# A weekend in the Ripollès: Romanesque monasteries and the Núria rack railway

The monastery of Santa Maria and its portal, the Cremallera up to Núria, the coal greenway and Sant Joan de les Abadesses. An hour and a half from Barcelona.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/ripoll/itineraries/ripolles-romanesque-monasteries-and-nuria · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Dónde: Ripoll

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 ticketFrom RibesFrom Queralbs

Adult, ages 14 to 64€34€31

Child, ages 4 to 13€22€20

Over 65€29€25

Under 4FreeFree

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.

## El plan

### Friday · 19:00 · Arrival 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.

### Friday · 21:00 · Dinner at La Piazzetta
Pizza on Plaça Nova, a few steps from the hotel, with options for coeliacs. Call ahead to book.

### Saturday · 09:00 · Cremallera 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.

### Saturday · 16:30 · Monastery 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.

### Saturday · 21:00 · Dinner 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 · 10:00 · Sant 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.

### Sunday · 11:15 · A 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.

### Sunday · 13:30 · Lunch 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.

## Un consejo más

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.

## Cuándo no ir

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.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### 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.

## Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Ecohotel Mas el Mir**, desde 145 € / night: A 1366 farmhouse on the Les Llosses road
Mas el Mir is a Catalan farmhouse documented since 1366, deep in the mountains beside the road to Les Llosses, near Ripoll. It has been restored with lime plaster from Catalan quarries, wood and recovered antique furniture, and it runs as an eco-hotel: 26 solar panels, a biomass boiler, rainwater for the vegetable garden, the garden and the animals, a saltwater pool treated by electrolysis, an outdoor jacuzzi and cleaning with ozonated water. It is adults only and accepts pets. The owners also have two restaurants in Barcelona.
Seven rooms, from €145 to €270
The website prices, with VAT and accommodation only, for two people in low and high season:

Hisop, 20 m², €145 or €165; single occupancy, €110 or €130. Milfulles and Espernallac, double rooms.
Espígol, a 23 m² superior room, €155 or €175.
Civada, a 28 m² superior room with a double sofa bed, for two to four people: €155 or €175 for two, and €40 more per extra person.
Suite Heura, 40 m², with a fireplace: €230 or €250.
Suite Romaní, a self-contained 80 m² apartment with a kitchen, a living room with a fireplace, a bathroom with a bath and its own parking: €250 or €270.

All have heating, a shower, towels, a bathrobe, a hairdryer and wifi. Firewood for the suites' fireplaces, €30 per stay. Check-in is from 15:00 and check-out until 12:00.
A shared table at nine
Breakfast, with organic and local produce, costs €18 per person and is served until 11:00. Dinner, at 21:00 and always by reservation, costs €28: it is a varied table of mountain cooking with organic produce from the area, designed for sharing between two. They cater for vegan and vegetarian diets, allergies and intolerances if you let them know. They also prepare picnics for setting out on a route.
Dogs, always on a lead
Pets cost €18 a night and may be in the room, in the common areas and in the dining room, always on a lead. In the room there is a food bowl and a water bowl, and they get a welcome treat, but you need to bring their bed.
In winter, weekends only
During the winter season the hotel is closed from Sunday to Thursday. The Suite Romaní stays open all year, with breakfast by reservation, massages and the jacuzzi, but no dinners on those days.
How to get there without getting lost
If you are coming from Barcelona or Vic, do not go into Ripoll: turn off on the C-26 towards Les Llosses just before. Satnavs tend to send you through Ripoll and along narrow mountain tracks. Once here, the monastery of Santa Maria and the walk beside the Ter are in Ripoll, a short drive away.
- **La Trobada Boutique Hotel**: Over the Ter, two minutes from the monastery
From the windows of La Trobada Boutique Hotel you can watch the Ter flow past: the building stands over the river, at passeig Honorat Vilamanyà, 4, in the centre of Ripoll. The monastery of Santa Maria is two minutes' walk away and the train and bus station five. There is free parking in front, and from the door you can join the greenway. The family started in 1981 with a restaurant to make use of what their farms produced; in 1985 they built this building, and in 2020, with the hotel closed because of the pandemic, they refurbished it entirely. Today it is run by the third generation.
Five suites named after materials
The refurbishment created five junior suites dedicated to what defines Ripoll: water, nature, iron, wood and stone.

