# Holy Week from Tarragona: getaways from Maundy Thursday to Easter Monday Three getaways with a night away and four day trips from Tarragona for Holy Week, Maundy Thursday to Easter Monday: the Matarraña via the Ebro, Prades, the Penedès by train, Montserrat while the Escolania sings, Sitges, Peñíscola castle and the Siurana reservoir. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/tarragona/getaways/easter-holy-week · Revisado: 2026-11-13 Origen: Tarragona - [A weekend in the Matarraña: Valderrobres, Beceite and the Puertos, under two hours from Zaragoza](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/aragon/valderrobres-and-matarrana/itineraries/matarranya-valderrobres-beceite-weekend.md) (2 nights, Valderrobres and the Matarraña): In spring the Matarraña is green and the Parrizal river runs with water. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are holidays in Aragon and people from Zaragoza arrive: on Easter Monday, which is a working day there, Valderrobres and Beceite are quiet. - [A getaway to Prades: the red town, the forest and a night of stars](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/prades/itineraries/prades-night-of-stars-from-tarragona.md) (1 night, Prades): In Holy Week the Prades forest has new leaves and the nights are still long for the telescopes. Book the astronomical park session, which fixes the time, and check the moon: Easter always falls near the full moon. - [Two nights at the Cava & Hotel Mastinell, in Vilafranca, with the cava cellars of Sant Sadurní by train](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/penedes/itineraries/two-nights-in-a-cava-winery-by-train-penedes.md) (2 nights, Penedès): The hotel serves its gastronomic menu on the eves of holidays, including that of Easter Sunday, before Monday. The visits to the Sant Sadurní cellars are timed and fill on holidays: book them with the room. - [Montserrat: flat path and mató](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/montserrat/itineraries/montserrat-flat-path-and-mato.md) (Day itinerary, Montserrat): The Escolania sings at Montserrat until Holy Week and goes on holiday afterwards, so in these days you hear it. Go up on the first rack railway: in Holy Week the sanctuary fills from mid-morning. - [Sitges: seafront promenade and rice](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/sitges/itineraries/sitges-promenade-and-rice.md) (Day itinerary, Sitges): In Holy Week Sitges has the first sunny terraces without summer's crowd, and the Cau Ferrat extends its hours from April. By train from Tarragona you arrive without thinking about parking. - [Peñíscola: castle, boat and rice](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/valencian-community/peniscola/itineraries/papa-luna-castle-boat-and-rice.md) (Day itinerary, Peñíscola): In Holy Week Peñíscola's old town fills from midday: enter the Papa Luna castle first thing and leave the boat for afterwards. Casa Jaime only takes phone bookings. - [Siurana: cliff, ledge and reservoir](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/siurana/itineraries/siurana-cliff-trona-path-and-reservoir-kayak.md) (Day itinerary, Siurana): The reservoir kayak opens on spring weekends, and in April the Trona is done without heat. Book lunch inside the village, which in Holy Week is the first thing to run out. ## The procession that holds the city Tarragona's Holy Week has a night few miss: Good Friday, when the Sant Enterrament procession goes out, with the brotherhoods' floats through the Part Alta. That is why, from Tarragona, Holy Week is usually split in two: Thursday and Friday in the city, and the getaway from Saturday to Easter Monday, which is a holiday across Catalonia. That is three days and two nights, the right measure for the Matarraña, Prades or the Penedès. Those who do not follow the processions have five days if they take Maundy Thursday off, which in Catalonia is not a holiday. The date changes each year, between the end of March and the end of April. ## To the Matarraña via the Ebro From the Camp de Tarragona to the Matarraña you go via the Ebro: the N-420 crosses at Móra d'Ebre and climbs through Gandesa and the Terra Alta to Valderrobres. In two hours you are at the stone bridge, with the castle above. The Matarraña has a calendar detail worth knowing: in Aragon Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are holidays, not Monday. The Aragonese arrive at the start of the week and leave on Sunday; on Easter Monday, the Parrizal walkways and Beceite are almost empty. ## Stars and forest in Prades An hour away, Prades is the red-stone village of the Muntanyes de Prades, with Catalonia's only Pyrenean oak forest. Easter always falls near the full moon, which is the worst night for telescopes: book the astronomical park session checking the moon on its calendar, or leave the night for strolling and the day for the Roca Foradada. ## Cava and Escolania To the north, the Penedès is less than an hour away and reached by train. With two nights in a Vilafranca cellar there is room for Codorníu, Freixenet and the Camí del Vi. And at Montserrat, an hour and a half away, the Escolania sings these days: its holidays begin right afterwards. ## If you only have Monday With Easter Monday on its own, the nearest is Siurana, an hour away: the village on the crag in the morning, lunch inside and the kayak in the afternoon, if it opens that Monday. At the same distance, along the coast, Sitges by train, with the promenade end to end and a rice dish. Peñíscola, an hour and a half along the AP-7, fits into the day if you leave early and enter the castle at opening. ## What sells out first The small rooms in the Matarraña and Prades, the telescope session and the table at Casa Jaime in Peñíscola. Book in February. At Montserrat, the rack railway and car park fill by mid-morning. ## April changes every day In Holy Week it can be beach sun in Sitges and rain in the Montsant. Bring a cape and some warm clothing for the nights in Prades and Valderrobres, above 500 metres. If it rains, the Penedès cellars are under cover. ## Boat around the rock and a walk with a pushchair The Parrizal is flat and under-sixes go free. The Siurana kayak admits children, and the walk around the village is short; the ledge, from age ten. In Peñíscola, the boat around the rock appeals at all ages. The Sitges promenade is flat and takes pushchairs. ## Easter Monday traffic The Monday afternoon return is the worst of the year on the AP-7 towards Barcelona and on the A-7 from the south. From the Matarraña, the N-420 and the C-12 towards Móra get less heavy. If you can, return on Monday before lunch. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### Is Easter Monday a holiday in Tarragona? Yes, across Catalonia. Maundy Thursday, on the other hand, is not. ### When is the Sant Enterrament procession? On the night of Good Friday, through Tarragona's Part Alta.