Abbaye de La Celle, Romanesque priory complex in La Celle, France

Abbaye de La Celle is a Romanesque complex in the centre of La Celle, in the Var. Its long pale stone building has a low pitched roof of reddish-brown tiles, three small arched windows on the upper wall, and a cylindrical tower capped by an open iron bell cage with a cross. A lower terrace with a metal railing stands above five arched openings on a stone base.

The site was occupied in the Iron Age, then by a Roman agricultural villa active until the 6th century. Construction of the first monastery began in the early 11th century; in 1011 lands with a church dedicated to Sainte-Perpétue were donated to Saint-Victor de Marseille. It was a double priory, with monks and nuns under a prior and a prioress.

The term "abbey" is inaccurate: this was a double priory, with monks at Sainte-Perpétue and nuns at Sainte-Marie, led by a prior and a prioress appointed by Saint-Victor de Marseille. Noble Provençal women entered here; Garsende de Sabran, countess of Provence, took the veil in 1225 and died here around 1242.

The complex sits in the centre of La Celle, reached via the CD 405; the Caramy river runs along the edge of the commune. Restoration of the medieval buildings was completed in May 2021, so the masonry and terrace are in renewed condition. The former monastic buildings now house a luxury inn and the Coteaux Varois en Provence wine house, so parts of the site are given over to these businesses rather than open for free wandering.

In 1938 Sylvia Fournier, owner of Porquerolles, bought the estate and opened a luxury hotel-restaurant, the first four-star establishment in the Var. After her death in 1971 another private operator took over. The hotel section is now leased to Alain Ducasse's houses, and another building on the former monastic estate holds the wine shop of the AOC Coteaux Varois en Provence.