Spend an exceedingly magical day in Anis country
Just follow your nose and let the gentle aroma of aniseed lead you through the streets and into the heart of the historic Benedictine monastery. Step inside and absorb the beauty of the abbey, the abundance of tins and packets of sweets, and the confectioners coming hither and thither.
It’s open all year round!
Our factory remains right at the heart of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain. The visites and Anis tasting is free!
CONTACT / BOOKING
For groups (more than 15 people)
Please book your visit in advance
+33 (0)3 80 96 29 01
magasin@anisdeflavigny.com
No booking required for individuals and families.
Where can you stay, and where can you eat?
Visit the Flavigny town hall website.
Enjoy a sneak preview of the tour by clicking this link:
The Anis Factory
The Abbey crypt
The Anis Museum
The flavour laboratory
The bar
The Bookshop
The Anis Boutique
The Anis workshop, with its traditional panning basins
Step into the panning workshop and let your senses take over. The fresh, spicy aniseed scent is everywhere, infusing everything around you while your ears take in the clatter of the candy as it rolls around the copper drums. Look inside and you’ll see how each aniseed is delicately coated in sugar and essential oil. Once you’ve visited the workshop and sneaked a quick look through the glass door into the packaging workshop, come back down and ask any questions you may have. This is a great opportunity to talk to your guide (who’s been working here for years) or to a local youngster who knows the Factory like the back of their hand.
If you miss the visiting times for the workshop, there’s a video inside the Museum which shows the various steps needed to make our sweets – from selecting the ingredients all the way to shipping the finished sweets.
The Abbey crypt: from Charlemagne… to Anis
Take a moment to listen to the monks’ chants when you enter the Carolingian crypt – these monks prayed here for more than 1,000 years. The Chapels of Sainte-Reine and Notre-Dame-des-Piliers are testament to the Abbey’s history, dating all the way back to 719 and the reign of Charles Martel. They are all that’s left of the former Abbey church, and precious reminders of the site’s Gallo-Roman, Roman and Gothic history.
The Anis Museum
For hundreds of years, the Abbey’s attic was home to an astonishing collection of antique candy boxes, vintage adverts and the very first panning basins used to make the legendary Anis de Flavigny. These are now on show at the little Anis Museum, with illustrations dating back all the way to 1828. They show the timeless romance of the shepherd and shepherdess, with subtle variations on a theme which has been developing throughout the sweet’s history. Discover the history of sugar and aniseed from the Ancients to Flavigny, and how the very first sweets were made. Even as far back as 1591, under the reign of Henri IV, Les Anis de Flavigny® was given as tokens to the Abbey’s guests. Did you know, too, that Louis XIV was never without a box of anisse in his pocket?
Relive history as you explore the historic packing and shipping workshops. These vaulted spaces were in constant use from the French Revolution to 2019, and you can still see the old machinery and equipment from the 1930’s. Take the time to watch a video of the teams at work and see just how they brought us the product we know today. You can even discover the inner cloisters, formerly closed to everyone but the factory workers, and enjoy a breath-taking view up the main Abbey staircase.
The flavour laboratory
Here, you can discover the third vital ingredient of our Anis: natural plant extracts and flavourings. We work alongside perfumers in Grasse, allowing us to select and blend our natural flavours and develop a truly unique aroma. Test your nose with our olfactory activities – is this orange blossom? Maybe it’s mandarin? Take a deep breath and see for yourself!
Le Café des Anis, where friends come together
Take the time to sip a lemonade in the Factory courtyard. While you’re sitting at one of our beautiful enamelled tables, you can watch lifelong members of the Factory come and go with packets under their arms, pushing trolleys, delivering sugar, greeting foreign customers and welcoming the next generation of Anis lovers.
The Anis Bookshop, with all you need to feed your mind…
Packed full of recipes, architecture, mediaeval history and medicinal plants – all that’s missing is you! Browse them here or take one home with you.
