Forêt de Cîteaux & Abbaye de Cîteaux Day Trip
Twenty kilometres east of Beaune, the Forêt de Cîteaux stretches across the flat plain between the Côte d'Or and the Saône river — a vast, hushed woodland that shelters the mother house of the entire Cistercian order, the Abbaye de Cîteaux, still home to a community of working monks who produce one of Burgundy's most famous cheeses.
The Abbey & Its Living Community
Founded in 1098, Cîteaux is the origin point of the Cistercian monastic movement that spread across medieval Europe, eventually founding Clairvaux, Rievaulx and hundreds of other abbeys. The monks still live here under the Rule of Saint Benedict, and the Romanesque chapter house and surviving medieval buildings are open for guided visits.
The abbey shop sells the monks' own Époisses-style cheese — officially labelled 'fromage de Cîteaux' — which has a washed rind, a creamy interior and a flavour that is milder and nuttier than commercial Époisses. It is available only here and at a handful of Beaune fromageries, making it a genuinely special souvenir.
Walking the Forest
The Forêt de Cîteaux is criss-crossed by forest tracks open to walkers and cyclists. The terrain is completely flat — a relief after Beaune's hilly vineyard walks — and the forest is particularly beautiful in early spring when wood anemones carpet the floor, and in autumn when the oak canopy turns copper.
A marked 12 km circular trail leaves from the abbey car park and loops through the deepest part of the forest, passing the étang (pond) of Cîteaux where herons and kingfishers are regularly spotted. Bring binoculars.
Combining Forest & Côte de Nuits
The D996 road between Beaune and Cîteaux passes through Nuits-Saint-Georges, giving you the option to combine a forest walk with a tasting stop at one of the Côte de Nuits' most celebrated wine villages. The Domaine Bertagna in Vougeot and several négociant cellars in Nuits-Saint-Georges offer drop-in tastings without appointment.
Return to Beaune via the Route des Grands Crus through Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin — a 40-minute drive that passes more famous wine names per kilometre than anywhere else on earth.
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