R5 Train from Plaça d'Espanya

Without a car, the way to reach Montserrat from Barcelona is the R5 line of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGC), the Barcelona – Manresa service that leaves from the underground station at Plaça d'Espanya. According to Montserrat Visita, the sanctuary's official website, there is a train every hour towards Montserrat from 8:26. The R5 does not go up the mountain: it drops you at the bottom, in the Llobregat valley, next to one of the two ways of finishing the journey, the cable car or the rack railway.

Two stops, two ways up

The first stop of interest is Montserrat-Aeri, at the foot of the Montserrat Aeri. From there, the cabin climbs to the monastery in about five minutes and leaves every quarter of an hour. It is the quickest option and the most dizzying, because it hangs over the rock face.

The next is Monistrol de Montserrat, where you change to the rack railway. The rack train covers about 5 km to Montserrat station, beneath the Plaça de la Creu, in about 15 minutes, with panoramic windows and adapted platforms. Turistren, the FGC operator, estimates about an hour and a half of total travel from Barcelona by public transport.

For the return, the sanctuary's FAQ page says that the rack trains leaving Montserrat at 15 minutes past each hour connect with the R5 to Barcelona. As the train runs every hour, it is worth checking the clock before your last visit so you do not wait almost an hour on the platform.

Combined tickets

The practical thing is to buy a ticket that includes the train and the ride up. Turistren publishes, valid until 31 December 2026, the combined FGC train and rack railway ticket by fare zone of origin: the adult return runs from €20.80 (1 zone) to €32.60 (5 zones), and the child's from €13.30 to €25.10. From Barcelona city you pay the long section, so check the zone of the station where you board.

FGC also sells the TransMontserrat, which bundles metro, a train return to Monistrol, a rack railway return, the Sant Joan funicular (and the Santa Cova one when it is running), the Audiovisual Space and access to the Virgin's Throne without advance booking. It can be used any day until 31 December of the year of purchase, does not allow discounts for children or students, and is bought online or at the Plaça d'Espanya station. FGC does not publish the price on that page: it refers you to the rack railway's online shop. If you only want to go up and down, the simple combined ticket usually does; if you plan to go up to Sant Jeroni with the Sant Joan funicular or see the Montserrat Museum, compare first.

Turistren warns that the T-Mobilitat is not valid on the rack railway: you need a specific ticket, at the ticket office or on its website.

Package collection at Plaça d'Espanya

If you buy a package with the train from Barcelona on Montserrat Visita, with either the rack railway or the Aeri, the ticket is collected at the FGC station at Plaça d'Espanya, from 8:00 to 14:00. Outside those hours it cannot be exchanged, so the first train of the morning is the safest.

Tips for the day

To hear the Escolania, which sings Monday to Friday at 13:00 according to the sanctuary, take an early train: you will arrive with time to spare for the Basilica. There are fewer people on weekdays. At the upper station, stop by the information office for the map of the paths, and if you want to walk, the Els Degotalls path is level and starts next to the monastery.