History:<\/b> Founded around 1060 by Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Bastard, the Abbaye aux Dames was consecrated on June 18, 1066, under the patronage of the Holy Trinity. This Benedictine abbey housed young women from the Norman aristocracy until the French Revolution, in exchange for which the families pledged to provide a dowry to the abbey. Over time, the convent fell into disrepair, and it was at the beginning of the 18th century that the abbess, Madame Froulay de Tess\u00e9, undertook its reconstruction. The project was entrusted to a lay brother, Guillaume de la Tremblaye, architect of the Benedictine abbey of Bec-Hellouin (Eure). Due to financial difficulties, it took nearly a century to build these magnificent buildings, which remain unfinished: the fourth wing of the cloister was never constructed. The Revolution led to the closure of the convent and the sale of its real estate and furnishings, which explains the absence of decoration, woodwork, and furniture. The church was converted into a fodder store and the convent into a barracks (1793-1809). It served as a hospital and then a hospice from 1908. In November 1984, the last nuns of the Saint-Louis hospice and their patients left these buildings to make way for the Lower Normandy Regional Council. After two years of renovations led by the architect Georges Duval, the regional authority took possession of the premises. On May 26, 2016, the Abbaye aux Dames officially became the headquarters of the new Normandy Region. The site is open<\/b> every day (except January 1st, May 1st, and December 25th) from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM and from 1:30 PM to 6:00 PM on weekdays, and from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM on weekends and public holidays. Temporary exhibitions are presented by the Normandy Region.<\/b> Free admission every day from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM.\u00a0<\/b>Guided tours<\/b> daily (duration: 1 hour). The guided tour includes the former convent buildings (18th century), now the headquarters of the Normandy Region, and the Abbey Church of the Trinity (11th and 12th centuries). Departure:<\/b> Visitor reception hall at 2:30 pm and 4:00 pm* (*from February 10 to November 3, 2024). Price:<\/b> Full price \u20ac5, reduced price \u20ac3, free for under 18s\u2026 Online booking available . For groups, direct booking is preferred.<\/b> Activities offered year-round!<\/b> 5-hectare park (children's play area, panoramic views, picnic tables).<\/b> Activity kits (maps, compass, plan, mirror, etc.) for a fun family activity about abbey life.<\/b> Available from the guides. Free. The Abbaye aux Dames is a member of the Normandy Abbey Network: www.abbayes-normandie.com<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cultural visits<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":38630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"content-type":""},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[101,105],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-38624","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-discoveries","product_cat-visit","first","instock","virtual","sold-individually","taxable","purchasable","product-type-booking"],"booking_location":"","booking_location_type":"","booking_duration":1,"booking_duration_unit":"day","booking_buffer":0,"booking_cost":0,"booking_resources":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chateaux-france.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/38624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chateaux-france.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chateaux-france.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chateaux-france.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.chateaux-france.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/38624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chateaux-france.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chateaux-france.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chateaux-france.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=38624"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chateaux-france.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=38624"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chateaux-france.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=38624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Caen, the Royal Abbey of the Ladies is a must-see<\/h3>\n