abbaye saint martin du canigou

Breath-taking views from this gorgeous ancient monastery. The walk up is lovely too and easy enough for our 9 year old daughter. Camping is possible en-route if you want to catch the sunset!

The guide was charming and very informative.He spoke a little English which was helpful.Silence was asked for which our group were happy to comply with but not so the previous group who had to be reminded.

We were recommended this site as a must. We're fit and it was a long walk up (transport could be hired). At the Abbey there was a view and the scenery is wonderful. But being cynical, there is a view from many mountains around here. The only way to see the Abbey was to pay for a guided tour. A gift shop offered the usual trinkets. Maybe we were over-hyped for this. If you really like abbeys, it is probably worth the visit.

Adequate car parking and then a steep, steady climb to the abbey, around 30 minutes at an even pace. Guided tours of the abbey but only in French. Fabulous photo opportunities, especially looking down on the abbey from an elevated view point.

St. Jacques de Compostelle is the French version of the name Santiago de Campostella, which is more familiar these days to Americans. It's a 300m climb to the monastery from the parking below, so bring walking shoes! We met a wonderful energetic young monk, Stefan, who was also a physicist and cello player in the past, and who conducted us around the beautiful interior. Sllence is the main vow here - the monks speak mostly at meals. I was strongly drawn to return. It dates from the 14th century, but was abandoned in the 18th (French revolution) and restored from ruins in the 20th. A must-see.

Coaching a tour in French when some foreigners are in the group is a very difficult thing, specially when various nations are represented. It is impossible to organize things off-hand and we know indiviuals can be disappointed. This is why we offer free translations to individuals.All the same, we know your guide offered to give you explanations in English during the pause, and your answer was to leave the abbaye straight away.

My plan was to take the 4x4 taxi up and walk down as I wanted to also visit the Cathar castles on the same day. There were no taxis that day so we took the the hike up--all on road--but exhausting. The tour could not have been more boring even if we had spoken French. It would have been so much better if we could have just walked through with just the hand out. The interior was very tranquil and beautiful. To see the abbey from above, you had to then go up a major rock scramble. The view was jaw dropping. By the way--if you go--the first cafe on the terrace as you exit was very good.

The road is very steep, and it took us a little under an hour to walk up to the monastery. Once there make sure you climb up to the look-out above the monastery for the best views (it takes about five minutes to climb there from the monastery). Of course we arrived just after a tour started and had to wait an hour for the next one. The guided tour was in French, and the English information provided as a handout was a little sparse. The cloister is lovely. Much of the abbey was rebuilt in the 1900s. We spent 2-3 hours at the monastery, plus another couple of hours for the walk up and down again. As older visitors we found the journey up required stamina, and the journey down was a little hard on the knees!

We walked the street up the monastery, fortunately, there were no 4/4 driving up that day. The hike is very steep! But the views are a reward for the torture. The monastary itself was rebuilt from ruins at the beginning of the 20th century, most of the two churches is original. You have access to the monastery only with a guided tour, only in French (there is handout provided in other languages) and a bit lengthy, but we just walked around a bit and enjoyed the beauty. We walked down another way, through the woods ad rocks, very scenic as well!

