abbaye royale de fontevraud

rafaelaanna

One of my best thing i saw in France! A huge place with history behind! I found the abbaye really a great place. You may found everything here: graves of the royal familly, beautiful park, immense church and abbayan buildings. It was really worth its 8 euro!! Really don't miss that place, it's magical.

Kathy321NewJersey

If you like history, this is a must do. Henry II and Eleanor are interred here. The grounds and church take you back in time. The plus is the location in a very small but beautiful town.

EdwardandLiz

The audio guide proved invaluable. It is a beautiful place but don't expect furnishings or decorations, it is bare. That said his does allow you to focus on the architecture and it was still very atmospheric. The prison exhibit was especially informative.

garrym989

If you are a history buff you will soak this up burial place of Richard the Lion Heart and Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II but even if you are not it is a great experience to wonder around the Abbey.

cwgreene

We enjoyed what we could see and expect it will be really great when they finish. The kitchen, which we really looked forward to seeing, was closed. The audio tour was very helpful and came with a map. I especially liked that the printed guide called out the "don't miss" sights which was helpful since our time was limited. Seeing the tombs was a huge highlight.

Suissegirl

I visited the Abbey with a group of 25 students. We had arranged a guided tour which was conducted in simple French. Our tour guide was really good about using simple language and explaining difficult points to us. The abbey was really interesting, but I would recommend getting a guide as I don't think I would have understood or appreciated it nearly as much without our guide.

SootyCumbriaEngland

Really interesting, steeped in English history. Burial place of Eleanor, Henry 2 and Richard the Lionheart. Amazing to think it was used as a prison from the Revolution until the 1960s. Some renovation work is going on but still well worth a visit. One of the more interesting places in an at times overrated Loire area.

hardtop12

totally disagree with the last review and I have to chortle at how some people perceive nice surprises! I don't want to ruin it for future visitors but the installation display is stunning!A wonderful Abbey with delightful serenity and simply stunning artwork, stonework and features and the village in which it is situated is charming, with the obligatory great Patisserie and cafes.....Do not miss!

Gumgrove

We were very impressed with the structures of the Abbey complex, but the current owners have taken a beautiful Abbey, steeped in secular and religious history, and turned it into an operation driven by making a Euro rather than tastefully exhibiting this grand place. It is very noisy inside some of the interior sections due to snack bars having been installed in what should have been sections kept for viewing. The upper floor of one section has been turned into an Art Deco display of dozens of bright red tubes of light hanging from a ceiling over a floor with what appear to be small flat bottomed boats. They have damaged the serene atmosphere of a lovely cloister garden by allowing some artist(s) to install sculptures made of brightly painted pipes bent to look like animals in amongst the hedges in the cloister garden. We cannot recommend this site to anyone looking for a tour of a beautiful Abbey.

Siouxsie54

Really not very disabled friendly. Even the approaches are iffy for those unsteady on their feet. I cannot imagine what it must be like in the wet! The abbey consists of a vast open space with the four royal tombs. The walk around the other buildings making up the former prison is interesting enough with some info on prisoners (especially Jean Genet) and the harsh regime. A garden to sit in. Keep your tickets as you can get reduced admission to other sites on a list - from 1€ to 1.50€ - once you have paid full price at one.

ZippySar82

The Abbaye Royal De Fontevraud has old paintings engravings and is very impressive could easily spend the whole day here exploring. two restaurant's on site. the old little town has some bistros to eat and drink if you wish also, free carparking

greg250gt

Fantastic architecture and design, but with limited information points or displays.When we visited in June 2014, it appeared that the area was 75% through a huge regeneration and construction programme, a lot of finishing work was required.Site has excellent potention, still worth a look now. Also recommend spending some time and having somethign to eat in the local village (where you park) as opposed to the in-house tea room.Not very child friendly - buggy was unable to cope with the unpaved rough ground (as I say a work in progress).Once the development of the site is complete, it could easily be a 3-4 hour attraction, as opposed the 1-2 hours it currently is.

mollin33

So much history is stored within the walls but I did not expect to see the tomb of Richard the Lionheart. The history here is so interweaved with ours. There is also an interesting section about the times when the abbey was used as a prison. There are lovely frescoes along the walls of one room depicting scenes from the life of Christ, details still so clear. There is a café with an indoor and outdoor seating area and a small shop at the entrance/exit area. The village outside the walls is worth a look round with plenty of eating places.

ladyastorDeal

The Abby is still undergoing restorations \(since 2000) but there is no atmosphere there ...The gardens are full of weeds and the Hotels is set in the Abby but altho looks very modern the gardens it overlooks are just terrible

AlainaB38

The Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud was definitely worth a visit! We really enjoyed the grounds as well as the Chateau. Steeped in history.