Kartause Ittingen

Carthusians lived as hermits within a community, each monk in his own small house with a workshop and a private walled garden, meeting only for certain offices - and Ittingen preserves that layout intact, which is what makes it worth visiting rather than any single building. Founded in the twelfth century as an Augustinian house and Carthusian from 1461, it was dissolved in 1848. Two museums now occupy it: the Ittinger Museum shows the monastic buildings and cells as they were, and the Kunstmuseum Thurgau holds contemporary and outsider art in the former farm buildings. The estate still works - vineyards, a farm, a hotel and a restaurant - and the rose garden by the cells is at its best in June.

What you actually see

• Individual monks' houses - each with a workshop and private walled garden.
• A layout kept intact - the Carthusian plan legible as a whole.
• Two museums - the monastic rooms and a contemporary art collection.
• A working estate - vineyards, farm, hotel and restaurant on site.

When to go

April to October for the gardens; open all year. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Museums close on some weekdays and over the New Year. The site is large and the two collections have little to do with each other. It is popular for weddings and conferences, which can close parts. Public transport is a bus.

Nearby

Frauenfeld is south; Lake Constance and Arenenberg are north-east.