Carrière d'Aubigny

Carrière d'Aubigny is an underground limestone quarry in the commune of Les Hauts de Forterre, on the site of the former village of Taingy, in the Yonne department of Burgundy. It is the only underground quarry in France open to visitors, having welcomed the public since 1992 after centuries of pure stone extraction.

Where does the stone come from?

The rock bed hollowed out beneath Aubigny formed roughly 150 million years ago, when a shallow sea covered this part of present-day Burgundy. Layers built up from the remains of marine creatures and shellfish, producing a dense, fine-grained, pale limestone known locally as Forterre stone — a material long prized for building and carving. Around a dozen underground quarries once tapped into the same seam across the region, and Aubigny survives as one of the best preserved.

Quarrying without machines

Stone has been cut here since Gallo-Roman times, and throughout that whole span no mechanical tools were ever used. Blocks were freed by hand with lances and needles, tools whose design traces back to the Iron Age. That hand-cut tradition, passed down through generations of stonecutters, is the heart of a visit today: the underground galleries still show the marks left by blocks carved directly out of the rock face.

Where the stone ended up

Aubigny limestone traveled far beyond its quarry. Blocks from here form the four foundation pillars of the Eiffel Tower, raised in 1886, and were used in the Palais Garnier opera house, completed in 1875. The stone also went into Paris's city hall, the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, and the cathedrals of Auxerre and Sens — a reach that says a lot about how prized this modest Burgundian quarry stone once was.

What can you see on a visit?

The quarry now works as a living museum and training workshop in one. Compagnons completing the traditional Tour de France apprenticeship still hone their stone-carving skills here, and visitors can watch the precision of block-cutting up close and admire carvings chiseled straight into the rock walls by trainees. A visit runs about an hour and requires a paid ticket; you can walk through on your own during opening hours or book a guided tour. The site operates seasonally, roughly from April to November, with reduced days outside peak months, so it's worth checking current hours before setting out.

What else is nearby?

The castle at Druyes-les-Belles-Fontaines sits close by, and Les Hauts de Forterre has several marked walking trails through the commune. A bit further out, the Marais d'Andryes wetland offers its own network of footpaths — a natural pairing with time spent underground.

FAQ

Is Carrière d'Aubigny a working quarry or a museum? Both — it's a historic quarry that now doubles as a stonecutting workshop and visitor site, so it functions as an active craft school and a tourist attraction at the same time.

Was the stone extracted with machines? No. Every block was cut by hand using lances and needles, without any mechanical tools, throughout the quarry's working life.

How long does a visit take? A standard visit lasts around an hour.

Is it open all year? No, the quarry runs on a seasonal schedule, generally from April to November, with limited days and hours outside the main season.

Is there anything else worth seeing nearby? Yes — the castle at Druyes-les-Belles-Fontaines and the walking trails around Les Hauts de Forterre and the neighboring Marais d'Andryes.