Montserrat Overnight Experience

Spend the day seeing the sights in Barcelona, and step into a comfortable coach in the afternoon for a trip into a peaceful monastery in the mountains. Put the bustle of the city behind you as you climb the hills outside Barcelona and make your way to the ‘serrated mountain’, Montserrat. After an hour’s ride, you’ll find yourself in the rugged and majestic landscape of this Catalonian region, a treat for nature lovers of all ages. What’s more, since the tour leaves in the afternoon, you can avoid the morning crowds that throng every day to Montserrat.

Your tour will take you through the 10-century-old Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, home to nearly eighty monks. Even today, it’s a Catalonian rite of passage to hike the mountain to watch the sunrise from the abbey. You will have a brief orientation with your guide upon your arrival, after which the guide will help you check-in into the hotel booked for your overnight stay. You will be staying at the Hotel Abat Cisneros, located at the heart of the sanctuary, near the basilica, and housed in a building that has provided accommodation for pilgrims since its original construction in 1563. You will enjoy an unforgettable stay here, in a peaceful, pleasant atmosphere, with magnificent views of the mountain and the Llobregat Valley.

The hotel has 82 rooms with bath or shower, satellite television, telephone, parquet floor and heating. Its total capacity for 153 guests.Once you’re settled in, you can head into the Gothic Basilica nestled in between the rock spires and sheer cliffs. Here you can see the famous Black Madonna, believed to be carved out of wood in Jerusalem in the late 12th Century. The Benedictine monks, purportedly, built the monastery around the statue because it was too heavy to be moved, thus turning this remote outpost into a pilgrimage spot. What’s more, you can listen to the children’s choir, the Escolanis in the evening, for a wonderful ending to your day. The audience is small and somber, so the children’s angelic voices will reach you loud and clear.

The next morning, you will have some free time in Montserrat, in which you can either spend some time at the interactive historical exhibition which tells you about the impressive history of this region or go to the museum of contemporary art, where masterpieces from Monet, Picasso, and Dali are on display. Finally, you can also enjoy the local culinary specialties, from herbal liquors to cheeses, cured meats, and honey, at the stalls set up by the local artisans to let visitors sample and purchase their wares. These delicacies will give you an authentic taste of the regional Catalan cuisine. You will also have a taste of mató (fresh cheese) in one of the restaurants.

After this, you will take the funicular, tickets to which are included in this tour. From up above the mountainous landscape, you can get a wonderful aerial perspective on the monastery below and the region surrounding it. To return to the monastery you can either take the funicular or a walk along the beautiful path of Sant Joan that will take you about 2 hours. Finally at the end of the day, around 5 PM, you will board your comfortable coach for a safe and comfortable return to Barcelona.