines - 11 premiers crus - Appellations: Santenay - Grapes: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay - From Beaune: ≈ 23 min · 19 km - €290 for a [half-day wine tour](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/half-day) from Beaune, up to 4 guests ## Getting there - [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver): 23 min by road (19 km), €90 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 People gathered around Santenay's springs and hills in ancient times. On the summit of the Mont de Sène the Romans built a temple to Mercury, and older dolmens show that the hill was already occupied in the Neolithic. The village castle, a 14th-century fortified house, is known as the Château Philippe le Hardi, after Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy. He is remembered in wine history for his 1395 order banning Gamay from Burgundy's vineyards in favour of Pinot Noir. Three tall crosses crown the Mont de Sène, which is why locals call it the Montagne des Trois Croix. The Santenay appellation was created by decree on 8 December 1936, and it also covers part of neighbouring Remigny, in Saône-et-Loire. Eleven climats are classified premier cru. The village has twice hosted the Saint-Vincent tournante, Burgundy's roving winter wine festival, in 1963 and in 1989. ## The wines Grey limestone tops the slopes, with oolitic limestone, marls and limestone nodules lower down, and the vines face east to south. Red dominates: in 2022 about 258 hectares of Pinot Noir against 72 of Chardonnay, per the Burgundy wine board. The reds are deep purple, with rose petal, violet, red fruit and a hint of liquorice over fine tannins. The whites are bright, floral and mineral, with notes of fern and hazelnut. **Well-known premiers crus (11 premiers crus)**: Les Gravières, Clos de Tavannes, La Comme, Beauregard, La Maladière, Clos Rousseau ## What to see ### Mont de Sène At 521 metres, the Montagne des Trois Croix rises above Santenay and the Maranges. Its summit looks over the Côte de Beaune, the Saône valley and the Morvan, with viewing tables to help. ### Moulin Sorine Built in the early 19th century and restored to working order in the 1990s, this is the only windmill on the Côte de Beaune, according to the local tourist office. ### Church of Saint-Jean de Narosse In the upper village, this church grew from a chapel begun in 1220. A late 15th-century choir and a 16th-century bell tower join a Romanesque porch. It has been a classified monument since 1928. ### Greenway to Nolay A former railway line, now a 13 km greenway, runs from Santenay to Nolay through the Maranges hills. The Voie des Vignes cycle route also links Santenay with Beaune. ## Good to know Allow one to two hours, more if you climb the Mont de Sène for the view. Santenay combines well with Chassagne-Montrachet and with the Maranges villages just to the west, a relaxed end to a southern loop. ## Did you know? Santenay is also a spa town. Its salty spring, the Fontaine Salée, fed baths in Gallo-Roman times, and a thermal centre still welcomes visitors for cures today. ## Around Santenay What to combine with Santenay on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Maranges](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/maranges) (3 km away): Three villages on the last slopes of the Côte de Beaune, sharing one appellation for bright, fruity reds. - [Bouzeron](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/bouzeron) (3 km away): A tiny village with a unique claim: the only village appellation for Aligoté. - [Chassagne-Montrachet](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/chassagne-montrachet) (4 km away): Montrachet's southern neighbour, a village of great whites, serious reds and pale stone quarries. ### Châteaux - [Château de Santenay (Domaine du Château Philippe le Hardi)](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-philippe-le-hardi), 1 km away: The Duke of Burgundy's castle at Santenay, now a large wine estate with glazed tile roofs. - [Château de la Crée](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-la-cree) (1 km away): A 19th-century wine manor in Santenay-le-Haut, above cellars from the time of Nicolas Rolin. - [Château de la Maltroye](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-la-maltroye) (3 km away): An 18th-century family wine house at the top of Chassagne, with a diamond-patterned tile roof. - [Château de Chassagne-Montrachet](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-chassagne-montrachet) (4 km away): Great 14th-century vaulted cellars under a wine château in the heart of Chassagne-Montrachet. - [Château de Chamilly](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-chamilly) (5 km away): A classical château in a green valley, cradle of the Bouton de Chamilly family and a wine estate. ### Things to do - [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), 2 km away: A 521-metre summit crowned by three crosses, looking over the vineyards of Santenay and the Maranges. - [Maison Chanzy](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/maison-chanzy-bouzeron) (3 km away): A Bouzeron estate founded in 1928, with the appellation's only monopole and a second cellar in Puligny-Montrachet. - [Domaine Bader-Mimeur](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-bader-mimeur-chassagne-montrachet) (4 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) (4 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) (4 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) (13 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): Pommard's newly starred table, where the butcher's son cooks beside the church ### Events - **Saturday, 12 December 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Trail de Santenay](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/trail-de-santenay): A December trail race over the hills of Santenay, from 8.5 km to about 26 km. (Sport · Santenay) ### Guides about Santenay - [Beaune in one day](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/beaune-in-one-day) - [Beaune or Dijon: where to stay](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/beaune-or-dijon-where-to-stay) - [Wine tour itineraries from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-wine-tour-itineraries) - [Burgundy wineries without a car](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-wineries-without-a-car) - [The Climats of Burgundy](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/climats-of-burgundy-unesco) ## Questions about Santenay ### How far is Santenay from Beaune? Santenay is about 23 min from Beaune by road (19 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €90 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### What wines is Santenay known for? Santenay makes mostly red wines under these appellations: Santenay. It has 11 premiers crus. Its best-known premiers crus include Les Gravières, Clos de Tavannes, La Comme. ### Can you taste wine in Santenay? Yes. Many domaines in Santenay receive visitors, usually by appointment. On a wine tour your driver plans the route and helps you book the tastings, which you pay directly to the domaines. ### Can a private driver take us to Santenay? 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=wine-tour&option=half&place=village:santenay): Half-day wine tour from Beaune: €290 for the car, up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - - - - --- Canonical page: