Fontevraud Abbey and Saumur

One Of The Largest Monastic Complexes In Europe, Founded 1101, Holding The Tombs Of Eleanor Of Aquitaine, Henry II And Richard The Lionheart; Within The Loire Valley UNESCO World Heritage Landscape, With Nearby Saumur · Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, Pays de la Loire

Fontevraud was founded in 1101 by the preacher Robert d'Arbrissel as a double monastery of monks and nuns, ruled for almost seven centuries by an abbess, often a woman of royal blood. It grew into one of the largest monastic cities in Europe, and it became the burial place of the Plantagenets: the painted stone effigies of Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lionheart, with the wooden figure of Isabella of Angoulême, lie in the bright nave of the abbey church. After the Revolution the abbey served as a harsh state prison until 1963, and the long restoration since has made it a cultural centre with a hotel, a restaurant and a modern art museum. The Romanesque kitchen, an odd octagonal tower of chimneys, is the most photographed building. Saumur, about fifteen minutes away on the Loire, adds a white château above the river, the Cadre Noir riding school, sparkling wine cellars dug into the tufa, troglodyte villages and mushroom caves, all inside the Loire Valley UNESCO landscape and on the Loire à Vélo cycle route.

Abbaye royale de Fontevraud, 49590 Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, Maine-et-Loire, Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, Pays de la Loire, France

The abbey is open every day for most of the year, with longer hours from spring to early autumn and shorter ones in winter, and it closes for a few weeks in January and on a few public holidays such as 25 December; confirm the current calendar before travelling. Last entry is usually about an hour before closing. The modern art museum sits inside the abbey grounds and generally follows the abbey hours, sometimes on one combined ticket; confirm. The abbey hotel and its restaurant run their own hours and need booking. In Saumur, the château is open daily in the main season and on reduced days in winter, when it may close altogether for some weeks; confirm. The Cadre Noir riding school runs guided visits and morning training sessions on set days, and its public presentations and galas happen only on scheduled dates that must be booked; confirm the programme. Sparkling wine houses in Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent run cellar tours most days in season with fewer slots in winter. Troglodyte sites and the mushroom museum are largely seasonal, open from spring to autumn and closed or by appointment in winter.

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