From the esplanade of the Monastery where you can contemplate Saorge "village in the sky" hanging in ampitheatre from the restanques, enter a world of serenity: the baroque Franciscan convent, with the church and its terraced garden in a green valley.
The village of Saorge overlooks the Roya Gorge at the gates of Mercantour Park. Listed at the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, the Monastery, a former Francosiscan convent founded in 1633, is baroque in style. It has retained its original structure, painted decorations and food garden. The Church has remarkable walnut woodwork, paintings and liturgical objects. The cloister is decorated with 17th century frescoes illustrating the episodes of the life of St Francis of Assisi, as well as an exceptional set of nine period sundials. The refectory preserves 17th-century frescoes on monastic virtues. The garden, a veritable haven of peace open to the mountains, consists of an organic vegetable garden and an orchard, arranged in terraces with several irrigation basins linked together.
The monastery welcomes writers, translators, writers-in-residence writing from April to October.
- For the visually impaired public, the Monastery offers mediation tools: a tactile model and tour guides in Braille and thermoformed leaflets, very well designed, produced by a specialised association in collaboration with the Valentin Haüy association.
- For the mentally handicapped public, adapted tours are offered, in-house, by reservation.
- For the deaf and hearing-impaired, the Monastery can call upon the services of LSF interpreters, externally, by reservation and only for groups.
- To date, for the time being, no specific accessibility equipment is available for people with motor disabilities.
Office de Tourisme Menton, Riviera & Merveilles - 14/09/2024
www.menton-riviera-merveilles.fr/boutique/
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Full price: 7 € (All national monuments FREE on the first Sunday of each month from November to March.)
Reduced price: 5.50 € (-for Z'est Bus season ticket holders
-for holders of an SNCF - TGV Inoui ticket valid for less than 5 days)
Group adults: 5.50 €.
Free entry for children
Group rate available for > 20 people.
Free of charge for :
- Under 18s (families and school groups excluded)
- 18-25 years old (European Union citizens and non-European legal residents in France)
- Disabled people and their companions
- Jobseekers (on presentation of a certificate less than 6 months old)
- Education pass (valid)
For all other free rates and measures, please contact us.
From 01/02 to 31/05
Opening hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday between 10 am and 1 pm and between 2 pm and 5 pm.
Closed on Monday.
Closed exceptionally on May 1st.
From 10am to 1pm and from 2pm to 5pm
Exceptional closure on 1 May.
From 01/06 to 30/09/2024
Opening hours daily between 10 am and 12.30 pm and between 2.30 pm and 6.30 pm.
All day from 1 June to 30 September.
Last entry at 5.30 pm.
From 01/10 to 06/11/2024
Opening hours daily between 10 am and 1 pm and between 2 pm and 5 pm.
Closed on Monday.
Closed exceptionally on bank holidays.
Phone :
04 93 04 55 55
06 86 60 49 76
06 58 51 05 60
Email :
monastere-de-saorge@monuments-nationaux.fr
estelle.arnould@monuments-nationaux.fr
Website : www.monastere-saorge.fr/
Facebook : www.facebook.com/monasteresaorge/?locale=fr_fr
The Monastery is a 10-minute walk from the Saorge eastern quarter turnaround, near the retirement home.
Guided tours included in the entrance fee at 10.30 am, 2.30 pm, 4 pm.
Duration approx. 1 hour.