Fontenay Abbey Where to stay a stone's throw from the Cistercian jewel

The abbey was founded in 1118 by Bernard de Clairvaux, a leading figure of the Cistercian reform who called for a return to the Rule of Saint Benedict in its original rigour: poverty, silence, manual labour, architectural austerity. Isolated in a damp valley of the Auxois, the site answers perfectly the Cistercian ideal of settling away from the world.

The abbey church, completed around 1147, was consecrated in the presence of Pope Eugene III. Prosperous until the 16th century, the abbey declined under the commendatory system before being sold as national property during the Revolution. Turned into a paper mill in the 19th century, it was bought back in 1906 by the Aynard family, who undertook a vast restoration campaign to give it back its monastic face. Listed as a historic monument as early as 1862 and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, it remains today a private family property.

A forest of oak in an upturned hull, lit by narrow bays. Pause there for a few minutes, alone if you can. It is there that Fontenay yields up its silence.

In the morning, before the crowds, the atmosphere of the valley restores something of the founding intent. We recommend arriving at opening time.