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The dove-grey limestone columns of the cloister, decorated with delicate carvings of leaves, flowers and vines, are superb works of craftsmanship, dating from between 1180 and 1220.

The Vaudois, would-be reformers of the Catholic church, attacked Sénanque and partly destroyed it in 1544. The refectory was rebuilt in the 17th century and has now been restored in its original style.

The barrel-vaulted nave and aisles of Sénanque are five bays long, and three stone steps lead from the nave to the square crossing, with its eight-sided dome. One of four altars is original.

The three windows of the raised, semi-circular apse symbolize the Holy Trinity.

The calefactory is symbolic of St Bernard’s injunctions against luxury: this one heated room enabled monks to read and write without freezing.

In a corner of the east arm of the transept, a small tomb-stone marks the grave of the 13th-century Lord of Venasque, the abbey’s former patron.

The monks’ dormitory is a huge, vaulted space, paved with flagstones which have been polished by centuries of use. Arched windows at regular intervals along its walls and two large, circular windows at each end make the room light and airy.

The walls of the square chapterhouse, the abbey’s assembly room, are lined with stone seats. Here the monks sat each day to hear the abbot read a chapter from the Rule of St Bernard or a sermon from the Bible.

The Cistercians came to this plateau seeking isolation, and built their abbey next to the region’s only river, the Senancole. They channelled the water to flow through and under the abbey, providing sanitation, and irrigation for the gardens.

The Abbaye Notre- Dame de Sénanque is surrounded by fields of lavender which make a spectacular setting for the buildings in summer.