Agua and Natura are the deluxe ones: a 180 cm bed, a rain shower and a bath for two; Agua also has an electric fireplace and a balcony with a table, and Natura a tantra sofa.
Hierro, Madera and Piedra: rain shower, air conditioning, a work area, bathrobe and slippers; Hierro has a 150 cm bed.

The rest are doubles, with views, with two beds or the so-called Romantic, all with air conditioning, TV, wifi and a work area. The website gives two different figures, 17 or 18 rooms in total: twelve or thirteen doubles and the five suites.
Breakfast at the 1981 and dinner elsewhere
Breakfast is served at the Café 1981, run by the same family, from 8:00 to 11:00: the traditional one, with local cheeses, cured meats, yoghurt and fruit, or the Orígens, served in three rounds. If you leave early, you can order it to take away as a picnic. The café only serves dinner to groups of more than six with a booking, so for dinner you have to go out; at reception they recommend where. Next to reception is the Botiga Orígens, with cured meats, cheeses, honey, beer and ratafia from the Ripollès.
Arriving late, coming by train
Reception is staffed from 9:00 to 21:00, but you can get in with a code, so arriving at night is no problem. If you come on the R3 from Barcelona, the station is five minutes' walk away and everything in Ripoll can be done on foot. The hotel sells monastery tickets and Núria rack railway tickets, hires out bikes and prepares picnics. It accepts pets; check the conditions when you book. On its website cancellation is free up to 72 hours before and early check-in depends on occupancy.
If you are looking for something simpler, the same family has the Hotel Sport, at the foot of Sant Bartomeu.
- **La Trobada Hotel Sport**: At the foot of Sant Bartomeu, right in the centre
La Trobada Hotel Sport is the cheapest accommodation of the La Trobada family, who have been welcoming guests in Ripoll since 1981. It is at carrer Celestí Sadurní, 1, in the centre, at the foot of the Sant Bartomeu mountain, a few minutes' walk from the train and bus station. Some rooms look onto the monastery of Santa Maria and the town; others onto the mountain or the hotel's courtyard.
A garage for the bike and the motorbike
It is the family's hotel designed for people arriving on two wheels. It has a closed car park for bicycles and motorbikes, and free spaces on the same street reserved for guests who come by car. For touring cyclists travelling with panniers there is a space for washing and drying clothes. Many guests use it as a stop on a long ride or as a base for motorbike or bike routes towards Molló, Andorra, France or the Costa Brava, and the Ferro i Carbó greenway starts in Ripoll itself.
From single to family
There are rooms of many types: single, double for single use, budget double, twin double, comfort double, doubles with views of the mountain or the monastery, triple, family and connecting double. The family rooms have a double bed and two single beds and face the courtyard. The connecting double is two refurbished rooms joined by a door, each with its own bathroom, with views of the monastery. The refurbished ones have air conditioning; all have a full bathroom, a desk, wifi and a flat-screen TV.
Getting in at any hour
