Getaways from Manresa: day trips and destinations close by.

25 minutes from the foot of the Montserrat Aeri

Three roads lead to almost every plan. The C-55 runs down the Llobregat towards Abrera: in 25 minutes you are at the lower station of the Aeri de Montserrat, and carrying on towards the A-2 and the AP-7 you reach the Penedès of the cavas and the coast of Sitges and the Garraf. The C-16, the Eix del Llobregat, climbs north to Berga and, through the tolled Cadí tunnel, to the Cerdanya. The C-25, the Eix Transversal, crosses east to Vic, and from there the C-17 continues to Ripoll and the C-153 climbs to the Collsacabra, towards Rupit. To the west, the same C-25 heads for Lleida, the gateway to the Pyrenees of Lleida and Aragon. For Caldes de Montbui you go via Sabadell and the C-1413.

Without a car, the obvious choice is Montserrat. The Ferrocarrils R5 line, which starts at Manresa, stops at the Aeri station and at Monistrol de Montserrat, where the rack railway departs. The Rodalies R4 also leaves from Manresa and, after crossing Barcelona, reaches Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, right by the cava cellars; it is a long journey, but nobody has to drive home. For everything else, the car rules.

Montserrat, Vic and Berga in a long morning with lunch

Under an hour away is Montserrat, 31 minutes, with two ways up: the 1930 Aeri cable car or the rack railway. Also Vic (37), Berga and the Berguedà (39), the Penedès (49) and the hot springs of Caldes de Montbui (50). They all fit into a long morning with lunch.

On a Sunday, between one hour and an hour and a half already calls for an early start: Ripoll and Sant Joan de les Abadesses (63), Sitges (65), the Garraf (68), Rupit (81), La Molina and the Cerdanya (85), the Montseny (86) and Besalú with the Garrotxa (89).

Between an hour and a half and two hours and a quarter, outings work better with a night away: Prades (108), Peralada (117), the medieval Empordà based at Peratallada (122) and Siurana and the Priorat (134).

Beyond two and a half hours, it is a weekend trip: Grandvalira (150), Alquézar and its canyons (175), the Pallars snow, about three hours away, and the Vall de Boí and Carcassonne, three and a half.

The Cadí puts snow an hour and twenty-five minutes away

In winter the Cadí puts snow an hour and twenty-five minutes away: a ski Sunday at La Molina or, for non-skiers, the cable car up to La Tosa and the lake at Puigcerdà. If you fancy two days, there is the ski weekend in the Cerdanya. Cold days are also the best for the hot water of Caldes de Montbui, which is not recommended in summer.

In spring you can go up to Sant Jeroni from the Aeri before the heat sets in, and the season of the bends up to the Coll de la Creueta begins, running from April to October. It is a good time for the Garraf and Sitges, before they fill up.

In summer it pays to escape the coast and the Montserrat crowds at midday. The Ripollès with the Núria Rack Railway, two nights with the valley at a higher altitude, and the shade of the Penedès cava cellars work better.

In autumn the forest rules. In October and November there are the guided mushroom outings in the Montseny, the climb through the Santa Fe beech wood to Les Agudes and the Fageda d'en Jordà, in the volcanic Garrotxa, an hour and a half away.

Montserrat by rack railway and mató

• Without a car, in a day: Montserrat by rack railway, the path to Sant Miquel and mató. The R5 to Monistrol, the rack railway up, a flat walk to the viewpoint and lunch under a stone vault.
• A cultural Sunday: the Ripollès, two monasteries and the greenway. An hour via Vic and the C-17, the Descent from the Cross at Sant Joan de les Abadesses, the portal of Ripoll before it closes at two and a flat stroll along the old mining railway.
• With one night: Rupit and the cliffs of the Collsacabra. 81 minutes away, to see the Salt de Sallent without the crowds and walk along the cliff edge to Tavertet.