The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: October second, staying in convents and monasteries.

Looking for a quiet place of refuge and reflection, removed from life's hurly burly? How about simple, affordable lodgings in the heart of a bustling city? Well, get thee to a nunnery.

Across the country and around the globe, places of secular religious retreat are opening their gates to outsiders. A guidebook called Sanctuaries lists over 1000 monasteries, convents, and religious retreats in the U.S. that accept casual visitors for stays of one night, a week, and even a month. Many guests come to participate in religious activities; others come for peace and quiet.

Many of these retreats are in beautiful places. There's a Camaldoli hermitage perched on a mountain top in Big Sur, California; a Trappist monastery in Snow Mass, Colorado; and a Benedictine priory in Weston, Vermont. They provide simple meals, spartan rooms, and, for those who wish, association with people following a way of life far removed from the daily grind.

Planning a visit to Rome during the millennium celebration? The eternal city is filled with religious guesthouses, many located in prime locations. The Sisters of Lourdes run a beautiful retreat on the Via Sistina near the Spanish Steps. A single room at the nearby Hotel Hassler starts at $300 a night. The sisters charge $32, though they do enforce a nightly curfew. Casa di Santa Brigida, a convent in the Piazza Farnese near the Pantheon has 24 nicely appointed bedrooms which book months in advance. In fact, travelers enjoy the virtues of these conventional lodgings so much, some make a habit of it.

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