Benedictine Palace

It all began way back in the 16th century, when a Benedictine monk who arrived at the Abbey of Fécamp from Venice invented an elixir made from 27 herbs. Even then, the elixir became popular not only among monks, but also at the court of King Francis.

But during the Great Revolution, the monasteries were closed and the monks were dispersed. It seemed the recipe had vanished into oblivion.

Time passed, and a local wine merchant, Alexandre Le Grand, allegedly found a book from the Benedictine abbey and deciphered the recipe for the treasured drink. Whether true or not, Le Grand’s drink turned out splendid! Le Grand named the revived elixir “Benedictine,” and in 1882 he organized the construction of a palace in Fécamp and turned it into a museum of the drink.

We arrived at the palace (not for the first time!) just before closing! It turns out that in the palace, as everywhere in France, it seems, there is a lunch break from 12 to 2. In front of us, the last tourists were being let out and the palace was being locked up. Only the gift shop remained open. After wandering among the closed doors and, out of disappointment, buying some liqueur for gifts, we decided not to linger here and went off to wander around Fécamp.

By the way, the town did not disappoint us at all. On the contrary, it turned out to be very charming and welcoming. An amazing number of yachts, fishermen, cheeky seagulls, and the sea brightened the sadness of not having visited the palace.