Tour de l'horloge de Beaune, Medieval clock tower in Beaune, France

The Tour de l'horloge de Beaune is a belfry of rough light stone on Place Monge, with a white clock face below a steep slate pavilion roof. Above the clock sits an open timber campanile clad in lead, topped by a small dome; a wooden gallery projects on the right and cross-shaped openings pierce the walls. Inside are a vaulted cellar with a well, a ground floor that held a shop, and five beamed floors.

In 1395 Duke Philip the Bold ordered the Maizières Abbey to cede a tower and house on rue du Marché au Charbon to Beaune for 200 gold francs. In November 1397 he granted salt-tax funds to install a clock on the tower; the oldest bell is dated 1407. The tower was built in the 13th–14th centuries and classified as a monument historique on 27 August 1885.

The tower stands on Place Monge, not a market square. Its oldest bell dates from 1407, and in 1681 the tower was judged too low for the clock to be heard across town, so it was raised by 12 feet (3.90 m). Since 2009 an evening video projection shows clock gears, the building's interior and a cat playing with light from the windows.

The tower stands on Place Monge, not Place Carnot. From the street you can read the "HOTEL DE VILLE" sign near the base, the clock face below the slate roof and the small wooden gallery on the right of the upper section. Since 2009 an evening video projection is shown on the walls.

After dark, specialized video projections transform the exterior walls into an illuminated presentation that highlights architectural details less visible during daylight hours.