Map
37 plans, by travel time
30 min to 45 min
7 plans
Garraf: coves and rice by the sea
Coastal path 1 h 30+Rice by the sea €€
A tiny village at the foot of the cliffs, the beach of the huts, a path above the sea and a rice dish to finish. Half an hour from Barcelona by train.
Caldes de Montbui: Roman baths and a thermal soak
Thermalia and Roman baths · €5.30+Set menu €35 to €50 €€€+Thermal bath 1 h · €8
The fountain that spouts water at 74 °C, the Roman baths with a guided visit, Catalan food at Robert de Nola and an hour of thermal bathing for €8. Half an hour from Barcelona.
Photos on an empty Punta, museums and xató
Photo session from $425+Cau Ferrat and Palau de Maricel+Xató and rice dishes €€€+Seafront walk
By train from Barcelona: a photo session through the old town and along the shore while nobody is around, the Americano mansions, Cau Ferrat, a guided visit to the Palau de Maricel and xató opposite the Punta.
Sitges: seafront promenade and rice
Seafront promenade 1 h+Rice €€€
The seafront promenade from end to end, the old town of the Punta and the Cau Ferrat, and a rice dish facing the sea. By train from Barcelona, without thinking about parking.
Codorníu: cellars by train and lunch in the tower
Heritage Tour 1 h 15 · €25+Cava Centre 1 h+Market cooking at the winery €€€
Puig i Cadafalch's Modernista cellars toured by underground train, the village cava centre and lunch in the estate's tower. 45 minutes from Barcelona, by train too.
Penedès: cava and a table among the vines
Visit and tasting 1 h 30+Winery restaurant among the vines
A morning in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia to understand cava, a winery visit with a tasting and a long lunch with the vines in front of you. Best by train: that way nobody drives.
Penedès: a walk through the vines and an aperitif at the winery
Camí del Vi 3.5 km+Aperitif at the winery €€
The Camí del Vi in Vilafranca, flat between the vines, then wine and tapas at aperitif time on the terrace of a family-run winery in Sant Sadurní. Home by mid-afternoon.
45 min to 1 h
3 plans
Montserrat: horse, table and rack railway
Horse riding from €30 an hour+Catalan cooking €€+Rack railway €15
A horse ride in western style at the foot of Montserrat, Catalan lunch in Marganell and an afternoon at the sanctuary, going up on the rack railway from Monistrol Vila.
Montserrat: cable car and Sant Jeroni
Aeri return €15+Sant Jeroni 2 h 30+Buffet with views €€
The 1930 cable car up to the monastery, the Sant Joan funicular and a two-and-a-half-hour circuit to the roof of Montserrat, with a buffet and the basilica afterwards. Half an hour from Manresa.
Montserrat: flat path and mató
Walk to Sant Miquel+Traditional cooking €€
Go up by rack railway, walk early to the Sant Miquel viewpoint, hear the Escolania and buy mató with honey at the farmers' market.
1 h to 1 h 30
7 plans
Montseny: beech forest, summit and chestnuts
Les Agudes 11.5 km+Chestnut cooking €€€
The classic climb to the roof of the Montseny, from the golden Santa Fe beech forest to the ridge of les Agudes and the Turó de l'Home, and a chestnut lunch in Viladrau. An hour from Girona.
Montseny: guided mushrooms and the inn
Guided mushrooms 4 h+Mountain inn €€
Four hours in the forest learning to recognise mushrooms with the park's guides and a grilled lunch at the inn in Montseny village. Only certain autumn Sundays.
Montseny: easy beech forest and grill
Easy beech forest 2 h+Grilled meat €€
A flat walk round the Santa Fe reservoir, among beeches that turn copper in autumn, and a grill lunch in the mountains. By car, or by train and Bus Parc.
Montseny: Gothic castle and chestnuts
Climb to the castle 1 h 20+Free guided visit+Chestnut cooking €€€
A climb through the forest to the Gothic castle of the Viscounts of Cabrera, a free guided visit and a lunch with Viladrau chestnuts all over the menu. An hour from Girona.
Vic: square, cured meats and inn
Old town 1 h 30+Square cooking €€
A morning on foot through Vic's Plaça Major and old town, the medieval museum, lunch of Osona cooking and the cathedral painted by Sert before heading back.
Berga: viewpoints and a mountain table
Easy walk 1 h+Mountain inn €€
A morning of effortless viewpoints beside the Queralt sanctuary, a long lunch of Berguedà cooking and coffee in the old town. You are home before dinner.
Berguedà by motorbike: Coll de la Creueta and a mountain table
Mountain pass 100 km+Mountain inn €
A hundred kilometres of bends between Berga and a pass at almost 1,900 metres, with stops at La Pobla de Lillet and Castellar de n'Hug, and an inn lunch on the way back.
1 h 30 to 2 h
14 plans
Ripoll: two monasteries and a greenway
Two monasteries 2 h 30+Seasonal cooking €€€+Flat greenway 1 h
The 1251 Descent from the Cross in Sant Joan de les Abadesses, the portal and cloister at Ripoll, lunch with Ripollès produce and a flat stroll along the old mining railway. An hour from Manresa.
