Juaye-Mondaye Abbey
The History of Bayeux Abbey
A few kilometers from Bayeux, in a green setting, the Prémontrés community welcomes you to a complex built in the 18th century by Eustache Restout.
The church and monastery are listed monuments and sites, and are among the best places to visit in Normandy.
You can visit the abbey church, the Parisot organs renowned for their acoustic quality, the sacristy and the main convent rooms, including the voluminous 50,000-book library.
The serene gardens are open to visitors.
Every year, thanks to donations from visitors, work is carried out on bell towers, roofs and wall renovation.
You can attend daily masses and meet a priest.
Insummer, free shows are organized with street performers and concerts of early music, inviting you to stroll through the gardens.
Baroque and classical music concerts all year round, according to the calendar on the abbey website. Every Sunday, you can hear the Parisot organ resonating in the abbey church.
Visit to the Abbey of Saint-Martin de Mondaye
Information, rates and schedules
Camping**** L’Escapade is located about 10 minutes (10 kilometers) from the Abbey of Saint-Martin de Mondaye. You can rent the Moulin de l’escapade all year round, our comfortable gite for 8 to 14 people, or book in at our campsite in Bayeux, Calvados.
For more information on Juaye-Mondaye Abbey, click HERE.
Guided tours of the abbey are given by a Premonstratensian friar, daily in summer and on Sunday afternoons from September to June.
- daily from 01/07 to 31/08 at 4pm.
- every Sunday from 01/09 to 30/06 at 3:30pm.
- The tour lasts about 1 hour
- The tour costs 5 euros per person, and is free for children under 12.
- Tours for groups can also be organized by prior arrangement.
- Almost the entire tour is accessible to people with reduced mobility: only the library requires climbing a staircase.
- Take La Renaudière towards Le Ruisseau aux Adams/D67 to Aurseulles
- Take Ham. from Veraillet towards D178
- Follow D178 towards L’Abbaye
History of Saint-Martin de Mondaye abbey
Founded at the dawn of the 13th century by the Premonstratensians, Mondaye Abbey was badly damaged during the Wars of Religion, but enjoyed a flourishing period in the 18th century: its main buildings were rebuilt between 1706 and 1745. The abbey church, cloister, refectory and cells still bear witness to the community’s golden age. Their classic style is unique to Normandy. Dispersed during the French Revolution, the Premonstratensians from Belgium moved back to the abbey in 1859. A community of monks has lived there for over 150 years. The former abbey farm was bought by the abbey in 2007 and restored. The Prémontré order was founded by Saint Norbert in the 12th century, at the same time as other religious communities such as the Carthusians and Cistercians. Premonstratensian monks live by the “Rule of Saint Augustine”. Today, at Mondaye, they are continuing the abbey’s original vocation as a hotel. A store sells monastic products from Mondaye and other communities: beers, charcuterie, chartreuse, jams, Prémontrés verbena, sweets, candles and statuettes.
