to study in paris is to be born in paris: Fontrevraud l'Abbaye

I've spent so many words the last couple of weeks telling you the story of Alienor of Aquitaine because I made the trip to the Loire Valley to see the place she spent her last years. As I mentioned in the first part, Alienor is a hero of mine, and possibly my favorite woman of history. I was really (nerdily) excited to see her effigy and the abbey where much of the Angevin dynasty (the family of King Henry II of England) was laid to rest.

Fontevraud is a tiny town about a half hour drive from Saumur. Originally it was just an abbey, but gradually a small village built up to support the abbey, and even now tourism to the abbey is the major business there. I found this old sign near the town hall, a greeting to tourists, adorable and kind of indicative of the relationship between little towns like this and their visitors.

(Tourists: welcome to Fontevraud. You are just a few steps from the famous royal abbey. Guides will let you visit the big monastic complex. When you leave, take a little time to see the houses, discover the town. Right next to the town hall, to the left, St Michel's church [late 12th century] will enchant you with its picturesque exterior and the art treasures it contains. Follow the Allee des Tilleuls, parking is at the end. Halfway down the path note the funerary chapel of St Catherine [13th century], topped by a lantern for the dead. Have a good stay in our town, and a good return to your homes.)

The town appears to have not changed much from late medieval times: most of the streets are extremely narrow, lots of buildings survive, and the layout is clearly the same.

Here is the town hall, with the flag in front, and the 12th century church mentioned above to the left.

And the church.

The 13th century funerary chapel - the thing sticking out of the top is what they call the lantern of the dead. You can't walk a block here without coming across a medieval building.