A City Center Found in Crumbling Monuments to Time: The Abbey & Church of Valbonne

Though we are most certainly foodies first and foremost, there is a very big piece of our hearts that celebrates and marvels at architecture. Styles from all eras, lovely details from all walks of life. Residing where we do for so much of the year - in the French countryside, where there are so many marvels of architecture - we find ourselves embracing the details in each structure. So, of course, we have fallen in love with some of the smaller beauties in the immediate vicinity.

Take the Abbaye de Valbonne, or the Abbey & Church of Valbonne in our wonderful, little town. Monks from the Order of Chalais founded the Abbey in the 13th century, building the structure between 1199 and 1230.

That’s right. The sun-faded stone on the side of the building tells a story of resilience much of the world around it has never known. At capacity, this building held around 30 monks. Though that order dissolved by 1303 and left the property in decay, it now serves as a local parish. Ivy grows up the side, with vines reaching up underneath the terra cotta, Mediterranean-style shingles that provide shelter to those who step inside. Centuries of existence have made the building look worn, but with each passing year, more warmth seems to emanate from its exterior. The Abbey’s incredibly well-preserved exterior can be admired from quite a distance. However, the magic is in its immediate surroundings. La Brague (a river that ends up in the Mediterranean near Antibes) flows just behind the Abbey and there’s a trail alongside it that meanders through the forest on the edge of town. Let us not forget the most important piece for Chris and Makenna’s household: there’s a great little playground adjacent to the Abbey that their daughter spends quite a bit of time on.

You don’t have to be a member of the church to experience what the Abbey holds inside its walls. Official restoration of the property happened in the 1970s, and the second floor of the cloister is home to a museum. A small fee of 2.5€ applies for entry by the general public, 1€ for students. This museum is dedicated to the city for which the Abbey is named, the wonderful place we get to call home.