Visiting Montserrat: Planning a day trip from Barcelona in 2024
Montserrat high atop the mountain.
Montserrat is a perfect short day trip after a few days taking in the sights in Barcelona. It’s an easy trip from Barcelona via mass transit, driving or tour. The views are breathtaking and you can see parts of the Spanish countryside.
What is Montserrat?
Montserrat is a beautiful mountain range in the Catalonia region of Spain. The word Montserrat means “saw mountain” and that’s exactly what the unique terrain looks like.
Tucked into the top of the mountain range is Santa Maria de Montserrat, a Benedictine monastery. One of the main attractions at the monastery is the Virgin of Montserrat, a rare Black Madonna.
For many people, a day trip to Montserrat is a religious experience, for others is a day of serious hiking and for others it’s a chance to see a beautiful church and take in fantastic views.
Add in the scenic cable car ride to the monastery and you’ve got a great day.
The cable car to Montserrat.
How do I get to Montserrat?
You have a number of ways to get to Montserrat - train, bus, rental car, or a tour. On a recent trip, we chose the train and it was easy.
Train and cable car to Montserrat
The train leaves Plaça Espanya in Barcelona, which is a very short Metro ride from most of the tourist areas.
From Plaça Espanya you’ll take the R5 line to Aeri de Montserrat. The train leaves once every hour. We purchased tickets from the vending machine but it’s probably better to purchase them online ahead of time. You can purchase a combination ticket for the R5 train and cable car, which costs about €23.
It takes an hour to arrive at the base of Montserrat, from there you’ll take the cable car to the monastery.
If cable cars aren’t your thing there is a rack railroad that climbs the side of the mountain. All the ticketing options above apply, just pick the rack railroad instead. It will be the stop after the cable car on the R5 line.
Visiting Montserrat by car
If you are comfortable driving in Spain it will take you about an hour to arrive at the base of Montserrat. From there you’ll need to take the cable car to the top.
Tot Montserrat ticket
For €64 you can purchase access to many Montserrat attractions. We didn’t purchase it because we already had Metro cards and didn’t plan on using the funiculars to go higher up the mountain. We also weren’t planning on visiting the museum.
Here’s what’s included in the Tot Montserrat ticket:
Round trip train ticket from Barcelona-Plaça Espanya to Montserrat.
Round trip ticket on the cable car or rack railroad.
Use of the Sant Joan and Santa Cova funiculars.
Entrance to the audiovisual exhibit "Montserrat behind closed doors".
Admission to the Montserrat Museum
A meal in the self-service/coffee shop at Montserrat.
As with any multi-attraction combo ticket, it can be a great value if you use all the features. You can purchase the Tot Montserrat ticket here.
Take a guided tour to Montserrat from Barcelona
If you’d rather let a professional handle all the travel logistics there are plenty of guided tour options from Barcelona.
Here’s a look at a very highly rated Montserrat small-group half-day trip:
Round transfer from the center of Barcelona to the Monastery via air-conditioned private vehicle.
Early-access admission to beat the crowds.
45 minutes small group guided tour
2 hours to explore at your own pace.
Book the guided tour here
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Inside the basilica. The Black Madonna is barely visable in the bright spot above the altar.
Black Madonna Montserrat
The Black Madonna was believed to have been carved in Jerusalem and is now on display high atop the altar in the basilica. In 1844 Pope Leo XIII declared the Virgin of Montserrat the patroness of Catalonia, Spain. Aside from the natural beauty of the monastery visiting the Black Madonna is the main reason many people visit Montserrat.
There was a long line to go up the stairs to visit the statue so we chose to view it from a distance inside the basilica.
The boy's choir of Montserrat
The Montserrat Boys Choir is one of the oldest choirs in Europe. There is documentation of the choir dating back to the 14th century. It’s comprised of 50 boys aged 9 to 14 years old from the surrounding area.
The choir sings for 10 minutes Monday through Friday at 1 pm. Part of the choir also sings at the 11 am Mass on Sunday. Of course, we visited on a Saturday so we’ll have to wait until next time to hear the choir.
Montserrat Museum
In 1811 the monastery was burned down by Napoleon’s troops so everything at the museum is from newly acquired collections.
The Museum of Montserrat contains six very different collections. There are 1,300 pieces in the museum. the oldest is an Egyptian sarcophagus from the 13th century BC. You’ll notice works by famous artists like Picasso, Dalí and Caravaggio.
Admission to the museum is 8€ for adults and the entrance is right outside the basilica entrance. There are also audio guides available.
Hiking at Montserrat
There are numerous hiking trails at Montserrat. You’ll see people with serious hiking gear so you know the trails are great.
Sant Jeroni is the highest peak on Montserrat and will take about 4 hours. The 6.4-mile loop trail is very popular and is considered moderately challenging. The Sant Joan Funicular will take you to the start of your hike.
Sant Miquel’s cross is another popular hike that brings you to a beautiful spot looking back on the monastery.
Starway to Heaven sculpture overlooking the beautiful view
Stairway to Heaven
The Stairway to Heaven is a series of concrete blocks arranged in a pattern overlooking the valley below. As you can imagine the beautiful but dangerous location had Instagrammers flocking there for photos, and now there is a fence surrounding the steps. Since it’s centrally located Stairway to Heaven is absolutely worth a stop to take in the view.
Where to eat at Montserrat
We opted for the cafeteria for lunch. There was a wide variety of food but it was pretty basic. The seating area was very large but there was one line for food so the line can get very long.
The other restaurant, Abat Cisneros Montserrat, is much nicer. Abat Cisneros is part of the Hotel Abat Cisneros building. The dining room served as a stable in the 16th century and has a wonderful arched ceiling. The stone dining room seats up to 120 diners, while the pink room holds another 100.
You can make reservations here.
Staying overnight at Montserrat
While most people visit Montserrat as a day trip you can also stay overnight at Hotel Abat Cisneros Montserrat. Just like everything at Montserrat, the hotel is old, dating to 1563.
Staying at the hotel allows you to explore without large groups of tourists. Staying at the top of the mountain will allow you to enjoy spectacular sunsets and sunrises. The rooms have a television and wifi. Definitely plan ahead and make reservations as soon as possible.
You can make Montserrat hotel reservations here.
This post was researched and written by John of the Empty Nest Explorers. You can learn more about the Empty Nest Explorers here.
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