A DAY TRIP
to Montserrat
A DAY TRIP
to Montserrat
How to get to Montserrat from Barcelona
My experience report of a guided tour + winery
On my last visit, about a fortnight ago, I went on a guided tour to Montserrat. I just wanted to find out how such a tour works and whether it would be something I could offer you. And I was really excited. The last time I was on Montserrat Monastery was 8 years ago, and I had completely forgotten what this mountain has to offer!
That’s why I’m going to go into the day tour, which I tested with the combination of wine tasting and lunch, and give you tips on what you can do “up there”.
I HAVE TESTED THIS TOUR
BOOK TOUR
Montserrat Tour from
EUR 39.20Half-day tour: from EUR 39.20, duration: approx. 5 hours. Day trip: EUR 76.30, duration: approx. 7 hours
book tour
The details
at a glance
The times:
Half-day tour: Daily, 8am
Day tour with winery: Tuesday – Saturday, 8am
Prices:
Half-day tour:
EUR 39.20 for all over 13s
EUR 35.70 for children between 3 and 12 years old
free for infants between 0 and 2 years
Day tour:
EUR 76.30 for all over 13s
EUR 69,30 for children between 3 and 12 years
free for infants between 0 and 2 years
Language:
The tour is in English
What’s included:
– Transport from Barcelona to Montserrat, to the winery and back
– Guide who will tell you a lot during the journey and on arrival
– Voucher for a liqueur tasting and a coca
– Entrance to the church
– The day tour includes a visit to the winery with 3 wines and a typical Catalan summer lunch.
What not:
The visit to the Moreneta has unfortunately not been included for a week. Problems with the ticket reservation on the part of the agency – sorry!
Hotel pick-up
Tip
breakfast
Drinks
The entrance fee to the museum, the audiovisual tour or the funiculars for the hike must be paid on site.
2 MINUTES
GET A TASTE OF THE TOUR
Here is our video recording of the day on Montserrat and at Finca Ca n’Estella!
Nature & views, culture & art and food & drink – all in one video!
Your Céline
THE TOUR
THE PROCEDURE
Meeting in the morning
8.00 a.m. or 7.45 a.m.: That was tough for me 🙂 I had to leave the house at 7.10 a.m. because I live just outside Barcelona and am not one of the early risers in our household.
But good. I was there on time (I’m still patting myself on the back for that). And so was most of the group (except for one person, for whom we waited a little longer).
The meeting point was very well-chosen, with a view of the Casa de les Punxes. Muriel could not be missed and welcomed everyone in a very friendly manner. The minibus with Juan was also there and everyone was seated comfortably: we were a group of 11 people (8 from the US, 2 from the Philippines, and myself). And off we went on the hour-long journey to Montserrat!
During the journey, Muriel told us a lot about Barcelona, the people and the buildings. As we got closer and closer to Montserrat, she explained the beautiful legend of how the Black Madonna – the Moreneta – was found. I would rather not give too much away here, but if you really want to know, you can have a look at my main Montserrat article and find out more 😀
We reached Montserrat at around 9.10 am – and the breeze up here was a little colder. But that didn’t matter because the sun was shining, and the view was breathtaking.
Muriel first took us from the car park to the buffet restaurant, which has a great terrace (but is perhaps not the most inviting place to eat).
We all enjoyed the view over the mountain and the valley, and Muriel told us some facts about the mountain and showed us what we could do up here in our leisure time.
From this terrace, she showed us how to walk towards the chapel built over the cave where the Moreneta was found. Which funicular we could use to get there or in the opposite direction – even further up.
Arriving at the top
She then collected our liquor and coca tasting tickets and a small gift: a small pendant with a picture of the Moreneta on it.
We then walked to the church together. On the way there she told us a few more things, showed us where we could eat, where the museum was and when we would meet up again.
We were due to return at 11.50 a.m. – so, minus the introduction, we had about 2 hours to explore the mountain.
But first we went to the Moreneta: Muriel said goodbye to us here. And we walked as a group to the Holy Virgin of Montserrat (“Mare de Déu de Montserrat” in Catalan).
