The Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud is one of the largest and best-preserved medieval monastic complexes in Europe. Founded in 1101 by the wandering preacher Robert of Arbrissel, it was unusual from the start: a double monastery housing both monks and nuns, governed by an abbess. Over the centuries it became the preferred convent of Plantagenet royalty, and the church was used as the dynasty's mausoleum.
The Romanesque abbey church, with its beautiful painted nave ceiling, is where the four Plantagenet tombs stand. The painted effigies of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine are particularly striking — Eleanor is depicted holding an open book. Nearby, Richard the Lionheart lies with a painted lion at his feet. The cloister, chapter house, and the extraordinary Romanesque kitchen — a tower of stacked chimneys that looks unlike any other medieval structure in France — are all included in the visit.
After the Revolution, Napoleon converted the abbey into a prison, a use it retained until 1963. Some of the prison infrastructure is still visible and forms part of the historical narrative told in the museum's permanent collection. Today the abbey also contains a hotel (in the former priory buildings), a restaurant, and a contemporary art centre. The gardens are worth walking through; the whole complex occupies about 13 hectares.