Abbatiale Notre-Dame de Tamié

The abbey church of Notre-Dame de Tamié belongs to the Trappist monastery of Tamié, founded in 1101 by Cistercian monks in the Savoyard Alps and still home to an active monastic community today. Perched fortress-like above Albertville, the complex is one of France's few remaining monasteries maintaining the full strictness of the Trappist rule — a daily rhythm of prayer, manual labor, and silence little changed since the Middle Ages. The monastery is widely known for its Fromage de Tamié, a mild washed-rind cheese produced by the monks to an old recipe and sold in the abbey shop. Visitors may attend liturgical services and take in the austere Romanesque church interior, set against a sweeping Alpine panorama.