Montserrat – Catalonia’s Heavenly Haven
2020 is shaping out to be a really challenging year to say the least. Travel plans have been cancelled or delayed indefinitely, and countries’ ever-changing border rules make it difficult to travel internationally. For wanderlusters everywhere, it’s been very difficult to stay in one spot and I empathize with all of you! This article is here for you when things get better and we can dust off our passports and book that plane ticket again.
If you’re planning a trip to Spain in 2021, Barcelona is a wonderful base to explore day trips outside the city. Just an hour train ride away, Montserrat is the perfect place for a day trip to escape the hustle and bustle of Barcelona. Nestled in the mountains of Catalonia, Montserrat is the home of Benedictine monks and a holy pilgrimage site for Catholics. Nature lovers will be awed by the unusual rock formations of the mountain range and incredible views of the countryside.
How to Get There
If you’re visiting during high season or if you prefer to pre-purchase your tickets online, Trans Montserrat will help you save time from queueing up at various stations for individual tickets. Each pass costs €33.45 and it comes with a round trip metro ticket from Plaça Espanya, a round trip train ticket from Barcelona to either Monistrol de Montserrat (for the rack railway) or Aeri de Montserrat station (for the cable car), a round trip ticket on the Cremallera or Aeri to Montserrat, unlimited use of the Sant Joan funicular, and entrance to the audiovisual exhibit “Montserrat behind closed doors.”
There’s another travel pass called ToT Montserrat which includes lunch at the cafeteria and a ticket to the museum that costs €52.90. However, you can pack a lunch or just purchase your own at the cafeteria with far more choices than if you stuck to the ToT ticket lunch. In the end, it was more cost effective for us to get the Trans Montserrat tickets and everything worked out perfectly.
Take the R5 train from the city center that’s headed towards the final destination of Manresa. Where you depart will depend on whether you want to take the cable car or the rack railway up to Montserrat.
Aeri de Montserrat
There are two ways to get up to Montserrat once you reach the town. There’s a rack railway or the cable car, Aeri de Montserrat. There is a different train station for each of them so make sure you get off at the right one. I highly suggest going on Aeri de Montserrat for the spectacular views if you’re not afraid of heights.
Top Tip
Make sure you note the timetables for all the cable car, rack railway, funicular, and train to Barcelona. If you end up missing the last train back to Barcelona, it will be an expensive taxi ride!
The Church at Montserrat Monastery
When you first arrive at Montserrat, the church is the first main building you will see. It houses the sacred statue of the Black Madonna, and it is also where the Basilica choir boys perform Gregorian chants and other religious choral music (except during Christmas holidays, the month of July and other festive days). The choir performances are at 1 p.m. daily and is free to the public.
There will be a long line going into the church to view the Black Madonna statue if you are there during peak tourist season, so I suggest making this the first place you visit when you arrive.
Funicular de Sant Joan
Ever wanted to go on a super slow steep roller coaster ride? The funicular goes straight up the side of the mountain to the very top. There are a number of hiking trails when you reach the top but it was way too hot to hike when we went in the heart of summer. But the view from the top is spectacular!
The ticket for Funicular de Sant Joan is included in your Trans Montserrat or Tot Montserrat passes so you don’t have to pay for a separate ticket. There is another funicular called Funicular de Santa Cova which leads you closer to the Santa Cova cave, but it wasn’t in operation when we visited.
Santa Cova
An important pilgrimage site for religious people, Santa Cova is also known as the Holy Grotto. Legend has it that in the year 880, a group of shepherd children saw a bright light falling from the sky and heard music coming from the mountain.
The bishop of Manresa came to Montserrat with a group of people to investigate and they saw the image of the Virgin Mary inside a cave. They could not move the image to Manresa and declared the site to be a holy one. Every year, thousands of people make a pilgrimage to the Holy Grotto to pray to the Virgin Mary.
Even if the Santa Cova funicular is not in operation, you can still walk to the cave from the church.
Where to Shop & Eat
The largest gift shop, La Botiga is situated right next to the cafeteria where you can purchase special cheese made by the monks who live in Montserrat. The cheese is mild in taste but their special honey created by bees in the mountain makes it delicious. They also sell alcohol, chocolate, olive oil, religious relics, and other souvenirs.
There is also an outdoor market where they mainly sell honey, nuts and spices, and a cafeteria that serves hearty meat, vegetable and soup dishes. There are restaurants in the area too and you can learn more about them here. We chose the easiest and quickest option which was the cafeteria, so that we can spend more time exploring the area.
Montserrat is a wonderful place to visit for a quick day trip. Do add it to your itinerary if you’re planning to go to Barcelona.