Since you have to go through the church to get to the abbey, we started by visiting a church.

Église Saint-Étienne is a very tall, striking church. As you enter, you see a long Romanesque nave dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries, with Romanesque arches spanning three levels of light stone and some of the original stained glass with geometric designs. The nave leads to the gothic 13th-century choir and altar. In this part, there is a Chapel Halbout (13th century) with modern stained glass by M. Ingrand. (Ingrand’s stained glass is in every French cathedral, and it has wonderfully replaced the stained glass that perished during both WWI and WWII.) On the side of the altar on the second level there is a large clock that seems to be seating on a balcony. Chapels around the choir have some of the best stained glass in the church, especially in the chapel of St Etienne – patron of the Abbey, which has beautiful stained glass telling the story of St Etienne’s life, as well as stories from the Old Testament. William the Conqueror is buried here, and you can see the words "Guill le Conquerant, Duc de Normandie" at the top of the ironwork surrounding the choir as you are entering to see the tomb. The arches around the choir are covered with Romanesque bas-reliefs, and 17th-century choir stalls have wonderful wood carvings. Inside you can also see several large paintings of the school of Rubens.

The church has two very tall bell towers from the outside that were added in the 15th century, with tall spires in the same manner as the Bayeux cathedral at almost a 90-degree angle, going up covered with stone and ending with a rooster on top. Underneath there are several levels of Gothic/Romanesque arches.