Just beyond the Pont de Brotonne as you continue towards Rouen, the medieval abbey in ST-WANDRILLE was founded – so legend has it – by a seventh-century count who, with his wife, renounced all earthly pleasures on the day of their wedding. The abbey's buildings make an attractive if curious architectural ensemble: part ruin, part restoration and, in the case of the main buildings, part transplant – a fifteenth-century barn brought in a few years ago from another Norman village miles away.St-Wandrille remains an active monastery, home to fifty Benedictine monks who in addition to their spiritual duties turn their hands to money-making tasks that range from candle-making to running a reprographic studio; they also show visitors around the abbey on guided tours (Tues–Sat 3.30pm, Sun 11.30am & 3.30pm; 3.05; www.st-wandrille.com). You can wander through the grounds for no charge in summer (July & Aug Tues–Sun 10.45am–12.30pm & 3–5pm), and you can also listen to the monks' Gregorian chanting in their new church (Mon–Sat 9.45am & 5.30pm, Sun 10am & 5pm). There's a crêperie opposite the abbey, and, a few doors along in the place de l'Église, the more upmarket Deux Coronnes restaurant (tel 02.35.96.11.44; closed Sun evening & Mon), a seventeenth-century inn – half-timbered, naturally – serving delicious menus starting at 21.50.
| 