© ParadoresHotelParador de Cardona
Why we like it: Sleep inside Cardona castle, beside the collegiate church of Sant Vicenç: canopy beds, dinner in the medieval refectory and the fortress empty at night.
From €104
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Duration2 nights
From Barcelona1 h 20
From Lleida1 h 40
BaseParador de Cardona
Budget€220–380 pp
Best timeApr · May · Jun · Sep · Oct
The plan
The plan, hour by hour
Designed to arrive on Friday before five and head back on Sunday afternoon. The castle and the Salt Mountain close on non-holiday Mondays, and the parador's Saturdays sell out early: if there is no room, make the getaway from Thursday to Saturday. Book the room, the mine and lunch at La Premsa beforehand.
Friday
- 116:00The castle before closing time
Leave the car at the parador and join the self-guided visit of the castle and collegiate church, €6 (free up to age 16). The Romanesque crypt and cloister are best seen in the low afternoon light.
- 218:00The viewpoints
A free walk along the bastions, the Camí Vell and the north viewpoint, from where you see the whole Salt Mountain, white and pink beside the Cardener.
- 320:00Dinner in the refectory
The parador restaurant serves Catalan cooking from the Bages under pointed arches, from 20:00 to 22:30.
Saturday
- 110:30Salt Mountain
A one-hour guided visit to the gallery of the old Mina Nieves, 86 metres underground, with a helmet. €12.75 for adults and €6 for ages 5 to 11. Inside it is 17 or 18 °C: bring a jacket in summer. No pushchairs or dogs.
- 213:30Lunch at La Premsa
A house from 1637 in La Coromina, five minutes by car, with a cellar under vaults. Open at midday from Wednesday to Sunday; book ahead.
- 317:00The medieval town
From the Plaça de la Fira to Sant Miquel. At weekends there is a guided visit for €5.50, and the Josep Arnau Salt Museum costs €4.
Sunday
- 111:00Solsona
20 km away, about twenty minutes. The cathedral and the diocesan museum, with one of the great Romanesque collections in Catalonia, €5; on Sunday it opens from 11:00 to 14:00. Lunch in Solsona and the drive home.
Cardona has two things that are not seen together anywhere else: a castle from the year 886 on top of a hill and, below it, a mountain of salt that was mined until 1990. The parador occupies the fortress, so this getaway consists of sleeping inside the monument and using the days to go down the mine, walk round the town and visit Solsona. From Barcelona it is an hour and twenty by car.
Why sleep up there
The Parador de Cardona is inside the complex, next to the collegiate church of Sant Vicenç and the Minyona tower. Visitors walk round the courtyard, the cloister and the bastions until the castle closes, at 17:30 from October to April, at 19:00 from May to September and at 15:00 on Sundays. After that, the fortress is left to the guests. The standard double starts from €104 a night without breakfast on its calendar; the canopy suites cost quite a bit more. Free parking at the door, with an electric charger. Dogs are not accepted.
Castle, mine and Solsona
The budget for a couple
Between €220 and €380 per person as a couple: two nights in a standard double, two dinners, two lunches, the castle, the mine, the guided visit of the town and the Solsona museum. In a suite, add quite a bit; midweek the parador's price drops.
If you go as a family
The castle is free up to age 16 and in the mine children pay €6 from 5 to 11. Paradores offers a free cot up to age 2 and an extra bed up to 12, except on dates such as Easter and summer. At weekends there are family visits in Catalan, the Minyona tower one in the castle and GeoTok in the mine.
Map
The stops, in order
What to do
Eat
88 €Stay
Services
Plan the trip
Cardona, step by step
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
When to go to Cardona
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Best timeGood timeLow season
Where to stay
Where to stay in Cardona
© ParadoresHotel
Hotel Boutique Bremon
Why we like it: A 19-room hotel in a 19th-century convent in Cardona's old town, with a top-floor terrace facing the castle and the Salt Mountain.
La Premsa Hotel Rural
Why we like it: A 1637 house with a former oil mill in La Coromina, 3 km from Cardona: nine rooms named after olive varieties, from €95 a night.
From €95
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Services for this trip
Where to eat
Where to eat in Cardona
La Volta del Rector
What to order: the fried eggs with potatoes, chorizo and sobrasada, the mutton from the 1714 recipe or the oxtail, and let them advise you on the wine.
Carrer de les Flors, 4 · 938 691 637
© ParadoresParador de Cardona Restaurant
What to order: the escudella with galets, the slow-roasted shoulder of kid and the mató timbale with honey.
Inside the castle · 938 691 275
La Premsa Restaurant
What to order: whatever is in season and a wine chosen in the cellar itself; here oil and wine rule.
Carrer de l'Església, 53, La Coromina · 93 869 17 83
Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1Choose your time for the mine when buying
The departures are chosen on the Cardona Turisme website; for Saturday, buy it days ahead.
- 2Climb the bastion after dinner
With the castle closed to the public, the night view over the town is only for those who sleep inside.
- 3If you travel in July or August
There is a sunset visit to the castle on Thursdays in Catalan and on Saturdays in Spanish, at 19:00, for €9.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can I visit the castle without sleeping at the parador?
Yes, Tuesday to Sunday: €6 self-guided or €8.75 with a guide.
Does the Parador de Cardona accept dogs?
No. Only guide dogs. Outside the castle, the viewpoints and streets can be walked with the dog on a lead.
How long does the Salt Mountain visit last?
An hour, 86 metres underground, with a compulsory helmet.
Which day is it best not to go?
Monday: the castle and mine close on non-holiday Mondays.