The royal abbey was built in 1137 but owes its current appearance to Normandy-born architect François Leduc, known as the Tuscan for his taste for Tuscan art, who rebuilt it in the 17C in the 15C style. Église Notre Dame is strikingly bright and luminous; in the narthex, the unusual Romanesque door belonged to the original church. Like the church, the religious buildings were designed by Leduc, who also created the abbey's three gardens: a formal garden, a "herb garden" and an "insect garden".