A Best Travel Guide to Montserrat

Montserrat is a mountain range with multiple peaks near Barcelona. To be precise, it lies in Catalonia, Spain. The main peaks of this mountain with their respective heights are Sant Jeroni (1,236 m), Montgros (1,120 m), and Miranda de les Agulles (903 m).

The word Montserrat means "saw mountain" in Catalan. Montserrat came into existence when, in 1025 a new monastery was found in the refuge of Santa Maria de Montserrat. This monastery quickly became popular because of the stories of miracles performed here. In 1409 the monastery became independent. With such an interesting history about this place and the beauty that resides here, the article ahead will answer all your questions, and you will be excited to visit this pink conglomerate mountain range.

Because the mountain became famous due to the monastery, this place is known as a religious pilgrimage. You can enjoy the beautiful choir song echoing within the mountains in the basilica.

For some, it is a weekend getaway from Barcelona, Spain, and lies close to nature. Enjoy the beautiful views and relish delicious food. Some come here for short hikes while others enjoy doing photography here. All in all, whatever be your reason for visiting you will be amazed by this gorgeous place holding beauty and spirituality together!

As I have been talking about this monastery since the start, in fact, this mountain came into existence only because of the monastery. Hence this is a definite visit even if you are not religious. The architecture of the monastery will impress you. The name Santa Maria de Montserrat knows the monastery. You will feel at peace being at this place standing tall since 9th century. But the monastery became popular only in 15th century when one of the hermits traveled with Christopher Columbus to America. It became so popular that one of the islands in Antilles was named Montserrat.

Enjoy an indescribable view of Barcelona from the monastery. There is a statue of Saint Madonna inside at the Benedictine Abbey, and many tourists come to see it and take blessings from her. The statue is also known as the Black Virgin of Montserrat. It is believed that the statue was carved by Saint Luke when religion began. It made up of wood. One of the hands of the statue is left exposed and is not kept behind the glass pane. It is said that touching that hand gives you healing and perform miracles.

In honor of Saint Madonna, there is a choir of 50 boys called "Escolania de Montserrat" belonging to monastery school sing songs daily. The timings of choir singing are Monday to Friday at 12 by choir boys, Saturday by monks, and Sunday again by boys. All of this creates a different ambiance into the monastery and imagine a choir singing in the mountains! I already feel at peace.

When you are done with Santa Maria de Montserrat, exit via the Ave Maria Way exit, and there you will find a tunnel filled up with candles. Each candle lit there is a special prayer to Mother Mary. If you wish to say some prayer for your family and friends you can also do so by buying a candle.

Enjoy a delicious meal in the restaurant in the lower part of Monastery at a very reasonable price.

The Basilica opening times: 7.30 am – 8 pm

Throne of Our Lady visiting hours: 8 am – 10.30 am and from 12 pm – 6.15 pm. During the summertime (mid-Jul – end Sept) the Abbey is open from 7.30 pm – 8 pm.

Being 1,236 meters high, this mountain summit will kill you with the views you have never seen before. I still can't get over those views. Seeing all this sitting in a cable car is indescribable. You get to witness stunning views of beautiful Catalonia in those 5 minutes of the ride. You can also spot Barcelona, Spain, from here but not entirely as it hides behind the Conserolla Mountains. You will love the awe-struck views of the mountains, the valley below, the village of Monistrol, the River Llobregat and the very famous shrine of Santa Cove. You should experience this!

This beautiful place on the Montserrat Mountain was established in 1987. If you visit this park, you will witness many exhibitions here and plenty of villages. You will find the mountain's highest peak here in this park called the St. Jerome.

The mountain experiences the Mediterranean climate and hence is home to a wide variety of plants and vegetation, to be precise around 1,250 species. Montserrat mountain also witnesses Catalonia's boast oak vegetation. The wildlife photographers will love it here as they can find many animal species too like reptiles, rodents, birds, boars, cats, bats, and wild goats.

By now I think you must be already convinced to visit Montserrat if you are in Spain. To add on to the things-to-do list, I have one more spot that is the Montserrat Museum. It was established in 1963, having artwork from 8th century as well as valuables that were part of Monastery before. Initially, it was known with the name of Biblical Museum. It not only houses artwork of Catalan artists but has ancient pieces from Rome and Naples, from Middle East and modern sculptures, etc.

You can find the museum divided into three areas; first showcasing paintings of Catalan artists, second showing ancient paintings of artists from other parts of the world, and third being the archaeology of the biblical east. The museum also holds a single painting of the famous Italian artist Caravaggio, and this is the only piece available in whole of Catalonia.

Most of the collection in the museum is of the 19th and 20th centuries. But in 2004 the museum was extended to hold som modern pieces, and in 2006 it was declared Museum of National Interest by Catalonia's parliament. This museum is the most visited in Spain.

The museum opens from 10 am – 5.45 pm Monday to Friday and 10 am – 6.45 pm on Saturday and Sunday.

There are multiple hiking trails present on the Montserrat mountain range.

（a) Sant Joan Chapel: To on this hiking trail first, you need to take Sant Joan Funicular Railway till the point from where the hiking starts. This is an easy 100-meter hill climb and is kind of a warm-up for the next of the trails you will take. While you walk enjoy the stunning beauty around you.

（b) Sant Jeroni Trek: This is the highest peak of Montserrat, and to reach the first base of the mountain, you will have to take the Sant Joan Funicular Railway again up. The track is very vertical, and so you should sit carefully. Get down on the first base, and on the right side of the station you will find the hiking trail. This trail will take about 2.5 hours to complete and reach the top. You can also avoid taking the rail line and hike from the bottom itself. This takes around 3.5 hours to reach the top.