La Molina: a day on the slopes and a grill at Pista Llarga
Skiing all day+Grill at the foot of the slope €€
A day on the slopes at La Molina, from the greens of Pista Llarga to the reds of the Tosa d'Alp, with lunch at the foot of the slope at El Tirol. An hour and a half from Barcelona through the Cadí tunnel, or on the R3 train.
Cerdanya: the Tosa by gondola and the Puigcerdà lake
Gondola to 2,537 m+Summit refuge €€+Puigcerdà lake
For those who do not ski: the La Molina gondola goes up to the summit of the Tosa d'Alp, at 2,537 metres, you eat at the refuge at the top and the afternoon is for the Puigcerdà lake. An hour and a half from Barcelona.
Besalú: bridge, Jewish quarter and basalt
Medieval town on foot 2 h+Catalan cooking facing the bridge €€€
The fortified bridge, the Jewish quarter and Sant Pere in the morning, lunch facing the Fluvià and, in the afternoon, the village hanging from the basalt. 40 minutes from Girona.
Mining train and Cement Train
Cercs mine €11+Home cooking €+Cement Train and Gaudí €20.50
In the morning, the mining train that goes 450 m into the Sant Romà mine; at midday, home cooking in La Pobla de Lillet; in the afternoon, the Cement Train to Gaudí's garden and the museum.
Fageda d'en Jordà: beech forest and farm
Guided beech forest 1 h 30+Medieval bridge+Catalan buffet €€
A morning in medieval Besalú, a Catalan buffet lunch and, in the afternoon, a guided walk through the beech forest on lava with a farm visit and tasting. 40 minutes from Girona.
Pals: rice fields, Gothic quarter and beach
Rice route 1 h 45+Gothic quarter 1 h+16th-century farmhouse €€€
A little train through the rice fields to the mill, the Gothic quarter and its viewpoint over the Montgrí, lunch in a 16th-century farmhouse and a walk along the beach. 50 minutes from Girona.
Empalomar, Cercs mine and Queralt
Guided via ferrata 2–3 h+Mine with train 1 h 30+Berguedà cooking €€
The Roques de l'Empalomar ferrata with a Pedratour guide, the train that goes 450 metres into the Sant Romà mine, Berguedà food at La Cabana and the afternoon at the Queralt viewpoints.
Peralada: Dalí, winery and mill
Dalí Museum 1 h 45+Winery and tasting 1 h 30+Empordà cooking in a mill €€
The Teatre-Museu Dalí first thing, the Perelada winery with a three-wine tasting and a long lunch in an 18th-century mill between Figueres and Peralada. 45 minutes from Girona.
Núria: rack railway and snowshoes
Guided snowshoeing 2 h+Catalan food by the sanctuary
You ride up to Núria on the Cremallera rack railway from Ribes de Freser, snowshoe for two hours with an Oxineu guide and eat Catalan food at El Racó de la Vall, with the cable car included in your ticket.
Peratallada and the Iberian city of Ullastret
Iberian city 1 h 45+Medieval old town 1 h 30+Courtyard lunch €€
The largest Iberian city in Catalonia on top of a hill, the old town of Peratallada inside its rock moat and lunch in a courtyard among walnut trees. 50 minutes from Girona.
Rupit: waterfall and inn
Salt de Sallent 1 h 15+Village and bell tower 1 h 30+Mountain inn €€
An easy walk along the stream to a 115-metre waterfall, the stone village with its suspension bridge, the bell tower and lunch at a 1930 inn. An hour and twenty from Manresa.
Prades: red town and Roca Foradada
Town and Roca Foradada 2 h+Hermitage in the cave+Inn set menu €€
A hermitage tucked into a cave, an old town of red stone with its globe-shaped fountain, an inn lunch and a short walk to a natural arch. An hour from Tarragona and from Lleida.
Devinssi, Buil & Giné and Cal Llop
Two wineries · from €55+Seasonal menu above the winery €€€+A night in Gratallops
You head out to the vineyard with Devinssi, taste five wines and walk the Buil & Giné estate, have lunch at its restaurant, finish at a Priorat-only wine bar and sleep in Gratallops. Not on Wednesdays.
Driving time without traffic from central Barcelona to the town or the car park for the plan, calculated with an OpenStreetMap road router, with no stops. By train, door to door from Sants station or Plaça d'Espanya.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Which plan is best without a car?
Sitges and Garraf have a direct, frequent train, the R2 Sud. Sant Sadurní and its cava cellars, the R4. Montserrat, the R5 to the Aeri cable car or the rack railway.
And with small children?
The Montseny, for the flat loop around the Santa Fe reservoir; the Codorníu cava cellars, which you tour by train; and Besalú, all flat and with the bridge that impresses them.
What is there beyond an hour and a half?
The medieval villages of the Empordà, Pals, Peratallada and Peralada with the Dalí Museum, Besalú, Rupit and its waterfall, Ripoll and its monasteries and Prades, the red town. It is worth setting off before nine.
What time should we leave?
Before nine. From eleven onwards, the roads out of the city and the car parks in the villages fill up.
Do we need to book for lunch?
Yes, at almost all of them. On Sundays village restaurants fill up with people from the city.