Abbaye de Sénanque

Abbaye de Sénanque Review

If you've dreamed of Provence's famed lavender fields, head to a wild valley some 4 km (2½ mi) north of Gordes (via D177) to find the beautiful 12th-century Romanesque Abbaye de Sénanque, which floats above a redolent sea of lavender (in full bloom in July and August). Begun in 1150 and completed at the dawn of the 13th century, the church and adjoining cloister are without decoration, but still touch the soul with their chaste beauty. In this orbit, the gray-stone buildings seem to have special resonance—ancient, organic, with a bit of the borie about them. Next door, the enormous vaulted dormitory contains an exhibition on the abbey's construction, and the refectory shelters a display on the history of Cistercian abbeys.