42.20° N · 2.19° E
Capital of the Ripollès, where the Ter meets the Freser beneath a monastery founded in 879 and its 12th-century portal. A quiet base for Núria and Sant Joan.
Part of Catalan Pre-PyreneesPyreneesScenic train journeys in Spain
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
The monastery founded by Guifré el Pilós around 879, with its Romanesque portal, the counts' pantheon and the two-storey cloister. Entry €7.50.
Rack railway · 40 min each way · All year · From €34
A paved, almost flat greenway along the old mining railway, from Ripoll station to Sant Joan de les Abadesses: about 10 km, suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs.
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
From May to June and in September and October, with green meadows, the Núria Rack Railway running daily and good temperatures for walking. In July and August there is more atmosphere and the Mercadal del Comte Guifré; in winter it is mountain-cold and Núria is snow.
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.
By car, Ripoll is at the centre of everything: Sant Joan de les Abadesses ten minutes away, Ribes de Freser and the rack railway a quarter of an hour and Vic half an hour.
Ripoll is one of the few mountain towns where you can arrive and get around without a car: train, monastery on foot and greenway from the station. That said, in 2026 the R3 has had stretches under works.
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 small children, Ripoll works because it is easy: a flat, paved greenway and a train that climbs on its own to 2,000 metres.
With children of different ages, Ripoll makes a weekend: one day of monasteries and greenway and another at Núria.
A teenager will be bored in Ripoll if it is only Romanesque stones. They will be hooked if there is height, a bike and a challenge with a helmet.
From Ripoll you can head out with the dog without taking the car: the walk beside the Ter and the greenway towards Sant Joan de les Abadesses are flat and short, with the dog on a lead. To go up to Núria, the rack railway takes it free, with a lead and a muzzle. Three accommodations accept dogs; only one publishes its conditions.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: An adults-only eco-hotel in a farmhouse documented since 1366, on the Les Llosses road: seven rooms, a saltwater pool, mountain dinners and dogs welcome.
Why we like it: A family hotel over the Ter, two minutes from Ripoll monastery and five from the station: doubles and five themed junior suites, free parking in front and pets welcome.
Why we like it: La Trobada's budget hotel, at the foot of Sant Bartomeu and near the station: rooms for one to four people, a closed garage for bikes and motorbikes, laundry space and code entry.
Why we like it: A family hotel since 1965 on the C-17 on the way out of Ripoll: 36 rooms for two to four people, twenty of them renovated, a restaurant, a summer pool, padel and a campsite.
Why we like it: A lived-in farmhouse on the bank of the Freser, a 1.5 km walk from Ripoll station: two rooms with bathroom, a kitchen-diner, a lounge and a shared garden with a barbecue.
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: the €33 menu of the day; à la carte, the Ripollès veal entrecôte or fillet, and in autumn the game, such as the wild boar stew or the partridge
What to order: the traditional breakfast with Ripollès cheeses and cured meats, from 8:00 to 11:00, and something from the shop for the road.
What to order: menu of the day or à la carte market cooking with Ripollès produce; in the bar, tapas and raciones.
What to order: pizza, also to take away, on the plaça Nova, with options for coeliacs.
What to order: the Catalan cooking of the day; ask what there is from the Ripollès, which the hotel highlights on its menu
What to order: the set menu of home-style market cooking, with a vegan option every day and gluten-free desserts.
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
The monastery runs a guided visit on Saturdays and Sundays at 12:00. It is best to book on 972 70 42 03.
The rack railway requires online purchase to guarantee a place. Do it the day before and take one of the first trains from Ribes.
Santa Maria de Ripoll and Sant Joan de les Abadesses were founded by the same count, Wilfred the Hairy, a few years apart. They can be seen in a day.
Sleep outside the centre: in the farmhouses around, the night is silence and mountain sky, and the monastery is a short drive away.
Ripoll's old forge can only be visited with a guide and for groups. If there are only a few of you, ask at the tourist office before counting on it.
By car, from Barcelona it is about 105 km along the C-17, the Vic autovía, which continues to Ripoll and Puigcerdà: a little over an hour and a half without traffic. From Girona it is about 100 km along the A-26 towards Olot and the N-260 to Ripoll, around 1 h 20. From Vic, half an hour.
Without a car, the Rodalies R3 links Barcelona with Ripoll and continues to Ribes de Freser and Puigcerdà. In 2026 the line has spent months under works: Rodalies reopened La Garriga – Ripoll in March and Ripoll – Ribes in May, with replacement buses on the affected sections. Check the service status before setting off. TEISA buses also run from Barcelona and Girona.
Ripoll is a town open to traffic, not a pedestrianised old town. The council's tourism website doesn't publish parking zones or fees, and the hotels in the centre advertise free parking by the door. The monastery and the tourist office are together, on Plaça de l'Abat Oliba, a few minutes' walk from the train and bus station.
The monastery, with the portal and the cloister, needs a good hour. With the Museu Etnogràfic next door, half a morning. If you add Sant Joan de les Abadesses, ten minutes away, or the Ruta del Ferro greenway, it is a day. To go up to Núria on the rack railway from Ribes de Freser, allow another whole day: two nights is just the right measure.
The portal of Santa Maria, from the middle of the 12th century, is a great triumphal arch in stone attached to the west façade, carved with scenes from the Bible, the labours of the months and fights between beasts. Look at it up close and take your time: the entrance to the monastery, €7.50, includes the basilica with the counts' tombs and the cloister, whose north gallery is Romanesque and the rest Gothic.
Questions
€7.50 general admission, €5.50 for over-65s and young people up to 25, €3.50 for ages 5 to 18 and free for under-5s. The guided visit is on Saturdays and Sundays at 12:00.
From 28 March to 27 September 2026, from 10:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 19:00; in winter, from 10:00 to 13:30 and 15:30 to 18:00. Sundays and some public holidays, from 10:00 to 14:00. The ticket office closes half an hour earlier.
Yes, on the Rodalies R3. In 2026 it has had sections under works with replacement buses between Barcelona and La Garriga, so check the service status on the same day.
Sant Joan de les Abadesses 11 km away, Ribes de Freser and the Núria Rack Railway 14 km away, and Vic half an hour away on the C-17.
On Plaça de l'Abat Oliba, next to the monastery. From October to March it is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 13:30 and 15:30 to 18:00, and Sundays and public holidays from 10:00 to 14:00. Telephone 972 70 23 51.
The Festa Major de Sant Eudald is on 11 May; the Festa Nacional de la Llana, in mid-May; the Mercadal del Comte Guifré, from 10 to 12 August, and the Fira de l'Ovella, on 15 October.
Yes: the monastery, the cloister and the Museu Etnogràfic, with its Scriptorium, are indoor visits that fill a morning.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/ripoll