Arrival is self-service: you receive a code and go in whenever you like, without depending on reception hours. There is breakfast, which you add when you book, and a local products shop at reception. Pets are accepted. The website does not advertise dinners. The family also has the Café 1981, next to the boutique hotel, which opens every morning from 8:00 to 11:00.
Booking
On its website it publishes the best price, with free cancellation up to 72 hours before and early check-in subject to availability. The phone number is the same as the boutique hotel's: 972 70 23 53.
- **Hotel Solana del Ter**: On the edge of the C-17 since 1965
Solana del Ter opened in 1965 on the C-17, at kilometre 92.5 in the direction of Puigcerdà, on the way out of Ripoll, and it is still a family business. Over the years it has grown into a small complex: hotel, restaurant, function rooms, a sports club with padel and a pool, and a campsite. For a family with a car it has the advantage of having everything on the same site: you park, eat, swim in summer and set off on a route.
Twenty new rooms and sixteen classic ones
The hotel has 36 double, triple and quadruple rooms. Twenty, superior doubles, were recently refurbished, with air conditioning, parquet floors and a contemporary design. The other sixteen, standard doubles and family rooms with or without a balcony, keep the classic style, with central heating and a ceiling fan. All have a flat-screen TV, a full bathroom with a hairdryer and free wifi, and some have a private terrace with views of the Ripollès. There is a lift and a room adapted for reduced mobility.
The house offers stays with dinner and breakfast. Book on the website, by phone or by WhatsApp on 972 70 10 62.
Eating at the Comte Arnau
The hotel restaurant, the Comte Arnau dining room, serves lunches and dinners from a set menu and à la carte, with market cooking and Ripollès produce; it has its own listing as Restaurant Solana del Ter. At the bar counter, tapas and raciones are served, also to take away. The Bernat Tallaferro room, with a fireplace, serves as a café, reading room and games room.
Pool, padel and campsite
The pool runs in 2026 from 20 June to 6 September, weather permitting, from 10:30 to 19:30, and is free for hotel guests. The sports club has padel, mini-basketball, volleyball and beach tennis courts, open from 8:30 to 23:00. The campsite, third category, is open from 1 March to 30 November and also serves as a stop for motorhomes.
By bike from the door
The hotel is part of the Bikefriendly network and suggests road, gravel and mountain bike routes. The Ferro i Carbó greenway, which climbs at a gentle 1% gradient to Sant Joan de les Abadesses, starts in Ripoll, and the centre with the monastery of Santa Maria is a short drive away.
- **Ca n'Aliguer**: On the plana d'Ordina, across the Freser
Ca n'Aliguer is a farmhouse on the plana d'Ordina, on the bank of the River Freser and less than a kilometre from the monastery of Santa Maria, in the centre of Ripoll. The oldest surviving photos of the house date from 1910 to 1912. Between 2021 and 2022 the family partly restored and partly refurbished it so as to live in it all year round and open the other half to guests: it is a lived-in farmhouse, and the owners are at home.
Two rooms and the shared house
There are only two rooms, spacious, bright and with their own bathroom, and both have a fridge for keeping food:

