The Abbaye de Valmagne hosts gala dinners, conventions, seminars, product launches and weddings, from 20 people in its restaurant to 950 seated or 1,200 standing in its former abbey church. The abbey stands among its vineyards at Villeveyrac, in the Hérault department of southern France. The family that owns it opened the monument to events to fund its upkeep and restoration.
Seminars and company events
Company meetings can take place inside the abbey for 20 to 1,000 people, in the small or large refectory, or in the church for prestige meetings. Smaller groups of 20 to 40 can meet in the winegrower's restaurant on site, usually on the mezzanine, with tables in a U shape and a screen, or in theater layout. Meeting groups can add buffets in the cloister or the refectory, and wine workshops: aroma initiation, a terroir walk, tastings of local produce or of older vintages from the estate.
The abbey regularly hosts gala dinners for large congresses held at the Corum in Montpellier: medical, pharmacy, research, legal and notarial congresses. Companies listed as past clients include Caisse d'Epargne, Société Générale, Groupama, IBM, Sanofi, EDF, CNRS and GRDF.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings run from the ceremony to the evening dance, with a brunch the next day possible at the restaurant. For receptions, the abbey is reserved from 6 p.m. until 5 a.m. at the latest. Several spaces are opened depending on the number of guests. Smaller family weddings for 20 to 120 guests can take place in the restaurant's main room, mezzanine or terrace.
Rooms and capacities
The cour d'honneur, a 500 m² courtyard with a large pool and 150-year-old plane trees, takes 500 standing or 350 seated, usually for the welcome cocktail. The cloister takes the same numbers, with tables set by the fountain, in front of the chapter house or in two of the galleries. The monks' refectory, 120 m², takes 130 standing or 80 seated and can serve as a seminar room, dining room or dance floor. The former church, 83 meters long and 24.5 meters high, seats 950 or holds 1,200 standing, among large oak wine casks.
The abbey provides lighting in the courtyard, church, cloister, chapter house and refectory, with 16-amp sockets in the church and four per cloister gallery, and 12 kW per phase in total.
Accommodation
There are no bedrooms at the abbey. The reception page lists hotels and guest houses nearby, including Château Les Sacristains 3 km away, Hôtel les Rocailles 8 km away, and Hôtel de Thau and Hôtel de la Pyramide in Mèze, 10 km away.
Catering
For receptions, you choose your caterer. The abbey lists caterers that know the site well, including Cabiron, Grand Traiteur, Germain, Helen and Le Délice des Princes. Caterers set up in the old kitchen for a dinner in the cloister, or under the church porch for a dinner in the church. The estate's own wines, from more than 30 hectares farmed organically since 1999, can be served. The restaurant on site handles group meals from 20 people, year-round.
History and setting
Valmagne was founded in 1139 and joined the Cistercian order in 1159. Building of the Gothic church began in 1257. Sacked during the wars of religion and again at the Revolution, it was sold and its church turned into a wine cellar. The Comte de Turenne bought it in 1838, and his descendants, the Gaudart d'Allaines family, still own it. It opened to the public in 1975.
Getting there
The abbey is in the countryside near Villeveyrac, inland from the Thau lagoon and Mèze. Montpellier, where the Corum congress center stands, is the nearest large city. Ask the team for directions and shuttle options.
