Five abbeys where to spend the night

MORNING LIST

Getting up at five in the morning to pray or waking up in peace in front of a sumptuous landscape: here are five places of accommodation where you will hear the matins ringing.

Wind and songs at the Saint-Guénolé abbey

To be reserved for those who like to feel isolated. Welcoming retreats as well as individual stays, Saint-Guénolé, at the end of Finistère, has been battered by wind and tides for centuries. The heather covered moor plunges you into the harshness of the life of the monks of yesteryear, and it is possible to attend services, sung in Gregorian. Two pavilions outside the walls welcome those who wish to make a retreat open to personal meditation.

Getting there: by train to Brest or Quimper, then take the bus to Camaret (line 34 or 37 of the Penn Ar Bed network) then a taxi for the last kilometers. Reservations: [email protected] or 02-98-27-37-53. abbaye-landevennec.fr

A 4-star convent in Lyon

The Fourvière Hotel, in Lyon.

Here, on the hill which dominates Lyon, we are less in the spiritual. A former convent, the Convent of the Visitation, built in 1854 by Pierre-Marie Basson, designer of the famous basilica located nearby, has been transformed into a 4-star hotel. The reception at the Fourvière Hotel has the look of the old chapel it was. The rooms are the old cells of the sisters. To break with the austerity of the building, the interior decoration has opted for a contemporary style. The most charming place is the small interior cloister, which overlooks the restaurant. A curiosity for those who want to stay a day or two in the capital of the Gauls.

Fourvière Hotel, 23, rue Roger-Radisson, Lyon 5e ; from € 169 per night in a standard double room. Reservations 04-74-70-07-00 or fourviere-hotel.com

A monk’s life at Sénanque abbey

The Abbey of Notre-Dame de Sénanque, in the Vaucluse.

Here, the car is prohibited. Those who come to Notre-Dame de Sénanque share the life of the Cistercian monks who continue to occupy this superb 12th-century monastery.e century, surrounded by lavender fields and located in a valley near the village of Gordes, in the heart of Provence. The fence is lifted a few hours a day to bring the life of the community closer. Seven daily prayers take place. The abbey church, the old dormitory, the cloister, the boiler room and the chapter room are accessible. Meals are taken in silence. It is not possible to stay more than a week on site. Unless, of course, to take orders.

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