Église Notre-Dame de Cluny
Cluny's Gothic parish church, watched over by fifty carved faces and the three-faced Pidou-Berlu.
- Abbey or church
- 1 h 07 from Beaune
- Allow 20 to 30 minutes
- Cluny
€240one way from Beaune with a private driver
At a glance
- Official website
- cluny-tourisme.com
Getting there
Private driver from Beaune: 1 h 07 by road (87 km), €240 one way for the whole car.
Or add it to our full-day wine tour plus two hours, €700.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
About the place
While the monks of Cluny prayed in their immense abbey church, the people of the town had their own parish church, Notre-Dame, a few steps away. It is a sober Gothic building of the 13th century, full of light, with a lantern tower over the crossing and rose windows in the transept. Inside, some fifty carved heads look down from the walls, among them the strange Pidou-Berlu.
What you will see
From the square, with its fountain and a house with a Gothic window front, look up at the lantern tower and the rose windows of the transept. Inside, the nave has a remarkable unity, with a gallery running along its walls. Look for the carved heads, some young and framed in leaves, and for the crowned head with three faces, the Pidou-Berlu, which in fact stands for the Holy Trinity. The choir stalls of 1644 came from the Celestines' church in Lyon, and a 13th-century crucifix hangs above the altar.
History
Work on the church began in 1159 and went on into the 14th century. Notre-Dame became the main parish church of Cluny and stood at the heart of town life: in the 15th century it kept the official standards of measure for grain, flour, bread, floor tiles and roof tiles.
Its great porch, which jutted out onto the square, was destroyed shortly before the Revolution. The church was classified as a historic monument in 1862. During the air raid on Cluny on 11 August 1944 it lost its 18th-century stained glass, and the present windows are the work of P. Choutet.
Planning your visit
Tips for your visit
The church is a place of worship in the centre of Cluny, a minute from the tourist office and the Tour des Fromages, so the two fit together easily. Visits pause during services, and groups are not received. Allow 20 to 30 minutes. Children can look for the Pidou-Berlu, who is also the hero of the tourist office's family adventure game.
Around here
What to combine with Église Notre-Dame de Cluny on the same day, nearest first.
Questions
Église Notre-Dame de Cluny is about 1 h 07 from Beaune by road (87 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €240 for the whole car, up to 4 guests.
Did you know? A standard Mâcon roof tile set into the church wall explains its 15th-century name, Notre-Dame des Panneaux, after the panneaux, the standards of measure it kept for the town.
Sources
Église Notre-Dame de Cluny with a private driver
€240 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests