In the heart of the Haut-Chablais, the Notre Dame d'Aulps abbey was founded around 1095 by monks from  Molesmo abbey, led by Guy de Langres and Guérin de Pont à Mousson. They chose as their site the "combe de la come chaude", next to the Clénant stream, (on land belonging to the village of Saint Jean d'Aulps).
The new building became independent from Molesmo in 1120 and joined the Cistercian movement in 1136, but only after pressure from Saint Bernard of Clairvaux who visited the valley in 1135. Guérin de Pont à Mousson, the abbey's second abbot, was elected as bishop of Sion in 1138, and remained in this post until 1150, when he died at the abbey having returned from visiting the sick. Almost straight away he was venerated as a saint, protector of livestock, and the abbey become one of the Chablais' most important places of pilgrimage.
Under Guerin's successor, construction of the abbey continued. Work on the bell tower began in about 1160 and was finished in the first half of the 13th century, thanks to the generosity of Humbert III of Savoie. Both the abbey's financial possessions plus gifts from the lay community allowed this imposing abbey to become a powerful player in the Savoie of the 13th and 14th centuries. The founding of the 1468 amendment marked the beginning of the abbey's decline, though the last monks departed in 1793 when Revolutionary soldiers took up residence in the abbey.
In 1824, the village's inhabitants destroyed the abbey in order to plunder its stones. The building remained forgotten until 1902, when it was classed as a historical monument to protect what was left of it. During the 20th century the abbey has been restored, and has hosted several archeological digs.
The abbey today receives much attention thanks to many activities that surround it: restoration projects, a medicinal plant garden, and the rebuilding of a farm as the Domaine de Découverte de la Vallée d'Aulps, open since July 2007.