Parador de Cardona

What a night inside the fortress is like

The Parador occupies Cardona castle, on the hilltop overlooking the town: the fortress that Guifré el Pilós had built in 886, ringed by walls and bastions. It shares the compound with the collegiate church of Sant Vicenç and the Minyona tower, which make up the castle's public visit. That sets the rhythm of the day. In the morning and early afternoon there are visitors in the courtyard, the cloister and the bastions; the site closes to the public at 17:30 from October to April, at 19:00 from May to September and at 15:00 on Sundays. After that the castle belongs to the guests, and a walk through the dark courtyard, with the collegiate church beside you, is what you come for.

Up here there is no traffic and no street: only the road up and the esplanade. From the outward-facing windows you can see the town, the Cardener valley and, on clear days, the Pyrenees and inland Catalonia.

The rooms

Paradores offers five types: the standard double, the duplex and three suites with names of their own, the Cardona, the San Ramón and the Montserrat. The decor is inspired by medieval Catalonia: canopy beds, terracotta floors and wooden furniture. The photos on the website also show rooms with twin beds. All have air conditioning, a safe big enough for a laptop, a minibar and a flat-screen television with Chromecast, and there is room service. The building has a lift, a gym and a sauna.

Dinner in the refectory

The restaurant is in the former refectory, a room with pointed stone arches. The cooking is Catalan and from the Bages: escudella with galets, kid shoulder at low temperature, cured meats with coca bread and hanging tomato, salt cod, seasonal mushrooms and, for dessert, mató timbale with honey. Breakfast is served from 8:00 to 10:45, lunch from 13:30 to 15:30 and dinner from 20:00 to 22:30. The café is open from 11:30 to 23:30 Sunday to Thursday and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and is also used by visitors to the castle. There is a terrace.

What it costs to sleep in the fortress

In the rates calendar on the Paradores website, checked on 13 November 2026, the standard double on a room-only basis cost from €104 a night on weekdays and between €124 and €134 on other days. When the double sold out, the cheapest room left cost between €194 and €223. The next three Saturdays in November already showed as unavailable: if you want a weekend, book several weeks ahead. You can choose room only, bed and breakfast or half board, and there is also a non-refundable offer.

Getting there, parking and what is nearby

You drive right up to the door, with free outdoor parking and a charging point for electric cars. From Barcelona it is about 85 km via the C-58 or the A-2 to Manresa and then the C-55. At the foot of the hill is the old town, which you walk down to along the Camí Vell, and opposite, five minutes by car, the Salt Mountain.