Saint-Ruf, Medieval abbey in Saint-Jean district, Valence, France.

Saint-Ruf is a former abbey in Valence whose remains span different historical periods. An 18th-century monumental gate and archaeological foundations uncovered during excavations in the current municipal park document the site's former prominence.

The canons of Saint-Ruf were installed in a ruined church on the edge of Avignon on 1 January 1039 by concession of Bishop Benoît I. Tensions with the cathedral chapter led to the transfer of the order's mother house to Valence, where the canons acquired the île de l'Épervière from Bishop Odon de Crussol in 1158. After the Wars of Religion the abbey was never rebuilt on the island; the canons rebuilt it in the early 17th century around their priory of Saint-James.

The former abbey was a center of religious reform that shaped the spiritual life of communities across France during medieval times. Visitors today can sense this monastic past through the remaining architectural elements scattered throughout the site.

The site sits within a municipal park and is freely accessible, allowing visitors to explore the archaeological remains and the preserved gate. It is helpful to check in advance if guided tours or specific viewing times are available.

The heart of General Jean-Étienne Championnet, a Valence-born general of the Revolutionary wars, is kept in a monument in the apse of the former Saint-James church, now the Protestant temple. The church had become the temple of the Supreme Being before an imperial decree of 1806 assigned it to Valence's Protestants.