Moët & Chandon Brunch Rendezvous at a 12th-Century Abbey

Cistercian monks founded the Abbaye des Vaux-de-Cernay in the 12th century, and their former refectory still stands beneath soaring stone vaults. These days, the tables are considerably more indulgent. Every weekend, Le Réfectoire des Moines fills with brunch, a bottle of Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial can join the table, and the 185-acre estate stays open for the afternoon.

Brunch Inside A 12th-Century Abbey

The room alone is worth lingering over. Le Réfectoire des Moines keeps the scale of the original monastic dining hall. Its high stone arches, enormous windows, and long tables run through the historic space. The monks would probably have questions about the buffet.

The Abbaye's brunch spreads across sweet and savory counters rather than arriving as a polite sequence of courses. The point is abundance and time. Come at noon. Go back for whatever you missed. Stay for dessert. Outside guests are welcome on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, so an overnight stay is hardly required to make a day of it.

Moët Impérial Joins The Table

If Champagne is joining brunch, Moët Impérial is the classic choice here. Moët & Chandon created the cuvée in 1869, and more than 150 years later it remains the Maison's signature. More than 200 crus can enter the blend, bringing together Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay with reserve wines from previous vintages.

At the Abbaye, a bottle can be added to brunch. Expect the familiar apple, pear and white peach first, followed by citrus and brioche. More importantly, there is nowhere particularly urgent to be once the bottle is empty.

Afterwards, Take A Boat

Lunch is only half the reason to come. The Estate spreads across 185 acres in the Vallée de Chevreuse, with the Abbey ruins, forest, and lake all within a short walk of the table.

Boats and pedal boats wait on the water. Bicycles are available for the grounds. Tennis, cinema and the games room are included for brunch guests, while additional experiences range from yoga and spa treatments to sauna and hammam. Then there are the floating padel courts sitting directly on the lake, because apparently ordinary padel was insufficient.

Hotel guests also have access to the heated outdoor pool. Day guests coming for brunch get the activities attached to their restaurant reservation, with the pool reserved for those staying overnight.

Make A Weekend Of It

Of course, leaving after brunch is optional. The Abbaye itself reopened as a hotel after an extensive restoration, with rooms spread through the historic buildings and surrounding pavilions. Stay over, and the Sunday escape becomes considerably slower: breakfast, spa, the pool, another walk around the lake and Paris whenever you feel ready for it again.

Or keep it simple. Arrive at noon. Have brunch under the old stone vaults. Order the Moët. Take a boat out afterwards.

Forty-five minutes from Paris, that is quite enough reason to lose a Sunday.

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