8. January 2002
L'Abbaye du Thoronet

Le Thoronet is an old Cistercian abbey located in Provence, the south-east part of France, halfway between Draguignan and Brignoles.
It is rather easy to access from the autoroute A8 or the highway N7.
The abbey was build in 1160-1190.



I've been to Le Thoronet twice - both times during winter. I would guess that there are many tourist during the summer, so it might be easier to photograph in the winter.
At winter time there is a very beautiful low light as well.



On my first trip I brought a 35mm SLR and no tripod so I was limited to exterior shots only.
But there is a very beautiful light inside - especially in the cloister (the rectangular building around the inner court), so on my second trip I brought a medium format camera and a tripod to make interior shots.
These can be seen in the French Gallery.

All pictures on this page is taken with a Nikon F90x on Kodak Gold 200.

Books

Architecture of Truth:
The Cistercian Abbey of Le Thoronet
by Lucien Hervé
Phaidon Press, 2001, 160 pages

Phaidon Press publish a beautiful book about the architecture of the abbey with black and white pictures from Le Thoronet taken in '50s.
You can buy this book at Amazon.com.



Links
Find more information about the abbey here:
• Abbaye du Thoronet - www.provence-beyond.com
• Le Thoronet - ourworld.cs.com
In french:
• L'Abbaye du Thoronet - cuverville.free.fr