The Abbey of Caunes-Minervois (fr. Abbaye Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul de Caunes-Minervois) crosses time, from its famous Romanesque bedside to the Maurist cloister.

You can also visit the archaeological remains of the medieval cloister and the Carolingian church founded in 790.

Since 2015, the convent buildings have housed comic books, in partnership with the Brussels Comic Museum (CBBD).

The abbey was founded in 780 by the monk Anian. Count Milo de Narbonne donated to him the “villa Bufentis” and its domain as well as the upper Argent-Double valley.

In 982, mention was made for the first time of the discovery of graves by peasants, outside the walls of the old village, in a field near the river. The informed monks declared that they were martyrs of the Roman period. This is the beginning of the cult of the relics of the four holy martyrs of Caunes: Amans, Luce, Audalde and Alexandre. Saint Genès, patron of the parish, will join them after the Revolution.

Caunes-Minervois is a small medieval town and commune in the Aude department in the Occitania region in southern France (Pyrenees). It’s small historic village, far from the crowds, with its medieval streets, its quarries and its red marble sculptures, its AOC wine, its climbing spots, and its hiking trails.

Address: Place de l’Église, 11160 Caunes-Minervois, France

Working hours:

Monday 10AM–7PM
Tuesday 10AM–6PM
Wednesday 10AM–7PM
Thursday 10AM–7PM
Friday 10AM–7PM
Saturday 10AM–7PM
Sunday 10AM–7PM

Prices

Full price: from € 6.00
Child rate: from 2.50 €
Student rate: from 2.50 €
Family rate: from 10.00 €
Adult group rate: from € 5.00

How to get to?

Available via 620 from Carcassonne (26 min, 21.4 km), via D11 from Narbonne (51 min, 47.7 km)

From Paris: 8 hr 11 min (789 km) via A20

From Toulouse: 1 hr 29 min (114 km) via A61

From Andorra: 3 hr 12 min (198 km) via D119

From Barcelona: 3 hr 35 min (296 km) via AP-7 and A9

From Madrid: 9 hr 6 min (909 km) via A-1 and A64

Coordinates: 43° 19′ 34″ N, 2° 31′ 38″ E

See here Pyrenees travel guide

See here France travel guide

See here Spain travel guide

 

Read more: Interesting places in the Pyrenees and around with Jane Cautch ...