The Books

Goodnight and God Bless, Volumes I and II are a series of travel guides to cheap, safe, clean and well-located accommodation for tourists, travellers and pilgrims in Europe. These unique travel guidebooks provide details of guesthouse accommodation in hundreds of convents, abbeys, monasteries and other religious establishments in Europe.

Volume I is a guide to the convent and monastery guesthouses of Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic.

Volume II covers the convents and monasteries of France, United Kingdom and Ireland.

Volume III will include guesthouses in the convents and monasteries of Spain, Germany and several smaller Eastern European countries.

Tourists, travellers and pilgrims—be they men, women, children, individuals, families or larger groups—are welcome to stay in these convent and monastery guesthouses. And the warm hospitality is extended to non-Catholics as well as those of no religious beliefs. Any exceptions are noted in the individual entries. The accommodation is separated into Open Houses which invite general travellers and tourists and Spiritual Retreats which are appropriate for those who are serious about making a retreat or engaging in spiritual activities. Convents and monasteries listed under Spiritual Retreats are not suitable for people looking for a hotel/holiday kind of experience.

Throughout many countries inEurope unused monks and nuns’ cells are being quietly refurbished, some with added en suites, and opening up as general accommodation for all travellers. Many once-dour refectories, where simple repasts were eaten either in silence or to the sombre tones of a monk or nun reading from the scriptures, have become lively places of conversation—and some surprisingly good dining. Hospitality has long been a tradition of religious orders and these days, with religious communities struggling under the weight of the maintenance costs of ancient buildings and the sad decline in the number of monks, priests and nuns, the only winners are the travelling public.

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