Ecohotel Mas el Mir
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.
From €145
View details
Duration2 nights
Best timeMay – October
Budget€160–260 pp
Getting thereCar or R3 train
The plan
The plan, hour by hour
Designed for arriving on Friday evening and sleeping two nights in Ripoll. The Cremallera is bought online and is a same-day return: check the timetable finder first, as in low season there are fewer trains.
Friday
- 119:00Arrival and a walk round the centre
Leave the car at the hotel and walk down to the monastery square. The portal can be seen from outside at any hour; tomorrow you will see it from the inside.
- 221:00Dinner at La Piazzetta
Pizza on Plaça Nova, a few steps from the hotel, with options for coeliacs. Call ahead to book.
Saturday
- 109:00Cremallera de Núria
Sixteen minutes by car to Ribes-Enllaç. The train climbs the valley between gorges and leaves you beside the sanctuary. At the top, the Coma del Clot cable car, the basilica and, if you want to walk, one of the routes the resort suggests around the lake. Bring food or eat up there.
- 216:30Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll
Back in Ripoll, the Romanesque portal, the counts' pantheon and the two-storey cloister. Admission €7.50, €3.50 for ages 5 to 18. In winter it opens on Saturday afternoons from 15:30 to 18:00; in summer, from 16:00 to 19:00.
- 321:00Dinner at Reccapolis
A family restaurant on the Sant Joan road, selected in the 2026 Michelin Guide, with à la carte, a set lunch menu and a tasting menu. Book: at weekends it fills up.
Sunday
- 110:00Sant Joan de les Abadesses
Eleven kilometres to the east. The Romanesque church of 1150 houses the Santíssim Misteri, a wooden Descent from the Cross of 1251. Admission €5, free for under-12s. On Sundays it opens from 10:00 to 13:00, with mass at 12:00: go in first thing.
- 211:15A stretch of the Ferro i Carbó greenway
From the old Sant Joan station, a few minutes from the monastery across the Gothic bridge, walk or cycle for a while along the old mining railway. It is tarmacked and almost flat: towards Ripoll it descends gently.
- 313:30Lunch at La Barricona
A cooperative founded in 2009 on the Sant Joan road, with a weekend menu of Ripollès or organic produce and homemade gluten-free desserts. It is on the way to Ripoll. Confirm opening hours when you book.
Ripoll is the gateway to the eastern Pyrenees and the place where, according to tradition, Catalonia began: here Guifré el Pilós founded the monastery of Santa Maria around 879, with its Romanesque portal and the counts' pantheon. From the town, the Freser valley climbs for sixteen minutes by car to Ribes de Freser, where the Cremallera de Núria leaves, the rack railway that takes you to a valley at almost 2,000 metres. To the east, a greenway follows the old coal railway to Sant Joan de les Abadesses, the other great monastery of the region. Two nights are enough for all three without rushing. You are an hour and a half from Barcelona, an hour from Manresa and an hour and twenty from Girona.
What does the Cremallera ticket include?
The train leaves from Ribes-Enllaç, stops at Ribes-Vila and Queralbs and ends at Núria, at 1,964 metres, after about 40 minutes of climbing. The ticket is not just the train: it includes one ride on the Coma del Clot cable car, entry to the basilica, the exhibitions on the history of the rack railway and of snow and the audiovisual at the interpretation centre.
| 2026 return ticket | From Ribes | From Queralbs |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, ages 14 to 64 | €34 | €31 |
| Child, ages 4 to 13 | €22 | €20 |
| Over 65 | €29 | €25 |
| Under 4 | Free | Free |
Tickets are bought online and the outward and return journeys must be on the same day. There is free parking for customers at Ribes-Enllaç, Ribes-Vila and Queralbs. Ribes-Enllaç is also a stop on the Rodalies R3, so it can be done without a car; in 2026 there are stretches of the line under works with replacement buses.
Where to sleep?
In the centre of Ripoll, beside the Ter, La Trobada has two houses: the Hotel Boutique, with five themed junior suites and free parking in front, and the Hotel Sport, with a closed garage for bikes and motorbikes and self check-in with a code. Both accept pets, and breakfast is served in their cafeteria 1981. In the mountains, the Ecohotel Mas el Mir is a farmhouse documented since 1366, adults only, with a salt-water pool; from €145 a night for two in low season, with dinner at 21:00 for €28. The Hotel Solana del Ter, on the C-17, has 36 rooms for up to four, a restaurant and a pool in summer. Ca n'Aliguer, an inhabited farmhouse beside the Freser, rents two rooms with a shared kitchen.
If you want more adventure
From spring to autumn, Pura Vall runs the Roca de la Creu via ferrata at Ribes de Freser with a mountain technician: K2/K3, with two bridges and three overhangs, two and a half to four hours, no prior experience and all equipment provided. The price is given on request. The same company does introductory canyoning in the Gorges del Freser, about four hours. Either fits on Saturday morning if you leave Núria for Sunday and Sant Joan for another time.
