Monasteries & Abbeys
Sanctuaries in the world's most remote places. 20 places, mapped and ready to build a trip around.
Plan a trip on Trailwind →Saint Catherine Monastery
EgyptBestJun–SepClimate36–90°FCurrencyEGPLanguageArabicSaint Catherine's Monastery, officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Catherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, is a Christian monastery located in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Located at the foot of Mount Sinai, it was built between 548 and 565, and is the world's oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery.
Gelati Monastery
GeorgiaBestSep, Oct, DecClimate36–84°FGelati is a medieval monastic complex near Kutaisi in the Imereti region of western Georgia. One of the first monasteries in Georgia, it was founded in 1106 by King David IV of Georgia as a monastic and educational center.
Jerónimos Monastery
PortugalBestJun–AugClimate48–84°FCurrencyEURLanguagePortugueseThe Jerónimos Monastery or Hieronymites Monastery is a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome near the Tagus river in the parish of Belém, in the Lisbon Municipality, Portugal. It became the necropolis of the Portuguese royal dynasty of Aviz in the 16th century but was secularized on 28 December 1833 by state decree and its ownership transferred to the charitable institution, Real Casa Pia de Lisboa.
Geghard
ArmeniaBestApr–OctClimate19–81°FGeghard is a medieval monastery in the Kotayk province of Armenia, which is partially carved out of the adjacent mountain, surrounded by cliffs. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site with enhanced protection status.
Monastery of Saint John of Rila
BulgariaBestVariesClimate27–77°FThe Monastery of Saint John of Rila, also known as Rila Monastery ("Sveti Ivan Rilski", is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the southwestern Rila Mountains, 117 km south of the capital Sofia in the deep valley of the Rilska River at an elevation of 1,147 m above sea level, inside of Rila Monastery Nature Park and in close vicinity of the Rila Monastery Forest Nature Reserve.
Maulbronn Monastery
GermanyBestVariesClimate32–77°FCurrencyEURLanguageGermanMaulbronn Monastery is a former Cistercian abbey and ecclesiastical state in the Holy Roman Empire located at Maulbronn, Baden-Württemberg. The monastery complex, one of the best-preserved in Europe, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.
Daphni Monastery
GreeceBestSep–JunClimate43–95°FCurrencyEURLanguageGreekDaphni or Dafni is an eleventh-century Byzantine monastery eleven kilometers northwest of central Athens in the suburb of Chaidari, south of Athinon Avenue. It is situated near the forest of the same name, on the Sacred Way that led to Eleusis. The forest covers about 18 km2 (7 mi2), and surrounds a laurel grove. "Daphni" is the modern Greek name that means "laurel grove", derived from Daphneion (Lauretum).
Abbey and Altenmünster of Lorsch
GermanyBestVariesClimate34–79°FCurrencyEURLanguageGermanLorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch, is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Worms. It was one of the most important monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque–Carolingian style buildings in Germany.
Studenica monastery
SerbiaBestVariesClimate27–82°FThe Studenica Monastery is a 12th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery situated 39 kilometres (24 mi) southwest of Kraljevo and 40.9 kilometres (25.4 mi) east of Ivanjica, in central Serbia.
Melk Abbey
AustriaBestVariesClimate28–81°FCurrencyEURLanguageGermanMelk Abbey is a Benedictine abbey above the town of Melk, Lower Austria, on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Danube river, adjoining the Wachau valley, that belongs to the Austrian Congregation. The abbey contains the tomb of Saint Coloman of Stockerau and the remains of several members of the House of Babenberg, Austria's first ruling dynasty.
Horezu monastery
RomaniaEst. 1690BestAug–OctClimate30–79°FCurrencyRONLanguageRomanianThe Horezu Monastery or Hurezi Monastery was founded in 1690 by Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu in the town of Horezu, Wallachia, Romania. It is considered to be a masterpiece of "Brâncovenesc style", known for its architectural purity and balance, the richness of its sculpted detail, its treatment of religious compositions, its votive portraits, and its painted decorative works.The Brâncovenesc style, which can be found at several other churches and monasteries in Wallachia, is the only true and original Romanian st…
Khor Virap
ArmeniaBestVariesClimate21–95°FKhor Virap is an Armenian monastery located in the Ararat Plain in Armenia, near the border with Turkey, about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Artashat, Ararat Province, in the territory of ancient Artaxata. The monastery was host to a theological seminary and was the residence of the Catholicos, the head of the Armenian Church.
Vézelay Abbey
FranceBestVariesClimate34–79°FCurrencyEURLanguageFrenchVézelay Abbey is a Benedictine and Cluniac monastery in Vézelay in the east-central French department of Yonne. It was constructed between 1120 and 1150. The Benedictine abbey church, now the Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, with its complex program of imagery in sculpted capitals and portals, is one of the great masterpieces of Burgundian Romanesque art and architecture.
Princely Abbey of Corvey
GermanyBestSepClimate34–75°FCurrencyEURLanguageGermanThe Princely Abbey of Corvey is a former Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastical principality now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was one of the half-dozen self-ruling princely abbeys of the Holy Roman Empire from the Late Middle Ages until 1792 when Corvey was elevated to a prince-bishopric. Corvey, whose territory extended over a vast area, was in turn secularized in 1803 in the course of the German mediatisation and absorbed into the newly created Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda.
Hosios Loukas
GreeceEst. 1990BestFeb–NovClimate37–90°FCurrencyEURLanguageGreekHosios Loukas is a historic walled monastery situated near the town of Distomo, in Boeotia, Greece. Founded in the mid-10th century, the monastery is one of the most important monuments of Middle Byzantine architecture and art, and has been listed on UNESCO's World Heritage Sites since 1990, along with the monasteries of Nea Moni and Daphnion.
Abbey of Fontenay
FranceBestJun–SepClimate34–79°FCurrencyEURLanguageFrenchThe Abbey of Fontenay is a former Cistercian abbey located in the commune of Marmagne, near Montbard, in the département of Côte-d'Or in France. It was founded by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in 1118, and built in the Romanesque style. It is one of the oldest and most complete Cistercian abbeys in Europe, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.
Convent of Christ
PortugalBestJun–AugClimate45–90°FCurrencyEURLanguagePortugueseThe Convent of Christ of Tomar, also called Convent of Christ or Monastery of Christ, is a former Catholic convent in Tomar, Portugal.
Sanahin Monastery
ArmeniaBestJul–NovClimate27–79°FSanahin Monastery is an Armenian monastery founded in the 10th century in Sanahin in the Lori Province of Armenia.
Haghpat Monastery
ArmeniaBestJul–NovClimate27–79°FHaghpat Monastery, also known as Haghpatavank, is a medieval Armenian monastery complex in Haghpat, Armenia, built between the 10th and 13th century.
Gračanica monastery
SerbiaBestMar–NovClimate28–86°FThe Gračanica Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located in Kosovo. It was built by the Serbian king Stefan Milutin in 1321. The monastery was declared a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1990 and in 2006 it was placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List under the name of Medieval Monuments in Kosovo as an extension of the Visoki Dečani site, which was overall placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.