Museum of Fairground Arts (Musée des Arts Forains)

During the early 17th century, members of a Catholic reform movement opened a school next to the abbey in an attempt to defy Jesuit teachings. Run by Cistercians nuns, the school—which was called the Petites écoles de Port-Royal—was an important and influential establishment for the great debaters and orators of the time, including Blaise Pascal and Jean Racine. The school was eventually transformed into an art museum, though the collection of paintings, books, and engravings accurately reflects the political and religious movement in French history. The most notable pieces are religious works and portraits by French baroque painter Philippe de Champaigne.