Among the different places that we visit during a trip to France, we often hear that this or that town is one of the “most beautiful villages in France”. Under this label lies a 1901 Law association born forty years ago to bring together all the small towns in France with a certain character and which are just waiting to be discovered…
Today, head to Fontevraud-l’Abbaye in the Maine-et-Loire department.
A village but above all an abbey
Welcome to one of the last two “most beautiful villages in France” rewarded by the 2024 edition. Located 15 km from Saumur, this commune in Maine-et-Loire with 1,500 inhabitants has just joined the label in the same way as 177 others throughout France.
Normal in the end for this town which is home to one of the most important and renowned abbey complexes in Europe. To the point where we sometimes forget that Fontevraud is also a village with a few old buildings, its Saint-Michel church and its chapels, plus a few alleys where you can stroll quietly. Worth seeing, even if it is true that we come here first for its royal abbey.
Founded in 1101 by the Benedictines, the one which with its 13 hectares quickly became one of the largest in Christian Europe, was then transformed into a necropolis by the Plantagenet dynasty, which further added to its fame. At least until its decline which began in the 13th centurye century which will continue until the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era which will then change the building from the status of an abbey to that of… prison. Which she remained until 1963.
It was only in the (19)70s that Fontevraud would find a new aura. First as a cultural center then, in 2000, when it found itself listed by UNESCO as part of the “cultural sites of the Loire Valley”.
Today, the monastic complex consists of the two monasteries still standing out of the four original ones. The largest, that of Grand-Moûtier, is open to the public and offers a visit to the abbey church, the Saint-Benoît chapel, the cloister and various other buildings.
Added to this is the place’s vocation as a hotel residence but also, since 2021, as a modern art museum which is worth stopping there to see, among others, works by Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas, Juan Gris and some other big names…
> More info: fontevraud-abbaye.fr
