Experts' Choice Award Abbaye de Fontenay
What the experts agree on
This beautifully preserved 12th-century Cistercian abbey showcases the monks' austere, contemplative lifestyle amid a serene valley setting. Its exceptional restoration reveals how the community achieved self-sufficiency through thoughtful design and
“An excellent example of a self-sufficient Cistercian monastery, the well-restored abbey of Fontenay set in a secluded green valley was consecrated in 1147.”
– Michelin Guide
Fodor's "The best-preserved of the Cistercian abbeys, the Abbaye de Fontenay was founded in 1118 by St. Bernard. " Full review
Lonely Planet Top Choice
"Fontenay Abbey offers a fascinating glimpse of the austere, serene surroundings in which Cistercian monks lived lives of contemplation and manual labour." Full review
Lonely Planet "Abbaye de Fontenay, founded in 1118, is a powerful evocation today of medieval monastic life"
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Lonely Planet "End on a cultural high with Abbaye de Fontenay and Basilique Ste-Madeleine in Vézelay – Unesco World Heritage treasures that steal the show"