Nerol, with two single beds and an optional third, for three people.
Ordina, with a double bed and room for a cot if needed.

Guests share a kitchen-diner with everything needed for cooking, a bathroom and a TV with internet, which opens straight onto the garden. There you will find a terrace, a barbecue and a space for eating outside. There is also a sitting room with a sofa, a TV and a small pantry area, designed for cold days.
Hens, vegetable garden and sun
The house runs on 22 solar panels and a battery that make it almost self-sufficient, collects rainwater for the vegetable garden and the animals and has a mini treatment plant. They keep laying hens and grow vegetables, and breakfasts are made with local produce; the house works with Ripollès producers and can tell you where to buy from them.
How to get there without a car
You reach the door by a paved path. By train, the Rodalies R3 stops at Ripoll and the farmhouse is a 1.5 km walk away. By car or bike, from the Mossos d'Esquadra police station in Ripoll go straight on towards the Font del Tòtil and La Roca: Ca n'Aliguer is halfway. From here you can walk to the monastery of Santa Maria and the walk beside the Ter, and the Ferro i Carbó greenway leaves from Ripoll itself.
The website does not publish prices or rules about animals: book and ask on 698 90 00 39 or at info@canaliguer.com.

## Dónde dormir without a car
- **La Trobada Boutique Hotel**: Over the Ter, two minutes from the monastery
From the windows of La Trobada Boutique Hotel you can watch the Ter flow past: the building stands over the river, at passeig Honorat Vilamanyà, 4, in the centre of Ripoll. The monastery of Santa Maria is two minutes' walk away and the train and bus station five. There is free parking in front, and from the door you can join the greenway. The family started in 1981 with a restaurant to make use of what their farms produced; in 1985 they built this building, and in 2020, with the hotel closed because of the pandemic, they refurbished it entirely. Today it is run by the third generation.
Five suites named after materials
The refurbishment created five junior suites dedicated to what defines Ripoll: water, nature, iron, wood and stone.

Agua and Natura are the deluxe ones: a 180 cm bed, a rain shower and a bath for two; Agua also has an electric fireplace and a balcony with a table, and Natura a tantra sofa.
Hierro, Madera and Piedra: rain shower, air conditioning, a work area, bathrobe and slippers; Hierro has a 150 cm bed.

The rest are doubles, with views, with two beds or the so-called Romantic, all with air conditioning, TV, wifi and a work area. The website gives two different figures, 17 or 18 rooms in total: twelve or thirteen doubles and the five suites.
Breakfast at the 1981 and dinner elsewhere
Breakfast is served at the Café 1981, run by the same family, from 8:00 to 11:00: the traditional one, with local cheeses, cured meats, yoghurt and fruit, or the Orígens, served in three rounds. If you leave early, you can order it to take away as a picnic. The café only serves dinner to groups of more than six with a booking, so for dinner you have to go out; at reception they recommend where. Next to reception is the Botiga Orígens, with cured meats, cheeses, honey, beer and ratafia from the Ripollès.
Arriving late, coming by train
Reception is staffed from 9:00 to 21:00, but you can get in with a code, so arriving at night is no problem. If you come on the R3 from Barcelona, the station is five minutes' walk away and everything in Ripoll can be done on foot. The hotel sells monastery tickets and Núria rack railway tickets, hires out bikes and prepares picnics. It accepts pets; check the conditions when you book. On its website cancellation is free up to 72 hours before and early check-in depends on occupancy.
If you are looking for something simpler, the same family has the Hotel Sport, at the foot of Sant Bartomeu.
- **La Trobada Hotel Sport**: At the foot of Sant Bartomeu, right in the centre
La Trobada Hotel Sport is the cheapest accommodation of the La Trobada family, who have been welcoming guests in Ripoll since 1981. It is at carrer Celestí Sadurní, 1, in the centre, at the foot of the Sant Bartomeu mountain, a few minutes' walk from the train and bus station. Some rooms look onto the monastery of Santa Maria and the town; others onto the mountain or the hotel's courtyard.
A garage for the bike and the motorbike
It is the family's hotel designed for people arriving on two wheels. It has a closed car park for bicycles and motorbikes, and free spaces on the same street reserved for guests who come by car. For touring cyclists travelling with panniers there is a space for washing and drying clothes. Many guests use it as a stop on a long ride or as a base for motorbike or bike routes towards Molló, Andorra, France or the Costa Brava, and the Ferro i Carbó greenway starts in Ripoll itself.
From single to family
There are rooms of many types: single, double for single use, budget double, twin double, comfort double, doubles with views of the mountain or the monastery, triple, family and connecting double. The family rooms have a double bed and two single beds and face the courtyard. The connecting double is two refurbished rooms joined by a door, each with its own bathroom, with views of the monastery. The refurbished ones have air conditioning; all have a full bathroom, a desk, wifi and a flat-screen TV.
Getting in at any hour
Arrival is self-service: you receive a code and go in whenever you like, without depending on reception hours. There is breakfast, which you add when you book, and a local products shop at reception. Pets are accepted. The website does not advertise dinners. The family also has the Café 1981, next to the boutique hotel, which opens every morning from 8:00 to 11:00.
Booking
On its website it publishes the best price, with free cancellation up to 72 hours before and early check-in subject to availability. The phone number is the same as the boutique hotel's: 972 70 23 53.