Aubazine travel guide

Visit Aubazine (Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France)

Aubazine is a village situated in the south-west of the Corrèze department, about 15 kilometres east of Brive-la-Gaillarde. Note that the village is also called Aubazines, they are both the same place and the name is interchangeable!

Explore Aubazine

France This Way review: Aubazine is a pretty village with an impressive church and beautiful scenery around the villazge, and a visit is recommended as you explore the Corrèze department

Although the abbey church is the principal reason that visitors come to Aubazine, the other parts of the village are also attractive so make sure you explore while you are here!

Abbey Church of Saint-Etienne in Aubazine

The church overlooks the large square in the centre of Aubazine, and was founded in the 12th century. The abbey was created as a 'double abbey' with a monastery for monks and a separate monastery for nuns.

The abbey was successful for several centuries, and in the 17th century the very large dormitory that we see today was built, to house 300 monks.

Development of the buildings continued into the 18th century, although it was becoming very expensive to maintain the buildings, so in 1731 a half of the church nave was demolished to reduce costs of maintenance (the part demolished was almost 100 metres long!).

At the time of the revolution, the monastic community was dissolved (as with all monasteries in France) and the church became the village church for Aubazine. Part of the buildings of the abbey became an orphanage from the late 19th century, and Coco Chanel passed a part of here childhood here.

The facade is a simple design with three small windows and three bells, although the main body of the church dominated the centre of Aubazine.

Inside the church you can see the tomb of Saint-Etienne of Aubazine, a very rare 12th century wardrobe, a charming 15th century fresco called the Vierge de Pitié and the wooden stallls, carved in the 18th century.

Elsewhere in Aubazine

In the centre of the square in front of the church you can see a stone fountain, and at the end of the square you can find the tourist information office for Aubazine.

On the road behind the abbey there is a footpath that allows you to see the Canal des Moines, a small canal that brought water to the abbey from the 12th century.

Although the church Saint-Etienne and the associated monastic buildings dominate the centre of Aubazine, there are other attractive buildings here, including the mairie, built of red stone, and several streets of traditional Limousin cottages.