Most people arrive at L’Abri not quite knowing what to expect. L’Abri is not a quiet retreat center, and the time here can be quite full.
Our daily schedule weaves together study, discussion, and practical community work, which takes the pressure off structuring your own time and frees you to focus on what brought you here.
These rhythms bring people together across the natural divides of personality and background. By keeping things low-tech and unhurried, we create space for strangers to experience community. Many students find that the structured pace of life here leaves them genuinely refreshed by the time they leave.
Dedicating time to study
We call our visitors students because study is central to life here. Most days you’ll spend two to three hours in Farel House, our library stocked with books and recorded lectures spanning theology, philosophy, spirituality, and more.
Study time is your own — some work through a specific question, others journal or process creatively. Each week includes two lectures and a Bible study as well as intentional discussions over lunch where anyone can bring a question.
Keeping the community going
Serving the community is woven into the fabric of daily life at L’Abri. More often than not, you’ll find that the best conversations happen while you’re cooking, washing dishes or weeding alongside someone you’ve just met. At other times, tasks like cleaning or laundry can give you space to reflect and process while working with your hands.
Sharing life
A big part of L’Abri life is living in community with each other in Chalet Bellevue. The rooms in Bellevue sleep two to four people. While breakfast and dinner are shared in Chalet Bellevue, lunch often takes place in smaller groups at the different chalets that make up L’Abri.
We intentionally limit our use of technology in order to encourage conversation and time together.
What does a typical day look like?
No two days are quite the same. Tasks rotate, so you’ll try your hand at different things throughout your stay. The rhythm also shifts a little depending on whether there’s a lecture or a special activity.
Mornings
The day begins together — breakfast in Chalet Bellevue, the main chalet, at 8am. Afterwards, students either head to the library for study or set off for their assigned practical task for the morning, whether that’s cooking, cleaning, tending the grounds, or something else entirely.
Afternoons
At 1pm, we gather for lunch in smaller groups at the workers’ chalets which often includes a discussion. Those who studied in the morning then head out for practical work, and those who worked head to the library.
Evenings
We come back together again for dinner at 6:30pm. Evenings are free and many students enjoy hanging out in the lounge, going for an evening stroll or hike, or just retiring to their rooms.
Planning your visit
We offer three residential terms each year. A full term is ideal for those wanting deep immersion in study and community. A shorter stay of 3-4 weeks still allows for meaningful reflection and focus on a particular area of study. You’re also welcome to come for just a few days to get a feel for life here – though most people find they wish they’d stayed longer.
Study
Life at L’Abri offers a unique opportunity to engage with your questions about God, life, relationships, and culture in an intentional way.
Self-directed learning
Study at L’Abri is largely self-directed, acknowledging that everyone arrives with a different set of questions and needs. Around three hours each day are set aside for intentional study in the Farel House library, where you have many books and lectures to choose from. You can spend your study time reading, journaling, listening to lectures, or finding a bench nearby to reflect or pray.
Personal tutoring & guidance
If you stay with us for at least seven days, you will be paired with a tutor—one of our workers—who will meet with you weekly. These sessions are a space to process what you are learning, discuss topics that come up, and receive personalized recommendations for further resources.
Bi-weekly lectures
Twice a week, workers or visiting speakers present on a wide range of topics, such as theological and philosophical issues, cultural engagement and critique, understanding of the self and others through biblical and psychological principles, engaging with art, and many others. Every lecture concludes with a time for students to engage the speaker directly with their questions.
Lectures usually take place in Farel House on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9:15-11am and are open to the public. If you are planning to come as a day visitor, it is best to contact us by email a few days ahead or call us to check that they are taking place at the usual time and place.
Formal lunch discussions
Three times a week, the community gathers for a “Formal Lunch” facilitated by a worker. Anyone is welcome to bring up a question – often stemming from a recent lecture or a question encountered during their studies or conversations with others – and the table engages with it for an hour. Through these discussions we can deepen our understanding of our questions and also learn how to agree or disagree well with one another.
Serving the community
Students find that participating in tasks that keep community life running smoothly brings satisfaction and a sense of contribution. Working closely together also facilitates conversation and can deepen relationships, or give you time to reflect on your studies as you do something practical. Students are assigned tasks for 2-3 hours a day, as well as expected to volunteer for dishes once a day.
Indoor tasks
Helping with meal preparation, cleaning, laundry, dishes
Outdoor tasks
Helping with shoveling snow (winter term), weeding, mowing, watering, pruning, sorting recycling, flipping the compost, projects as needed (like sanding and painting)
Sharing life
Accommodation
Students at L’Abri live with each other in Chalet Bellevue, our primary student accommodation. There are 11 rooms with two to four people in each. They are separated into men and women’s rooms. L’Abri can accommodate married couples and also has limited accommodation for families.
Meals
Meals are a central part of life at L’Abri. Three times a day, students gather around the table at Chalet Bellevue or in one of the workers’ homes — food made with care and creativity, offered in the spirit of hospitality by those who prepared it.
Most of our meals are shared all together in Chalet Bellevue, but lunches are often in smaller groups in the workers’ chalets. Several times a week we have a guided discussion over lunch.
Free time
During your stay with us, your designated time off is on Thursdays (full day) and Sundays (half-day). During free time, students tend to congregate in Bellevue’s lounge – playing games or music, reading books, sharing conversations – or enjoy playing ping pong on the terrasse, going for walks around the village and surrounding woods, and taking in the beautiful Alpine views.
Technology at L’Abri
At L’Abri, we aim to approach technology, the Internet, and media with intentionality. In light of this, we encourage you to refrain from bringing your laptop/tablet altogether, or to limit your use of them to days off (we store laptops in a locked cabinet during the week). Many students come to appreciate taking time to detach from digital devices and the challenges associated with taking notes and writing by hand.
In an effort to promote an engaged community life, we request that students refrain from using their mobile phones while in the company of others. Additionally, we limit in which areas phones can be used. Students are welcome to use their mobile phones to listen to lectures in our library during study sessions, or in designated “tech zones” in the main Chalet.
Curious to find out more?
Whether you’re considering a stay at L’Abri or simply curious about what life here is like, we’ve gathered answers to some of the questions we’re most often asked.
