- Bourg-en-Bresse
Last admission: 30 minutes before closing
Audio guide: English, French, German, Italian
Wheelchair accessible
Live guide: English, French, German, Italian
Come and take a look at Cluny Abbey & Museum, founded in 910 by William the Pious and sold as a national asset in 1798. Visit the museum and see sculpted remains from the church and the monastic district. Watch a 3D film for a glimpse of Cluny in its heyday and see how it became a model for reforming other monasteries.
Not far from Mâcon and an hour from Lyon lies the seat of the largest medieval monastic order in Western Europe, now open for you to explore.
In the old days, mostly people just prayed here, but now it's an in-depth exploration of medieval monastic life.
Watch a 3D film to see how the Abbey would have looked in its heyday. Explore the 13th-century Farinier, which now houses the sculpted capitals from the choir of the 'Maior Ecclesia'. See the surviving enclosure wall and its towers, and the monastic buildings from the 18th century.
Then wander The Museum of Art and Archaeology and see a number of sculpted remains from the church and the monastic district.
There's so much to see here - just grab a ticket and you're ready to go - there's no longer need to shave your head into a monk's tonsure!