Cluny - Abbey of Cluny St Pierre et St Paul

Must-see attractions nearby: Abbey of Cluny Blanot Cave

The deeper, excavated parts formed part of the ante-church. The double gateway somewhat higher up was once the main entrance to the abbey. On Place du 11 Aout stands the Facade of Pope Gelasius, heavily restored in the Gothic style shortly after 1300, with access to the enclosed monks' quarters and the 18th C cloister. North of the Facade of Gelasius, a short distance away, is the Abbot's Lodging, with the Palais de Jean de Bourbon (15th C), the Musée Ochier (history of the abbey) and the Palais de Jacques d'Amboise (16th C), now the Town Hall. The church's magnificent figural capitals, masterworks of Early Romanesque sculpture, can be seen in the Musée Lapidaire, housed in the old monastic granary, the Farinier. In the 19th C a state stud farm was set up on the land around the former abbey.

In the town itself, at some distance from the abbey, is the church of Notre-Dame, built shortly after 1100 and later remodelled in Gothic style, as well as a surprising number of Romanesque houses.