Located in theHautes-Côtes de Nuits, betweenDijon andBeaune, Arcenant is 9 km west ofNuits-Saint-Georges and 16 km north ofBeaune. Access to the commune is by the D25 road fromMeuilley in the east passing through the village and continuing to join the D18 just west of the commune. The commune is heavily forested with some areas of farmland around the village and in the east.
The Raccordon rises west of the village and flows east through the village and on to join the Meuzin east of Meuilly.[3]
On 15 June 1944German troops together with men from the FrenchMilice attacked a hundredMaquis resistance fighters holed up in a place calledLa Grotte (The Cave). Fighting resulted in 39 dead attackers and 6 dead Maquis with 4 wounded. The six dead were: Serge Boillereau, Ferruccio Borillo, Louis Evrard, Jean Fiorese, Jean Poulet, and André Rebill. This feat of arms continues to be celebrated each year on the site of the battle.[4]
TheTrou du Duc (The Duke's Hole), a cave in the side of a cliff from which there is an extensive view, inhabited sinceantiquity[9]
ThePuits à terre (Land Well), a well masoned similar to a conventional well but for collecting the soil from vines carried by the runoff water. There was enough remaining to restore in place.
TheGroseille well, a large underground chamber 560m across and 30m deep
TheEcartelotGallo-Roman site in the Arcenant communal forest. Located on a Roman road, it included a farm and a pool for drinking water, rare inCôte-d'Or.
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are registered as historical monuments.[10]
