Le Valucien
A starred table with Mauritian accents inside a moated castle near Avallon.
- Vault-de-Lugny
- 1 h 24 from Beaune
- 1 MICHELIN star
- Menus from €69
€550there and back from Beaune with a private driver
At a glance
- Chef
- Franco Bowanee
- MICHELIN Guide 2026
- guide.michelin.com
- Official website
- lugny.fr
Getting there
Driver to dinner and back: 1 h 24 by road (118 km) each way, €550 there and back for the whole car.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
About the restaurant
Le Valucien is the one-Michelin-star restaurant of the Château de Vault-de-Lugny, a moated castle and hotel near Avallon, about 1 hour 15 minutes from Beaune. Mauritian-born chef Franco Bowanee has cooked here since 2008 and has held the star since 2019. Go for refined Burgundian cooking lifted by the spices of the Indian Ocean, ideally with a night in the castle.
The story
Franco Bowanee trained in Port Louis with Nizam Peeroo, joined the château in 2008 and later spent time with Paul Bocuse. He won the star in 2019 and has kept it since, and his pastry chef, Karina Laval, was named pastry chef of the year for Burgundy-Franche-Comté by Gault & Millau in 2024.
The castle, with its moats and tall square keep, stands in an 80-hectare private estate on the edge of the Morvan. It is now a hotel of just sixteen rooms and suites, and the restaurant has become one of the main reasons to stay.
The cooking
The cooking brings together Burgundian produce, including vegetables from the château's garden and poultry raised on the estate, and the spices and flavours of Mauritius. The menu is renewed through the year, with a hunting menu in autumn and a lobster menu, and cheeses come from Maison Bordier, matured by a Meilleur Ouvrier de France. Beneath the castle's vaults, the cellar gives pride of place to the grands crus of Burgundy.
Your evening
How the evening works
- 1Book your table
Directly with the restaurant. Weekends, the harvest and the Hospices de Beaune auction in November fill up weeks ahead.
- 2Book the car
Choose the restaurant on our booking page: pickup at your hotel at the time you like, and a fixed price for the return trip.
- 3Back to your hotel
Your driver waits nearby while you dine, up to 3 hours, then drives you home. Nobody has to drive.
Tips for your visit
Vault-de-Lugny is about 1 hour 15 minutes from Beaune, six kilometres from Avallon. Menus start at €69 for two courses, with fuller menus at €98, €165 and €192 and a lobster menu from €98. Dinner is served every evening, lunch at weekends and on public holidays. The château closes in winter, so check the dates before you go. It makes a fine evening after a day at Vézelay; a private driver can bring you back to Beaune afterwards, or you can take a room for the night.
Telephone +33 3 86 34 07 86
Around here
What to see before dinner at Le Valucien, nearest first.
Questions
Le Valucien holds one MICHELIN star in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide France.
Did you know? The castle's pastry chef, Karina Laval, was named Gault & Millau's pastry chef of the year for Burgundy-Franche-Comté in 2024.
Sources
Le Valucien: there and back with a driver
Return trip from Beaune from €550 · up to 4 guests