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During the visit, whether nonguided or conducted, you will appreciate the serenity of the Gothic cloister. Its twinned columns are surmounted by capitals with mainly vegetal decorations. The cloister centre is occupied by a stone basin from the early 16th century. There is also a checkerboard sculpted into the top of the low wall in the eastern gallery.
The church is partly Romanesque. It shelters a 12th century sarcophagus, one of the main works of the Maître de Cabestany, representing the arrest, the martyrdom and the entombment of Saint-Sernin, first Bishop of Toulouse during the 3rd century.
In the abbey's main house, there is a marvellous 16th century French style ceiling which shows a floral and animal repertory, but also different scenes (craftsmen at work, hunting, falconry, gallant or humoristic scenes...). The walls are decorated with paintings from the 19th century representing the coats of arms of the 55 abbots of Saint-Hilaire.
The southern gallery gave onto two refectories, one was for the monks and has recently been restored, the other was for pilgrims and other guests. These rooms, which are mostly in ruins today, still shelter a 14th century pulpit, unique in France. It is built into the wall which separates the two refectories... It used to be open towards the two rooms so that monks on one side and guests on the other could hear the readings. Moreover, the reader used to stand in a recess so the abbey's guests could not see him.
The visit also includes an underground cellar, sheltering former seed silos. It is where the monks created Blanquette de Limoux in 1531.
Lastly, a small exhibition of liturgical clothes and a local archaeology exhibition finish the visit.
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