Skip the Line: Abbaye de Fontenay Admission Ticket

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Fontenay Abbey in Burgundy was founded in 1118 by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a leading French saint, and is the oldest preserved Cistercian abbey in the world. Recognized as French historic monument in 1862, it was declared World Heritage by Unesco in 1981. It was one of the first French monuments on this list, which has distinguished the exceptional interest of the Abbey and its natural environment. After the French revolution, which led to the departure of the monks, it was converted to an industrial use which preserved all the buildings of the Romanesque period: the Abbey Church, the Dormitory, Cloister, Chapter Room, the Common Room, and the Forge. The Abbey is decorated with a landscaped park which was listed in 2004 as "Remarkable Garden" by the National Council of Parks and Gardens. Located in northern Burgundy, it is nestled in a fully preserved valley which extends over 1,200 hectares. Since 1820, the Abbey of Fontenay has been the private ownership of the same family, which continues to preserve this exceptional site opening to public visit all year round. The Abbey welcomes 100,000 visitors each year who come to admire the beauty and purity of architecture unspoiled for 900 years, and enjoy the quiet of a place designed for spirituality.

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 128 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Beaune

• Its from-price is 95% below the median of the 75 experiences we list in Beaune.
• It is shorter than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 4 of 75.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Beaune

Beaune is the wine capital of Burgundy, a walled town of cellars and tile-roofed courtyards, with a medieval hospice at its heart.

Beaune is a walled town in the Côte d'Or, at the foot of the Burgundy vineyards. Its medieval ramparts still ring the old centre. The Hospices de Beaune, a charity hospital founded in 1443, is the best-known building, with a steep roof of glazed tiles in green, red, yellow and black and a polyptych of the Last Judgment by Rogier van der Weyden inside.

Top-ranked sights in Beaune: Hospices de Beaune, Musée du Vin de Bourgogne (Hôtel des Ducs de Bourgogne), Basilique Collégiale Notre-Dame.

See all 75 experiences in Beaune