（c) Sant Miquel's Cross: This is a beautiful walk on the mountain. This place lies on your route to Santa Cova Chapel and is famous among photographers. A big cross is located here and hence the name. It provides a stunning view of the valley, and the monastery from here looks awesome.

There are various hiking tours arranged from Barcelona with the locals you can wish to opt for them too!

The Santa Cova funicular railway will take you on a ride full of stunning views and major attractions in Montserrat. You will have amazing panoramic views to capture. Along the route, you will cross the monastery, the Black Madonna, and the incredible views. This speedy express train ensures you enjoy all of Montserrat in a very short time.

This church is dedicated to Santa Cecília, who is known as a sponsor of music. This 11th-century church has stunning views of the Marganell River Valley and houses beautiful frescos, stained glasses, and art pieces.

The church timings are: Monday to Friday 10 am – 2 pm and 3 pm – 6 pm. The church is open on weekends only in July and August and closed on Mondays during this time.

If you love reading books, this is an apt place for you. And in books too, your topic of interest should be history. Before 1811, this library had a very diverse collection of thousands of manuscripts, which unfortunately got destroyed during the Napoleonic Wars.

Post the war, the library was again founded in the 19th century, and now it holds Bible studies, music, history of art, history of medieval and European era, philosophy, theology, works dedicated to local history and Spanish Civil War. It also has a collection of 500 ancient maps, which would be interesting to see in the age of Google Maps!

Most people visit this place just to be snapped on top of Stairway to Heaven. It is a stack of nine large concrete blocks arranged in a helical way. Gone are the days when people used to climb here and take pictures, nowadays it has become illegal to climb the stairway to heaven. It is now protected with fence because of safety reasons and also because it is a piece of art.

First is located inside the 'Mirador dels Apostles' building, which is next to the car parking of Montserrat Monastery. So, you get to enjoy food with a view of Santa Cova and Llobregat valley. The largest room in the restaurant can hold upto 1200 people at a time. The restaurant serves Mediterranean food

The second restaurant is known as Restaurant Abat Cisneros. It is smaller in size than the former restaurant and is made in a building which was stable for monastery earlier in the 16th century. The most attractive feature of the restaurant is its stone arch ceiling. The restaurant has two rooms namely, Salo de Pedra and Salo Rosa. Together they can hold 220 people. The restaurant serves traditional Catalan cuisine. You will majorly find seafood and meat dishes on the menu.

First is called Bar de la Plaça. It is a quick place to get a sandwich, coffee or hamburger, and alcoholic beverages. The cafe has indoor seating and outdoor tables to stand and eat during warmer months. It is open only from March until November.

The second is called La Cafeteria, which has two floors. There are two areas in the cafe as well, and one is self service area called the 'Servei Express' while the second area is called Canteen and serves warm food. The type of food served here is fast food both hot and cold. The self-service has chips, pastries, hot and cold drinks, and hot and cold sandwiches while the canteen has complete meals like sausage stew, soup of the day, chicken and chips.

There is a self-service restaurant, too, which lies next to Montserrat restaurant in the Mirador dels Apostols building. It serves Mediterranean style food, both hot and cold and has a large dining hall.

You can also arrange a picnic for yourself at Boqueria Mercado, which is just before starting the journey to Montserrat.

Here are the various options you have to visit Montserrat from Barcelona:

This is the fastest and beautiful journey out of them all. Go to Plaça d’España rail station in Barcelona and from the R5 line take a train to Aeri de Montserrat. Trains run every hour from this station, and it takes an hour to reach Aeri de Montserrat. After reaching here take a cable car to the top. The cable car generally runs every 15 minutes, but sometimes when there is a huge crowd of passengers it runs every 5 minutes too! You can buy the combined ticket for the train and cable car from the Placa Espanya railway station itself.

This is somewhat a cheaper option, but it takes a longer time to reach the destination. For this too, you need to go to the Placa Espanya railway station and take a train from R5 line to one destination further that is Monistrol De Montserrat. Then change to Cremallera, which is a green railway that leads to the top of the mountain. Again, you can buy the combined tickets at the Placa Espanya railway station itself.

This is another way to reach the mountain top. All you got to do is buy a combined ticket from Barcelona, which includes your lunch and free admission into the Montserrat Monastery Museum. You can choose between cable car or rack railway for further journey. At Montserrat, you get unlimited free rides on the Sant Joan funicular railway, admission into the Monastery museum, and lunch at the self-service restaurant. The returning way is similar as you came, take either rack railway or cable car and then take the train to Barcelona's Placa Espanya railway station.

The healthiest and cheapest way to get to the top is this. Take the train from Placa Espanya, Barcelona to Monistrol de Montserrat. Get down on the destination and hike your way up to the mountain top.

This method is used by very few. Although regular buses run from Street Viriato lying next to Sants Estacio train station in Barcelona, Spain. The buses are comfortable air-conditioned buses.

By taxi, it is the costliest way to reach Montserrat. But if you prefer comfort over everything, this is the best option for you. You can park the car or taxi at the Monistrol Vila parking lot, and from there you can go hiking, or you can buy a rack railway ticket to take the same for the forward journey.

I know reading about this place so much has already intrigued you to book tickets to this place. This place has the potential to give you a lifetime experience, and if you are lucky enough that you live in Spain, you might want to visit Montserrat again and again.

If I talk about how much time do you need to see all the major attractions in Montserrat, I would say it would be better if you plan a complete day trip here. It takes approximately one and a half hours to reach the top of Barcelona. If you plan a complete day, you can easily hike the trails and sit down for lunch or dinner. Or else if you visit via rail or cable car you can finish all the major spots in few hours.