Valloires Abbey is a 12th-century Cistercian abbey situated in the commune of Argoules in the Somme department of France. The Abbey de Valloires is also the burial place of the Comte de Ponthieu with nearly every Count from the 12th to the 14th centuries buried there.
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Jardins de Valloires
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l'Abbaye Lumière
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La Table du Jardinier
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A unique abbey in several ways. It is the only 18th century Baroque Cistercian abbey in France. Although the abbey was founded in the 12th century, the Hundred Years 'War and the Thirty Years' War took a heavy toll on the buildings. The abbey was rebuilt and rededicated in 1756. Many decorations by the Austrian decorator Pfaff von Pfaffenhofen are made of papier-mâché. After the French Revolution, Valloires no longer fulfilled a religious function. It has been an orphanage, a hospital and a military headquarters. The Association de Valloires, a charitable non-profit organization, has been the owner since 1922. They provide temporary care for minors and support independently living elderly people. To pay for this, the foundation runs a hotel and rents out rooms for concerts, conferences or weddings. And of course there are the famous gardens that have delighted visitors since 1989. Well worth a visit...
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An must-do experience! Tradidional old Abbey building, complete with beautiful wooden floors, stunning roofs, beautiful courtyard, high ceilings, beautifully kept gardens and a long, proud history over many centuries. Rooms in the bit that's now hired out as a "hotel" are very basic but usable with a toilet room that is shared but perfectly usable. It's an experience to stay there, in historically rich environments both within and without and surrounding areas (Somme, etc) with the local church still with bullet holes in the walls from WW1 fighting. Staff at the Abbey are very nice and friendly, the guide is extremely knowledgeable and well worth the fee, grounds are a must-see,...
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A beautiful building but the visit was in a group with a guide. The group was too large and we could not all get into the large salon and the heat meant that we were flagging at the end. The guide did her best and was good but often we had difficulty hearing her and I think the gardens were better. There is no religious life left here, all the monks left long ago so it's used for children with nowhere else to go and there is an old...
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