L'Abbaye de Mortemer, Lisors

"L'Abbaye de Mortemer is a former Cistercian monastery in the Forest of Lyons between the present Lyons-la-Forêt and Lisors, some 34 km (21 miles) southeast of Rouen in the department of Eure.

It was originally built in 1134 on land gifted to the Cistercians by Henry I of England. The land received turned out to be water-logged and the stagnant water or "dead water" - in French "morte mer" - gave the monastery its name. After digging a large drainage lake which still exists today, the monks constructed what was then the largest Cistercian monastery in the world." - Wikipedia

Hidden away in the forests that surround Lyons-la-Forêt is the remarkable Abbaye de Mortemer. A former Cistercian monastery built on land donated by King Henry I of England.

Each summer this historic abbey hosts a fête celebrating the pageantry and history of the Middle Ages. The fun includes period costumes, feasting and dressing up for kids.