Abbaye de Sénanque Provence-Beyond (Beyond the French Riviera) ® Vaucluse (84) Age: 12th century Nearby: [ Gordes | Bories | Col de Murs | Plateau de Vaucluse | Abbaye du Thoronet ] Photos: A close-up of the abbey from outside (15k) A larger photo of the aerial view (20k) The Cistercian abbey Notre-Dame-de-Sénanque was founded in the 12th century, along with its two Provençal sisters: the Abbaye du Thoronet and the Abbaye de Silvacane (on the Durance river, 2 km southwest of Cadenet map). Drive (or hike) north out of the fabulous stone village of Gordes, in this land of bories. The little D177 road, which the GR6 hiking trail follows, passes along a high, rocky ridge , and part of the beautiful view is down into the deep Senancole valley where the abbey sits (photo above). Stretching out from the abbey buildings is a valley of lavender fields, which are in full flower and fragrance during the summer, and harvested July-Aug. (In 1999, the lavender was mostly cut by the 19th of July.) The Cistercian order at the abbey flourished until the 16th century, getting wealthier and wealthier, in contradiction to the Benedictine rule of poverty. In 1544, the Vaudois heretics revolted and their first target was Sénanque. The monks were hanged and many of the buildings were destroyed. The abbey struggled to recover for the next three centuries, changing hands several times during the historical upheavals of the period, such as the Revolution. By 1989, the abbey was again an active monastery. Visits Mar-Oct - Mon-Sat 10h-12h, 14h-18h; Sun-Hol 14h-18h Nov-Feb - Mon-Fri 14h17; Sat-Sun-Hol 14h-18h Closed: Christmas, Saint fridays, 2 days preceding Easter Entry: 30 F; children 6-18 years 12 F; group 15 or more (non-guided) 25 F each. Web http://members.aol.com/ndsenanque/ Hiking Maps: IGN "bleue" (1:25,000) 3141 ouest "Carpentras" Didier Richard (1:50,000) #27 "Ventoux" The GR6 (Grande Randonnée) from Gordes passes directly by the abbey. The GR trails are usually very well marked, but you should have an IGN "Topo" map just in case. These comments were contributed by Jan Volkers, 8 Oct 1999: Beware....... the GR leading south from the abbey to Gordes is very confusing. All the marks have disappeared. Took me half a day to find out. Got stuck on some ridges on the wrong side of a valley. Didn't have a propre map. ... Since you decided to make notion of the absence of GR-marks, I also can tell you that the GR from Fontaine to Gordes is a "mess" but, with a bit of feel for direction one finds out. On the tops of the hills they chopped some acres of wood so all the marks went along. The GR6 continues through the forests towards the north to La Pouraque, then circles around to the west before turning south, along with the GR97, to pass near Fontaine-de-Vaucluse. There are many other hiking trails around the abbey, in all directions. These trails form many loops of varying sizes, making regional hiking interesting and easy (not counting the hills). There are two different sections of the Mur de la Peste (the plague wall) near the Abbaye de Sénanque. About 4 km to the north of the abbey, where a number of trails branch off, a section of the wall runs up to the northeast, along one of the trails to the Col de Murs. About 3 km due west of the abbey, but requiring a much longer hike around to the north or the south, there's a long section of the ruins of the wall.