The Anis Boutique, with Original and Petit Anis tastings
No visit is complete without a tasting. Right here in our little shop, each visitor can stop, relax and taste all of our naturally flavoured sweets. Did you know that Anis de Flavigny ® is also available in violet, mint, orange blossom, lemon, blackcurrant, ginger, liquorice, mandarin and rose flavours? Whoever you are and wherever you’re from, you’ll find the perfect Anis for you. We ship our Anis to more than 35 different countries. Did you know that in Asia they prefer rose, while Americans love violet? For our native French and other Latin neighbours though, there’s nothing better than an aniseed flavoured Anis!
Anis workshop opening hours
Monday to Friday:
• 9 am to 11:30 am
• 2 pm to 4 pm
Closed: weekends, public holidays and Christmas holidays.
Reservation required for groups.
Opening hours for the Shop, the Crypt, the Museum and the Café
From 03 January to 02 April
• Monday to Friday: from 09:00 to 17:00
• Saturday: from 10:00 to 18:00
• Sunday and public holidays: from 10:00 to 17:00
From 03 to 05 April
• Fom 09:00 to 18:00
From 06 April to 02 May
• From 15:00 to 18:00 (closed on 01 May)
From 03 May to 04 July
• Monday to Friday: from 09:00 to 18:00
• Saturday, public holidays and long weekends (public holidays on Thursday or Tuesday): from 10:00 to 19:00
• Sunday: from 10:00 to 18:00
From 05 July to 29 August
• Monday to Friday: from 09:00 to 19:00
• Saturday, Sunday and public holidays: from 10:00 to 19:00
From 30 August to 01 November
• Monday to Friday: from 09:00 to 18:00
• Saturday and public holidays: from 10:00 to 19:00
• Sunday: from 10:00 to 18:00
From 02 November to 17 December
• Monday to Friday: from 09:00 to 17:00
• Saturday: from 10:00 to 18:00
• Sunday: from 10:00 to 17:00
Christmas holidays (from 18 December 2021 to 02 January 2022)
• All week: from 10:00 to 19:00 (except the 24 and 31 Dec: from 10:00 to 16:00)
• Sunday 02 January: from 10:00 to 18:00
Closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
Getting here
By car or bicycle
4 rue de l’Abbaye
21150 Flavigny-sur-Ozerain – France
GPS coordinates:
Latitude 47.5114247 / Longitude 4.5295583
Car park accessible, 220m from the Factory (suitable for campervans)
Bus parking accessible, 190m from the Factory
Bicycle parking at the Factory
By TGV or TER train
Montbard TGV station, 23km from the Anis Factory (1 hour between Paris
and Montbard)
Laumes-Alésia TER station, 8km from the Anis Factory
By boat
Via the Canal de Bourgogne: boat launch at Venarey-les-Laumes, 9km from the Anis Factory
There’s more to discover in our region: #EPIC HISTORY in Burgundy
While you’re deep in Burgundy, between Auxois and Morvan, take the time to discover some of our fabled mediaeval villages, such as Flavigny-sur-Ozerain and Noyers-sur-Serein. These have been awarded “Most Beautiful Villages in France” – and don’t miss Semur-en-Auxois, Saulieu or Avallon either. Any architecture buff will fall deeply in love with the châteaux at Bussy-Rabutin, Ancy-le-France, Tanlay and Bazoches. There’s also the unmissable basilica in Vézelay and the Abbey of Fontenay, both listed by Unesco. While going from one to the other, make sure you stop off in the town of Montbard. If features a museum and park dedicated to Buffon, the celebrated naturalist and friend of Diderot, as well as Buffon’s Great Forge. These offer a wonderful glimpse back into the Enlightenment. If this is a little too much, you can take a relaxing walk in nature, down by the Sources of the Seine. Lastly, if you’re in search of even more history, come and meet the Celts at the Trésor de Vix (at the Châtillonais Museum) and the Gauls at Muséoparc Alésia. #ÉPIQUES ÉPOQUES en Bourgogne
For visitors who’d rather follow their taste buds: Three Cheers for Bourgogne-Franche-Comté!
Or if you’d rather just get on your bike: The Tour de Bourgogne cycle route
Les Anis de Flavigny ®
4 rue de l’abbaye
21150 Flavigny-sur-Ozerain – France
Tel. +33 (0)3 80 96 20 88