With children and with a dog
The Cremallera is the star plan with children: the train does the effort and there is room to run at the top. The tarmacked greenway suits pushchairs and small bikes. Dogs ride the Cremallera free, on a lead and muzzled, and can use the greenway; La Trobada and Mas el Mir accept them, the latter with a supplement.
Map
The stops, in order
What to do
Eat
88 €Stay
Services
Plan the trip
Ripoll, step by step
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
When to go to Ripoll
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Best timeGood timeLow season
How you travel
The same break, your way
The plan stays the same. What changes is where you sleep, how you get there and how much you spend.
Ripoll as a base for the Ripollès
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.
80–150 €per person per day, approximate
- Where to sleepFarmhouse eco-hotel in the mountains…
- Getting aroundFrom Barcelona, the C-17 via…
- Where to eatSeasonal cooking on the Sant…
- ServicesFree parking at the rack…
Where to sleep
- Farmhouse eco-hotel in the mountains, adults only, with a saltwater pool
- Hotel with campsite and pool on the way out along the C-17
- Farmhouse with two rooms beside the Freser
Getting around
- From Barcelona, the C-17 via Vic; from Girona, the A-26 and the N-260
- For Mas el Mir, turn off on the C-26 towards Les Llosses before Ripoll
Where to eat
- Seasonal cooking on the Sant Joan road
- Cooperative set menu on the way to Sant Joan
Services
- Free parking at the rack railway stations
- Tourist office on the monastery square
Ripoll by train and on foot
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.
60–110 €per person per day, approximate
- Where to sleepTwo La Trobada hotels in…
- Getting aroundR3 from Barcelona to Ripoll…
- Where to eatBreakfast at the 1981 café…
- ServicesCheck the state of the…
Where to sleep
- Two La Trobada hotels in the centre, a few minutes from the station
- Closed bike garage at the Hotel Sport
Getting around
- R3 from Barcelona to Ripoll and to Ribes de Freser, where the rack railway leaves
- The greenway to Sant Joan, on foot or by bike, from the station
- TEISA buses to Girona, Vic and Olot
Where to eat
- Breakfast at the 1981 café and pizza on the plaça Nova
- A local produce shop for your day on the trail
Services
- Check the state of the R3 on the day
- Rack railway ticket, always online
How much does it cost?
People2
Nights2
Where to stay
Where to stay if you're drivingwithout a car
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
La Trobada Boutique Hotel
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.
La Trobada Hotel Sport
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.
Hotel Solana del Ter
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.
Ca n'Aliguer
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
Where to eat in Ripoll
Restaurant Reccapolis
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
Ctra. de Sant Joan, 68 · 972 70 21 06 · book at reccapolis.com
La Trobada · Café 1981 and Botiga Orígens
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.
Passeig Honorat Vilamanyà, 4 · 972 70 23 53
Restaurant Solana del Ter
What to order: menu of the day or à la carte market cooking with Ripollès produce; in the bar, tapas and raciones.
C-17, km 92.5 · 972 70 10 62
Pizzeria
La Piazzetta
What to order: pizza, also to take away, on the plaça Nova, with options for coeliacs.
Plaça Nova, 11 · 972 70 02 15
El Racó de la Vall
What to order: the Catalan cooking of the day; ask what there is from the Ripollès, which the hotel highlights on its menu
Closed
La Barricona
What to order: the set menu of home-style market cooking, with a vegan option every day and gluten-free desserts.
Ctra. de Sant Joan de les Abadesses, km 3.6 · 623 39 63 27
Tips
Worth knowing first
Local tip
On the last Sunday of every month the Museu Etnogràfic de Ripoll is free. It opens on Sundays from 10:00 to 14:00, next to the monastery: it is the plan if it rains.
We'd skip it
Heavy-snow weekends if you don't ski: Núria works as a ski resort and the train is full of skiers. And Sunday afternoons to visit Santa Maria: that day it only opens in the morning, except in high summer.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take from Barcelona?
An hour and thirty-four minutes by car to Ripoll. By train, the Rodalies R3 reaches Ripoll and Ribes-Enllaç; in 2026 some stretches run by bus because of works.
How much does the Núria rack railway cost?
In 2026, €34 return from Ribes for adults and €22 for children aged 4 to 13. From Queralbs, a little less. It includes the cable car, the basilica and the exhibitions.
Is Ripoll monastery open on Sundays?
Yes, in the morning, from 10:00 to 14:00. From 15 July to 1 September, in the afternoon too.
Can it be done without a car?
Largely yes: the R3 stops at Ripoll and at Ribes-Enllaç, where the Cremallera leaves. For Sant Joan de les Abadesses, the greenway by bike from Ripoll station; if you prefer a bus, check the TEISA timetables.
Can I bring a dog?
Yes. It rides the Cremallera free, on a lead and muzzled, and sleeps at La Trobada or Mas el Mir.