Sharon Sparlin: A DAY AT MONTSERRAT MONASTERY IN SPAIN

Montserrat means “The Serrated Mountain” and is home to Catalonia’s most important religious retreat. Located 30 miles and about an hour northwest of Barcelona by train, the beauty of the area is, in one word, stunning. Anyone in the Barcelona area will want to take time to explore this gem. Located 4,055 feet above the valley floor, on a clear day even the island of Mallorca is visible.

View from the gondola ride

You will find a myriad of various tickets available for your Montserrat experience but my suggestion would be to purchase the ToT Montserrat ticket. I purchased ours online for $46.20 Euros per person. This is just a little over $50 USD but here is what is included:

Train from Barcelona to Montserrat
Cable car OR track railway to the top (I would recommend the Cable Car)
Unlimited buffet lunch including some typical Catalan dishes along with wine and beer
Admission to the Museu de Montserrat
Admission to the Audiovisual Gallery (video is about 7 minutes in length)
Unlimited use of the Sant Joan and Santa Cova funiculars
Cable car OR track railway to the bottom
Return train trip from Montserrat to Barcelona

You will certainly find plenty to explore at Montserrat, including a visit into the Basilica for viewing of the Black Virgin, the Patron Saint of Catalonia. Legend has it that the statute was moved to Montserrat around 718 to avoid danger by invading Saracens. In 880AD some shepherd children claimed they saw a bright light and heard angels singing in the Montserrat mountains. The children later brought their parents to the location and they witnessed the same. Believing that the visions were a sign from God, the community elders were then brought to the site to explore the cave where the vision occurred. This was the genesis of the Montserrat legend and the Black Virgin.

Our day to Montserrat began at 8:10am. We left our apartment and hopped on the Metro to the Plaza Espanya stop. Depending upon your departure time, the trains to Montserrat depart from either track 3 and 4. Here’s a link to help plan yourtrip.

We had planned on taking an 8:55am train but when we arrived we discovered that the 8:55am train wasn’t operating that day. No problem. Trains operate frequently so we took the escalator upstairs to enjoy a morning cup of coffee and waited for the 9:36am departure. The train will take 1 hour and the cable car ride to the top is 3 ½ minutes. Because there is only 1 car operating in each direction, the wait can be extensive. Our wait was just over 1 hour.


Cable car at Montserrat


Cable car platform at top of Montserrat

When you finally arrive at the top you will want to go to the information center and pick up a map to help you navigate around the complex. Because we arrived at the top at about 11:45am, we opted to have our lunch before touring the site to avoid lunch crowds. The restaurant for the self-serve buffet is location #7 on your map.

The doors to the buffet opened promptly at 12:00 noon and the experience was WONDERFUL. Salads, pastas, hot entrees, desserts and drink stations abound and it made me feel like I was back on our cruise ship. The restaurant clings to the side of one of the cliffs with very large windows that afford spectacular views of the valley below. The cost for this unlimited buffet is normally $15.50 Euros, about $17 USD, but is included with your ToT Montserrat ticket.

Once you have arrived at Montserrat Monastery, you also have the option of taking two more funicular rides: the Funicular de Santa Cova and the Funicular de Sant Joan. I would allow a minimum of about 3 hours for your meal, touring the complex and taking at least 1 of the funicular rides. We took the ride to Sant Joan. It runs about every 20 minutes and the ride takes 7 minutes. With a grade of 65%, this is the steepest in Spain, taking you to the very top of the mountain peaks. From here you can enjoy the views of the Monastery and the valley below. You can also take a variety of walks from here.

Funicular car to Sant Joan, the highest point

Tracks to San Joan - steepest in Spain

You should make it a point to go to the audiovisual building and watch the short 7 minute film about the development of the mountain. They offer this in several languages so you will want to check the time slots for your language. We headed back down the mountain at 3:30pm and boarded the 4:00pm train back to Barcelona. By the time we took the Metro back to our stop, we stepped through our apartment door at 5:30pm bringing to an end a another wonderful and interesting day.