Abbaye de Vauluisant

Courgenay

It was in 1127 that monks from the abbey of Preuilly settled in this wooded valley of the Yonne to found Vauluisant, literally the "valley of light". The abbey prospered throughout the Middle Ages, before suffering, like so many others, the upheavals of the Revolution: the monastery was closed and part of the buildings demolished. But Vauluisant escaped total oblivion: bought back under the Restoration, then acquired in 1835 by the banker Léopold Javal, the estate became a country property where the monastic remains were carefully restored. Since then, the Gamby family, the present owners, have continued this work of preservation, bringing back to life the wing known as the "François I" wing, the chapel of Sainte-Madeleine and the old dovecote, protected as historic monuments since 1930. Today, the nine-hectare park, planted with centuries-old trees, can be visited on Sunday afternoons from April to October, while the historic rooms host weddings and seminars. Vauluisant thus offers the rare spectacle of a Cistercian abbey turned into a place of life and celebration, without having lost its medieval soul.

Getting there : At Courgenay, between Sens and Troyes, about 10 km from Villeneuve-l'Archevêque

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound