In the next loop of the Seine, 12km on from St-Wandrille, comes the highlight of the Seine valley: the majestic abbey in JUMIÈGES (daily: mid-April to mid-Sept 9.30am–7pm; mid-Sept to mid-April 9.30am–1pm & 2.30–5.30pm; €4), said to have been founded by St Philibert in 654 AD, just five years after St-Wandrille. A haunting ruin, the abbey was burned by marauding Vikings in 841, rebuilt a century later, then destroyed again – as a deliberate act – during the Revolution. Its main surviving outline, as far as it can still be discerned, dates from the eleventh century – William the Conqueror himself attended its re-consecration in 1067. The twin towers, 52m high, are still standing, as is one arch of the roofless nave, while a one-sided yew tree stands in the centre of what were once the cloisters.A superb restaurant faces the abbey from 17 place de la Mairie: the Auberge des Ruines (tel 02.35.37.24.05; closed Sun evening & Mon, plus all evenings except Fri & Sat Nov–Feb).
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