Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
10,
www.cg71.fr
, French only, click on
Buscéphale horaries
). There is no train station in
Cluny.
Everything of interest is within a few minutes' walk of the
TI
(daily June-Sept 9:30-12:30
& 14:30-19:00, no midday closure July-Aug, until 18:00 May and Oct, until 17:00 Nov-
April, 6 Rue Mercière, tel. 03 85 59 05 34).
The TI is at the base of the
“Cheese Tower,”
so named because it was used to age
cheese (or perhaps for the way tourists smell after climbing to the top). The tower offers
a sweeping city view (€2, same hours as TI). Facing the abbey's entrance, the TI is 100
yards to the right. There's also a TI branch at Parking le Rochefort (June-Sept only).
A
farmers' market
animates the old town each Saturday.
The first two sights—the museum and the abbey—share the same ticket and schedule
(€9.50, ticket covers museum and abbey entrance, both open daily May-Aug 9:30-18:00,
Sept-April9:30-12:00&13:30-17:00,tel.0385591593).Historiansshouldinvestin
The
Abbey of Cluny
guidebook (€7), sold at both sights. English tours should be available on
certain days July-Aug; call ahead for times. Start your tour at the museum and finish with
the abbey.
History of Cluny and Its (Scant) Abbey
In 1964, St. Benedict (480-547), founder of the first monastery (in Montecassino,
southofRome) fromwhich agreat monastic movement sprang,wasnamed the pat-
ron saint of Europe. Christians and non-Christians alike recognize the impact that
monasteries had in establishing a European civilization out of the dark chaos that
followed the fall of Rome.
The Abbey of Cluny was the ruling center of the first great international
franchise, or chain, of monasteries in Europe. It was the heart of an upsurge in
monasticism, of church reform, and an evangelical revival that spread throughout
Europe—a phenomenon that historians call the Age of Faith (11th and 12th centur-
ies). Fromthis springboard came avast network ofabbeys, priories, andother mon-
astic orders that kindled the establishment of modern Europe.
