41.59° N · 1.84° E
The sanctuary of the Moreneta, wedged between conglomerate needles an hour from Barcelona. You go up by rack railway, cable car or car, and at the top the Escolania choir and the paths await.
Part of Scenic train journeys in SpainHorse riding routes in Spain
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
A route of about 7 km and 2 h from the Montserrat sanctuary to the Sant Miquel viewpoint and the Sant Joan and Sant Onofre hermitages, with a steep climb.
A circular route of about 7 km and 2 h 30 to the roof of Montserrat, Sant Jeroni (1,236 m), going up on the Sant Joan funicular and walking down to the monastery.
The basilica, the Moreneta's camarín and the singing of the Escolania: Monday to Friday at 13:00, Sundays at 12:00. EU residents, free with booking.
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
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
Spring and autumn, with clear light and a good temperature for walking. Monday to Friday at 13:00 the Escolania sings, except during its holidays: from Sant Joan to the end of August, after Christmas and after Easter.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Montserrat is an hour from Barcelona by the C-55 or the A-2. You can drive up to the sanctuary, but the car park at the top is paid and fills up; down below there are two free car parks from which you go up by rack railway or cable car.
Montserrat is one of the few mountain sanctuaries you can reach comfortably without a car. The Ferrocarrils R5 leaves Plaça d'Espanya every hour and connects with the Aeri and the rack railway; up top, everything is done on foot and with the funiculars.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
With children, the ascent is already half the outing: the rack railway or the cable car makes the day. Up top, it is best to alternate some time at the sanctuary with a short path.
A teenager gets through the sanctuary quickly; the mountain lasts a good deal longer. Plan the day as an ascent with the monastery as base camp.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: The Montserrat sanctuary hostel, renovated in 2018: rooms for 4 to 10 with a bathroom and 38 family rooms, free wifi and a shared kitchen.
Why we like it: 92 apartments with kitchens at the Montserrat sanctuary, for 1 to 4 people, in a 1960s building renovated in 2023. Dogs allowed.
Why we like it: The sanctuary's three-star hotel, beside the basilica: 82 rooms in a building that has housed pilgrims since 1563, with the rack railway included if you book on its website.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: Self-service buffet of Mediterranean and international dishes; to eat without queues, go in before 13:00 or after the time of the Escolania's singing.
What to order: Meat grilled over holm oak charcoal, such as pig's trotters or pork cheeks, butifarra sausage or the beef chop; from January to Easter, calçotada.
What to order: A hot sandwich or a set plate before setting out to walk.
What to order: Something from the holm-oak charcoal grill or a rice dish, and Montserrat mató for dessert; on weekdays, the set menu of the day.
What to order: traditional cooking with the odd new touch, in the dining room of the old stables.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
Groups arrive mid-morning. First thing, the basilica and the viewpoints are quiet.
It sings at 13:00 from Monday to Friday. Check its calendar: it changes with liturgical festivals and the school year.
Those leaving Montserrat at quarter past connect with the R5 to Barcelona.
The paths are stone and in some stretches the climb is steep. The park asks you not to leave the marked trails.
If you are going to Sant Jeroni, go up on the Sant Joan funicular and walk down through the Santa Maria valley to the monastery: you save the hardest part and see two faces of the mountain.
The car park at the top has limited spaces. Park at Monistrol Vila and take the rack railway, or arrive very early.
There are four ways, and the choice shapes the day. By car you reach the sanctuary itself in an hour from Barcelona; at the top there is a paid, supervised car park with limited spaces, whose fee is set every year by the Parlament. If you would rather not drive up the road, park below: the rack railway leaves from Monistrol Vila, where parking is free, and it is the only transport that drops you in the middle of the complex. The cable car, opened in 1930, climbs 1,350 metres of cable in about five minutes, with a cabin every quarter of an hour and free parking at its station.
Without a car, take line R5 of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat at Plaça d'Espanya in Barcelona: it leaves every hour from 8:26 and connects with the rack railway and cable car stations. In all, an hour and a half door to door. If you buy a package with the train included, collect the tickets at the Plaça d'Espanya station between 8:00 and 14:00. There is also a Julià coach from Carrer Viriat, next to Sants, at 9:15.
The sanctuary: the basilica, open from 7:00 to 20:00, the Virgin's Throne, where the Moreneta is venerated, and the Montserrat Museum, from 10:00 to 17:45. To enter the atrium, the basilica and the camarín there is a tourist ticket; exempt are those attending Mass, guests staying there and residents of Catalonia, the rest of Spain or the European Union travelling independently, who book on the abbey's website. The most sought-after moment is the singing of the Escolania, one of the oldest boys' choirs in Europe, Monday to Friday at 13:00.
Then there is the mountain. It has been a natural park since 1987 and part of the UNESCO Central Catalonia Global Geopark since 2015. Its needles are conglomerate, pebbles cemented by lime, and about 1,250 species of plants grow on its slopes. The Sant Joan funicular goes up to the high points; the Santa Cova one is out of service for maintenance until further notice.
To get away from the crowds without much effort, the Els Degotalls path: 3.2 km there and back, about 50 minutes, beneath the dripping walls, with plaques to Verdaguer, Maragall or Pompeu Fabra. For a morning, the Path of the Hermitages by Sant Miquel and Sant Joan, 7 km and about 2 hours. And for the summit, Sant Jeroni, 1,236 m, going up with the Sant Joan funicular: 7 km and two and a half hours, with a viewpoint table pointing from the Pyrenees to Mallorca.
Montserrat can also be seen from below. On the north face, between Castellbell i el Vilar and Marganell, the ranch of Natural Hipic runs guided western-saddle rides along the paths of the natural park, Tuesday to Sunday mornings, with horses for beginners and ponies for children. You book by WhatsApp. Five minutes away you have a table at Cal Jaume, in Marganell, or at the grill Can Ferreroles Nou, and in the afternoon you go up to the sanctuary by rack railway from Monistrol Vila: it is the plan Montserrat on horseback.
Questions
For the atrium, the basilica and the Virgin's camarín there is a tourist ticket. Exempt are those attending Mass, guests staying at the sanctuary and residents of Catalonia, the rest of Spain or the EU travelling independently, who book on the abbey's website up to a month ahead.
Monday to Friday at 13:00; on Sundays it takes part in the conventual Mass. It does not sing from Sant Joan until the end of August, nor after Christmas and Easter.
An hour by car. By public transport, an hour and a half with the R5 from Plaça d'Espanya and the rack railway or cable car.
The Sant Joan one runs all year except for its annual overhaul in January. The Santa Cova one is out of service for maintenance until further notice.
Yes. The rack railway and cable car are already part of the excursion, and the Els Degotalls path, at 50 minutes, is short and almost flat.
Yes, inside the sanctuary: the three-star Hostal Abat Cisneros; the Cel·les Abat Marcet apartments, which accept dogs, and the Alberg Abat Oliba. If you book through the hotel's or apartments' website, the rack railway is included.
Yes, at the foot of the mountain. Natural Hipic, in Castellbell i el Vilar, runs guided western-style rides Tuesday to Sunday mornings; you book by WhatsApp and you need a car.
At the sanctuary there is a cafeteria, a buffet and the restaurant of the Hotel Abat Cisneros, open from 13:00 to 15:00. The Bar Mirador dels Apòstols, from 9:00 to 17:00, is good for a coffee with a view.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/montserrat