The abbey has a remarkable history, dating from the 11th century. After falling into complete disrepair, with its treasures looted by locals in the 17th century, it was completely rebuilt by two benefactors early in the 1900's and some of the original stonework recovered from churches who had assumed ownership. It's located in the shadow of Canigou, the highest point of the Eastern Pyrenees. It's a very stiff and steep walk up from the car park taking the best part of half an hour. You need a reasonable degree of fitness to complete it, especially in hot weather. The mountain views from the path are constantly changing and utterly magnificent. Once you reach the abbey, you can walk for another 5 minutes further up the mountain and get a remarkable view of the building from above. There is still an active community of nuns within the abbey and they staff the reception area and shop etc., a task they perform with efficiency and charm. Tours take place hourly (though the frequency drops off sharply out of season). The interior is very modest. There's a pretty little cloister, with gardens inside and outside. There are two small churches, much of them original, one built on top of the other. There's a bell tower, which is inaccessible. The irritation for me was the determination of our guide (male) to give us an old-fashioned fundamentalist Roman Catholic sermon as we went round, turning a fifteen minute tour into an hour-long lecture. High on doctrine, low on historical interest - which was potentially considerable. There's an excessive piety about the atmosphere (ladies cover your shoulders, men button your shirts, keep silence here etc). The tour is only in French but there are brief (and adequate) explanation sheets in various languages. There are various walks beyond the abbey into and around the mountains, well worth the effort if you have some hours to spare. Entry prices are reasonable. The (free) passcard system helpfully reduces the price if you're touring the area and seeing other monuments. If you like this type of location, the monastery of St Pere de Rhodes, just over the Spanish border near Cadaques, is architecturally much more interesting.

Beautiful place to visit in the Pyrenees. About one hours drive from Perpignan then a good hour walk up the mountain to the Abbey. We took the forest route up then the paved walk down again. If you want to walk up the forest follow the sign out of the town of Casteil towards the 'col de jou' then park by the bridge next to the treatment works. Then follow the path left of the water treatment works marked by little yellow marks on the rocks up to the Abbey. The walk up was lovely through a forest path which was very steep and rocky at times but we managed well with the youngest in our group being only 6. She only needed carrying a small part of the way and enjoyed the visit round the Abbey at the top. The guided tour was only in French but was lovely and they provided a leaflet with a translation it. The view at the top (which is a another 5 min walk up past the abbey) is fantastic and well worth the walk up. All in all a lovely day out but make sure you take water as it gets quite hot on the way up

Views are superb...the walk up is stunning. ..well worth it. Best day so far in france. The abbey is in stunning scenery and the little tour well worth it

I love churches and in terms of locations and views you would be hard to beat St Martin du Canigou. The setting is fantastic and I am not sure how many pictures I took but it was a lot! The church is also really lovely and although heavily restored it does not detract. It is a long steep hot walk up and make sure you take water and take your time. It does close at lunchtime but the shop opens and serves cold drinks etc. And all served by a monk which makes it feel really good. And you get taken round by a nun or monk as well.So why not 5 stars? Well it is all about the guides. They only speak French but that is normally OK for me to pick up the basics and then look around. But the guide goes on and on and on. Even the French were getting bored. You were only allowed to take pictures after our guide stopped but the main problem was that all the talking detracted from the very thing i wanted to enjoy which is the peace and quiet. Really if out nun had talked less and allowed us to contemplate more it would have made for an even better experience.

Incredible! Such a gigantic abbay on the steep Montain Canigou.Uncomparable with other monasteries in Europe in view of ca. 800 years ago's monastery on the montain!

Our early-morning climb up the lovely winding path, through the forest and on the mountain-side with lovely vistas of the valley far below was a treat in itself, but even if we were prepared, we were awed when the majestic Abbaye Saint Martin du Canigou suddenly appeared before us, as we turned a final corner. The monastery is stunning, not only because of its location and architecture, but also because of its lovely interior. The Abbey's location reminded us somewhat of Greece's Metéora Monasteries, perched as it is on a secluded peak in an isolated mountain range—far from secular life, well hidden in the valley far below. Its interior, however, is very European. We especially loved the relief sculptures of sheep, doves and other animals, which topped the marble columns in the ancient scriptorium, with poetic views of the peaks that surround the Abbey. We were also moved by the beauty of the Abbey's cloister, ancient crypt and abbey-church, so lovingly taken care of by the Beatitudes community for which the Abbey is home. And thanks to Sr. Claire, our learned guide, we made our visit to the also unforgettable (though very different) "Prieuré de Serrabona" a must, during our stay in France's Roussillon region!