Abbaye Saint-Pons, Cistercian abbey in Gémenos, France.

The Abbaye Saint-Pons in Gémenos is a Cistercian nunnery founded in 1205, built in the Romanesque tradition with some Gothic elements in parts. Its walls are of pale yellow and grey ashlar blocks, uneven and weathered, with two round-arched windows framed in pale stone and a recessed arched doorway below a dark stone plaque. The church, cloister and conventual buildings survive as restored remains.

The monastery was founded at the beginning of the 13th century and housed Cistercian nuns for more than 200 years. The community departed the site in the early 15th century for security reasons and left the buildings behind.

The abbey served as a significant center for religious life in the region for centuries and draws visitors interested in medieval women's communities. The ruins and remaining structures tell the story of the role these communities played in society.

The site is accessible via the regional RD2 road and is set within a natural park. Visitors should expect to walk through grounds where older structures coexist with modern conservation efforts.

In the bed of the Fauge stream grows a microscopic red alga, Hildenbrandia rivularis, which normally develops only in alpine torrents with very pure water; its presence here remains unexplained. A local legend links the site's misfortunes to a Christmas night when the nuns opened their door to a band of young men.