Around Baon

Founded in 1133 by Cistercian monks from the Abbey of Pontigny, Notre-Dame de Quincy Abbey is one of the rare monastic vestiges of the Tonnerrois. The abbey church, destroyed before 1855, has vanished, but two medieval buildings survive in the hamlet of Commissey: an abbot's lodge from the late 15th century whose interior turret bears a ribbed vault decorated with heraldic arms, and a building preserving fine 13th-century Gothic vaulting. Private property, the abbey has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1926.

13th century

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Construction of the château was begun by Louise de Montmorency in the first half of the 16th century. The interiors were completed between 1642 and 1650 by architect Le Muet to a symmetrical U-shaped plan. The outbuildings were built alongside the main work by the same architect. The classical and regular layout of the three buildings forming the outhouses completes the ensemble. The chapel is a former 13th-century pilgrimage site, rebuilt in 1832. The park benefited from significant hydraulic works, creating the moat system with the canal.

LE MUET Pierre (architect) · 16th century

Every day except Tuesday

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A Renaissance château built between 1566 and 1573 at the request of Antoine de Crussol, Duke of Uzès. It is built to an unusual pentagonal plan centred around a spiral staircase-well.

second half of the 16th century

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Built between 1544 and 1550 for Antoine III de Clermont-Tonnerre to plans by Sebastiano Serlio, the Château d'Ancy-le-Franc is a key milestone in French Renaissance architecture, remarkable for the quality of its design and decoration. To the north, outbuildings commissioned by Louvois in the late 17th century by Jules Hardouin-Mansart or Robert de Cotte comprise two square towers; the first — the stable courtyard — opens onto the main courtyard laid out around 1761 by François-Michel César, grandson of Louis XIV's minister. Beyond lie three parcels housing domestic facilities: a foot bath and two ice houses behind the stables.

SERLIO Sebastiano (architect) · mid-16th century

Tue – Sun · public holidays

Closed mid-November to early February

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Known to the Romans as Fons Divina — divine spring —, the Fosse Dionne has captivated all who lean over its waters for centuries. Fitted with a half-rotunda roofed lavoir in 1758, its 14-metre circular basin with turquoise reflections conceals an underground gallery whose origins remain partly mysterious. Legend holds that its blue hue evokes the Virgin Mary's mantle, or that Saint Jean de Réome made it spring from the earth by vanquishing a basilisk. Divers have ventured in since 1955; Pierre-Éric Deseigne reached −79.5 metres there in October 2019.

18th century

Free access all year

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Founded in 1293 by Marguerite de Bourgogne, Countess of Tonnerre, the Hôtel-Dieu is one of the best-preserved medieval hospitals in France. Its Grande Salle stretches 96 metres beneath an inverted-ship-hull timber roof; the walls are pierced with twin Gothic lancet windows. In use as a healthcare facility until 1982, it now houses a museum whose treasures include a 15th-century Entombment carved from a single block of white marble, a 1785 meridian line, and the recumbent effigies of its founder and the Marquis de Louvois.

last quarter of the 13th century

Hours, prices and booking: see website

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A discreet remnant of a vanished manor house, the Yrouerre orangerie presents its ordered façade at the edge of the village. Built in the 18th century, it is distinguished by an elegant colonnade framing tall arched bays — a hallmark of Burgundian classical taste. Its façade has been listed on the Historic Monuments inventory since 1971. Now converted into a cultural space, it hosts exhibitions and events open to the public.

18th century

Open according to scheduled exhibitions and events

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Built before the 11th century by the lords of Noyers, the castle was fortified at the end of the 12th century by Hugues de Noyers, bishop of Auxerre: triple ramparts, 27 towers, 5 drawbridges over 8 hectares. One of the most powerful castles of Bourgogne. Admiral de Coligny stayed there. In 1599, Henri IV ordered its destruction to end the Wars of the Ligue. Only majestic ruins remain, overlooking the medieval village of Noyers-sur-Serein, one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France. In late July the site hosts the Gargouillosium, a stone-carving festival.

Free access year-round · Trail "La Serpentine" (12 panels, ~1 hour)

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