My three Normandy guidebooks all agree, Jumieges Abbey is the best ruins in the region. About 30 minutes from Rouen, Abbaye de Jumieges was founded by St. Philibert in 654, with funds from Queen Bathilde, wife of Clovis II.
It is a mix of styles, having been built up and around since about 1060. What strikes me, the modern day visitor, is the scale of the ruins. A "wow" escaped my lips when I entered the ruins. Even without a roof, the 46 meter high towers (about 150 feet) in the Cathedral Notre Dame still astounds.
There is even some original centuries-old paint left. This spry bird is from the 11th century (though encased in a 13th century pillar).
It's a big complex. It once contains a hostlrey, refectory, monk's garden and cloister (cloister pictured above). Using our rented iPad, we were able to look at the ruins, then turn the dial to see what it looked like in the 13th Century, before it was torn apart following the French Revolution.
There is even an adjacent church just for the monks, Eglise St. Pierre. A nave next to the church still remains, built in the 9th century. Note the simple arch and round indents, meant to hold frescoes.
Connecting the two churches is a passageway built in the 1330's to connect the two churches, and later named the Charles VII's Passage. Yet another building style!
Scattered about the ruins are white folding chairs, inviting you to sit a while and enjoy the pastoral setting.
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