La Moreneta
Muriel and Citi Wonders took care of the tickets for us, and it was good that we were there so early, as there is always more of a “backlog” the longer the day gets. We were able to walk through relatively easily and only had to wait a short time. Later in the day – when the larger buses arrive and the many individual visitors, it’s a different story.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Unfortunately, the visit to the Moreneta is no longer included! That’s why the price of the tour went down. You can book the ticket here on the official website (Ticket to the Throne of Our Lady) for an extra EUR 10.
But please bear in mind that the timeslot for the Moreneta must be within the time you are up there with the tour. Also think about the waiting time until you get to the Moreneta. I’ve now had a look for the next few weeks and unfortunately haven’t found a suitable slot. You have to be lucky…
I’ll let you know as soon as this changes again!
Tip: I would skip the extra effort, which is so uncertain, and instead accept the view of the Moreneta from inside the church. This also allows you more time to visit the other great things – museum – hiking – audiovisual exhibition.
The path to the Holy Virgin of Montserrat leads through the right-hand side aisle of the church and is designed as a circular route where you can’t get lost. The Moreneta is located on the first floor and looks out through a window onto the nave, which we visited afterwards.
It sits behind glass in a richly decorated room made of silver and gold. But she herself is only made of wood. But somehow she doesn’t get lost in the splendour. And now you can see why she is called Moreneta (the black one. -Black Madonna). Her skin colour and that of the baby Jesus is black. But it is unclear why this is the case.
Now person after person goes in front of Moreneta and prays – making a wish for themselves, their life and their family. They are allowed to touch the globe that the Madonna is holding in her hands.
And then that’s it. Muriel says that if your wish is granted, you have to go back to the Moreneta and say thank you.
The path then leads you to the inner courtyard in front of the church, where you can buy and light candles.
The forecourt of the church is beautifully designed. It’s like being in an inner courtyard, the view upwards shows the blue sky, depending on where you stand, you can see the mountain and the ornate main façade of the church, of course.
The church
The church itself is simpler in design, but still beautiful. You can see the Moreneta from down here and how more and more people stand in front of it and pray.
It is a quiet place, but from Monday to Friday at 1 pm it is lit up by choir singing. This is when the boys’ choir that lives in the boarding school up here performs. However, attending the choir costs extra, and we were already travelling by bus again at that time…
Coming out of the church, the corridor that we had just walked through to the Moreneta was already full…
THE MUSEUM
TIME FOR LEISURE
Everyone went their own way and could choose between hiking, the museum, the interactive exhibition about the mountain, the liquor tasting or simply enjoying the view.
On my last visit to Montserrat 8 years ago, I hiked, so it was clear to me that I would visit the museum this time.
If you want to find out more about the hiking trails, you can read my main Montserrat article.
At this point, I will now go to the museum.
You have to pay extra for entry: EUR 8 is a good price, however, as the museum is bigger than expected, and you can see some great art and real highlights.
The museum can be proud of its collection – not every museum “downstairs” in Barcelona is so international 😉
Because you can even find a real Caravaggio here! “St Jerome” from 1605 is leaning on a table with a skull and crossbones on it. The red cloth wrapped around his lower body clearly refers to St Jerome, who was one of the most important Latin church fathers. What makes him special is that he was not a bishop, but a simple presbyter who endeavoured to translate essential texts into Latin.
Caravaggio painted several versions of Jerome – one of which can be admired in the Galleria Borghese in Rome.
In addition to Caravaggio, we also find El Grecco and Tiepolo in the “ancient art” section.
The modern art section is much larger and here we find names of international artists such as Renoir, Sisley, Monet, Degas and Pissarro. The majority of the collection is more national, but here too there are big names such as Picasso, Sorolla, Casas and Rusinol.
Picasso is represented by various works: 2 of them hang next to Monet and Degas, as they were painted by the very young Picasso, who was still orientated towards forms and real figures.
The third Picasso can be found in the contemporary art section, alongside Dali, Tapies and Le Corbusier!
