Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Vallbona

Catalonia

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Eight monges (nuns) still live at this 12th-century institution, the only women's monastery along the Cistercian Route. Years of restoration have cleared up most of the extensive civil-war damage, revealing a hushed cloister spanning the 12th to 16th centuries. Queen Violant of Hungary, a formidable political influencer and queen consort to Jaume I of Aragón, is entombed in the Romanesque-Gothic church (note the bilingual plaque in Catalan and Hungarian). Visits are by hourly 40-minute guided tour (Spanish or Catalan).

The monastery is 25km north of Montblanc, 11km northwest of the C14 along the LP2335.

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