The ruins of Jumièges Abbey lie 30 km west of Rouen in a great loop of the Seine. Founded in 654 and destroyed during the French Revolution, the Romanesque abbey was once one of the most powerful religious houses in Normandy. The roofless white limestone arches of the nave still soar above the lawn, fifty metres high and bracketed by the surviving twin towers.
The site is one of the most romantic monastic ruins in northern Europe — Victor Hugo called it "the most beautiful ruin in France" — and a half-day visit can be combined with the smaller ruined abbey at Saint-Wandrille and the half-timbered village of La Bouille.