Sénanque Abbey, Gordes

Notre-Dame de Sénanque stands at the bottom of a narrow valley a few kilometres from Gordes, a Cistercian abbey founded in the twelfth century and still lived in by a small community of monks. In summer the fields around it are famous for lavender, and photographs of the abbey with purple rows in front of it appear on every Provence postcard. In November the lavender is cut to stubble, but the abbey itself is unchanged: honey-coloured stone, a bare Romanesque church, a cloister with simple arches, a dormitory and a chapter house, all built with the plainness that Cistercian rules demanded. The silence is part of the visit, and the monks' daily prayer continues within the enclosure while visitors pass through.

Visits are organised rather than free-roaming. A guided tour of about an hour, led in French by a trained guide, is the abbey's recommended way to see the church, cloister and dormitory. For non-French speakers there is a self-guided option using a tablet app called the HistoPad, available in around eleven languages, which explains each space and shows how the buildings looked. Tours and entry windows run at set times, and Sundays start later in the day, so check the schedule, and book a place online ahead of your visit if your dates are fixed.

The abbey asks visitors to dress modestly and keep silence, since the monks pray in parts of the complex during the visit. Pets are not allowed other than assistance dogs. There are many steps and uneven floors, so access is difficult for people with limited mobility and not possible by wheelchair. Outside, a small shop sells products made by the community, including honey and lavender items, and a path leads up the valley for a short walk with views back down to the roofs.

The abbey is a short drive from Gordes and Roussillon, so it fits neatly into a Luberon day that includes both villages. In November the valley is quiet and the light is low and golden in the late afternoon, which suits the stone. Parking is at the entrance of the valley, and the road can be slow in summer but is easy in winter.

Take a warm layer, because the church and cloister are unheated, and wear shoes you can walk in. If your trip is in lavender season, the abbey is one of the busiest sights in Provence and tickets must be booked well ahead. In winter you will have space and silence, which are what the place is for.

Before or after your visit, take time to look at the building from outside. The church has no grand tower, and the plain stone roofs follow the slope of the valley, which was chosen for its isolation and a stream for the monks' needs. The Cistercians favoured this simplicity as a form of devotion, so there is almost no carved decoration, which is why the proportions and the light matter so much.

If you have time, the short walk up the valley road gives the classic view of the roofs from above. Staying quiet inside is part of the experience, so leave phone calls for the car park.