Abbey sights in Caen
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Abbaye aux Hommes
Caen's two Romanesque abbeys were founded in the mid-11th century by William the Conqueror and his wife, Matilda of Flanders, as part of a deal in which the Church pardoned these fifth cousins for having semi-incestuously married each other. With its magnificent and multiturreted Église St-Étienne, the Abbaye aux Hommes is near the western end of rue Écuyère. This was William's final resting place, though the original tomb was destroyed by a 16th-century Calvinist mob and, in 1793, by fevered Revolutionaries – a solitary thighbone is all that's left of Will's mortal remains. Today, the 18th-century convent buildings house the town hall, and tours of the abbey run at 9.30a…
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Abbaye aux Dames
The counterpoint of the Abbaye aux Hommes is the Abbaye aux Dames at the eastern end of rue des Chanoines. The complex includes the Église de la Trinité. Look for Matilda's tomb behind the main altar and for the striking pink stained-glass windows beyond. Free twice-daily tours take you through the interior in some detail, though you can snoop around yourself at other times outside of Mass.
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