Montserrat

I spent today away from Barcelona at a place called Montserrat which is a mountain top monastery in the Catalonia part of Spain. Getting there can take a little bit of time (just over an hour for the train alone), but it is so well worth it. To get there, you first need to take the metro to Placa Espanya. Then you can take the R5 train to either Montserrat Aeri (to take a cable car) or to Monistrol de Montserrat (to take a rack railway). Don’t worry about buying tickets in advance. If you have any questions, there are plenty of people at the Espanya station to help you purchase whichever ticket you like. You can also purchase a combined ticket that includes funiculars once you are on the mountain (which is what I did).

I got off at Montserrat Aeri and took the cable car. You will want to make sure that you are one of the first ones off the train because the line can be very long and there are only 2 cable cars. Don’t worry where you stand on the cable car though as all of the views will be amazing!

Once on Montserrat, I was wowed by all of the breathtaking views. It wasn’t a super clear day, but the views were stunning nonetheless.

The first thing I did was to check out the basilica. I arrived there just before 12:30pm and was able to snag one of the last seats to see the boys’ choir  (believed to be the oldest music school in Europe). Talk about good timing! By 12:45pm, even the side stairs were mostly taken and just 10 mins later, the aisles were packed with people. The concert lasted approximately just 10 minutes but it was wonderful. They have been doing this since the 13th century and are fantastic in every way.

After checking out the basilica some more, I decided to take the Sant Joan funicular. It goes straight up the mountain! Once at the top you will have various paths to walk on. They are gravel, so take good walking shoes. If you arrive earlier than I did, you could get in some pretty good hikes. I just walked around for an hour or so and snapped some pictures and took in the views.

It was definitely an awe-inspiring day and I only wish that I had dragged myself out of bed earlier in the morning so I could have spent more time there.

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