The museum also has an area dedicated to art relating to and about Montserrat and the Moreneta. There are historical church utensils, a sarcophagus, and ancient Greek vases to admire…
As I said: the museum is bigger than expected 😉
THE LIQUEUR TASTING
Less impressive than expected, but a nice add-on. You don’t have to sit down, and it’s not very time-consuming. You may have to queue a little and then there are already 4 bottles of liqueur and plastic cups ready 😉 But: if you get it as a “gift” 😉
I liked the hazelnut liqueur and the Crema Catalana liqueur the best 😉 and the sweet coca afterwards wasn’t bad either…
I didn’t have that much time left – 20 minutes to enjoy the view a little more. So I went back to the buffet restaurant from the beginning (where the meeting point was) and quickly tried to enjoy the view 😉
From here you can see the cable car that you can take as an alternative ascent, the Cremallera, which also transports visitors from the bottom to the top and back.
The magnificent rock formations, parts of the monastery and vastness – the wide landscape over Catalonia.
The driver now took us to the wine tasting, where I got off together with 2 others. The rest of the group travelled back to Barcelona.
the view
I HAVE TESTED THIS TOUR
BOOK TOUR
Montserrat Tour from
EUR 39.20Half-day tour: from EUR 39.20, duration: approx. 5 hours. Day trip: EUR 76.30, duration: approx. 7 hours
book tourWe drove through an industrial estate near Martorell and around the corner from the SEAT factory, the car turned off into a country lane. “Not very nice here,” I thought.
But just a few metres further on, vineyards and an old, traditional house opened up – the Ca N’Estella winery. A small oasis of peace opened up to us.
We were greeted directly by a member of staff… and a glass of rosé-coloured “cava” (Champagne). She told us about the winery, how it all began and what the 4 main keys to success are:
Family: a good team and a good grape
Tradition: the old must be cherished
Innovation: the technologies of the 20th century must be utilised with respect for tradition
Passion: the key behind everything is the passion that everyone must have for this profession
Next:
The wine tasting
We then went on a small tour – small, yes, because it is the smallest winery on the edge of the Pénedes – the main wine-growing region in Catalonia.
The winery only makes as much wine as they can and want to. They would rather not ship big, they want to honour what they make. Some wines can only be bought from them locally.
And yet, they have won many prizes over the years – both nationally and internationally. Once they even won the special prize for one of their cavas because it was above average – better than the first gold place.
After this short tour, we head up to the loggia, where we are left breathless – it is so beautiful here. We sit down and enjoy our typical Catalan lunch of “pa amb tomaquet” (bread with tomato spread), cheese, gazpacho, “embutidos” (sausage platter made from fuet, chorizo and a typical Catalan sausage that can be eaten cold) and a bean salad.
We were also served a white wine and a red wine. Both excellent wines – I couldn’t help it – I bought them later. The price was really good – not exaggerated.
There was a small dessert from” Catanias” and a kind of Catalan “cantuccini” (Italian name).
After the meal, the tour continued through the areas where the family of the winery still celebrate their festivals. No photos were allowed to be taken here, but you could see pictures of the family, documents upon documents and many antique objects such as radios, dolls and furniture.
At around 2.45 pm we headed back to Barcelona… Happy and full 😉
CONCLUSION
I am very enthusiastic, you have to bear that in mind here… But I would say that this tour was absolutely fantastic. Maybe because there was the wine tour afterwards.
It was a great combination of nature and views, art and something light like the wine tasting.
The tour itself was well-organised, Muriel was nice and told us a lot. We were able to see a lot, but also had as much spare time as we wanted.
The winery was a little oasis and very traditional, which I always like – regardless of where I am, I want to get to know the culture of the people. Ok, I already knew them here, but it’s certainly an experience for you.
We were back in Barcelona on time and I travelled home with my heavy shopping bag (2 x wine and 1 olive oil, which they also grow and sell there).
I think the price-performance ratio is completely justified in this case.
5 out of 5 stars!
Comment:
Now that the visit to the Moreneta is no longer included, I would give it a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. That was the icing on the cake for me because I only saw it on my third visit to Montserrat.
If you’re interested in more day trips, you can find a few ideas here!
Text and image rights: © Céline Mülich, 2024
I was invited by GetyourGuide to test this tour. (Normally this doesn’t happen, normally I buy the tickets regularly …).
Nevertheless, this review is honest and I highly recommend the tour.
I am a partner of GetYourGuide and with every purchase through them or another partner, I receive a small commission.
This is how this website is financed.
The tour provider is called: CityWonders.
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