Abbaye Saint-Félix-de-Montceau, Gothic abbey ruins in Gigean, France.

Abbaye Saint-Félix-de-Montceau is a ruined Gothic abbey church on the Gardiole massif above Gigean. Its tall, flat west wall rises in sections divided by vertical buttresses, pierced by tall, narrow pointed-arch windows with empty openings and a larger pointed arch near the right end. The lower wall is patched and uneven where stone has fallen, and rough blocks lie scattered on the ground below.

Saint-Félix-de-Montceau was a nunnery: a document of 1104, under Bishop Godefroi of Maguelonne, already mentions it, and tradition credits its foundation to Bishop Bermond de Lavézou of Béziers around 1025. The nuns were Benedictine until 1167, when Bishop Jean de Montlaur imposed the Cistercian reform; they returned to the Benedictine rule in the 15th century. In 1514, after repeated pillaging, Prioress Bone Garsabalde moved the community inside the walls of Gigean, and the abbey was dissolved in 1791.

The name Montceau is sometimes written Monceau, and a local saying from around 1332 ran "Saint-Félix de Monceau, 12 nuns, 13 cradles", a jibe at the community's reputation. The monastic gardens have been recreated and can be visited along with the ruins. The site is cared for by the Association de sauvegarde de l'Abbaye Saint-Félix de Montceau, founded in 1970.

The ruins stand on the Gardiole ridge between Gigean and Frontignan, reached on foot by trails from Gigean; the climb is steady. Since 1970 the Association de sauvegarde de l'Abbaye Saint-Félix de Montceau, founded on Luc Routier's initiative, has cleared and restored the site. The grounds and the recreated monastic garden can be visited.

From its elevated position, clear days offer views extending toward Thau Lagoon and the Mediterranean, with Sète and Marseillan visible on the horizon. This panoramic setting was strategically valuable for medieval inhabitants and remains a surprising vista from the ruins today.