Barcelona Montserrat

A 1235m peak of limestone, quartz, and slate protruding from the Río Llobregat Valley, Montserrat (Sawed Mountain) is an inspiration to its 2.5 million annual visitors. A millennium ago, one wandering mountaineer claimed to have spotted the Virgin Mary; as the story spread, pilgrims flocked to the mountain. The Monastery of the Virgin, founded in 1025 by the opportunistic Bishop Oliba, is tended today by 80 Benedictine monks. The site attracts those who come to see the Black Virgin of Montserrat, her ornate basilica, the complex’s art museum, and panoramic views of Catalunya from the mountain’s stunning rocks.

FGC (☎932 05 15 15) line R5 runs to Montserrat from Espanya (1hr.; every hr. 8:36am-5:36pm; return from Montserrat 10:33am-10:33pm; round-trip including cable car €13.70); get off at Montserrat-Aeri. From there, catch the Aeri cable car right by the station, the coolest way to ascend to the monastery. (Runs daily Mar.-Oct. every 15min. 9:40am-2pm and 2:35-7pm. Price included in bus combo fare or €8 round-trip by itself, one way €5, ages 4-13 €4.50. Additional times in summer; call ☎938 77 77 01.) Another option is to take the FGC’s train, the Cremallera de Montserrat. (☎902 31 20 20; www.cremallerademontserrat.com.) From Barcelona, this requires a combined R5 train plus the Cremallera (Rack Railway) instead of the cable car (Cremallera €6.50-7.30, children €3.60-4, retired €5.85-6.55; combined, including train from Pl. Espanya, €13.70-14.40/10.80-11.20/13.05-13.75). Get off the FGC one station later, at Monistrol de Montserrat, and take the railway up (every 20-30min.). Autocars Julià buses run to the monastery, from near Estació Sants. (Leave Barcelona daily 9:15am and return June-Sept. at 6pm, Oct.-May at 5pm. Call ☎934 90 40 00 for reservations. €10. MC/V.) If you plan to use the funiculars, consider buying the Tot Montserrat (€28.60, children €17, retired €25) at tourist offices or in Espanya; it includes tickets for the FGC, cable car, funiculars, Museu de Montserrat, and a meal. Also available is the Trans Montserrat (€13.85/7.95/12.55), same as the Tot but without the Museu and the meal. Beyond the first 30 min., there is car parking fee. Call ☎938 35 03 84 for a taxi (from Barcelona €85).

Visitor services are in Pl. Creu, the area straight ahead from the top of the Aeri cable car steps and the Cremallera station. The info booth in Pl. Creu provides free maps, schedules of religious services, and advice on mountain navigation. An audioguide with a booklet on Montserrat is €5, and an audio guide with headphones for two is €6.50. (☎938 77 77 77. Opens daily 9am, closes 5:45-8pm depending on season). For more information, buy the Official Guide to Montserrat (€7.50) or the museum guide (€4). Services include: ATMs and bank at La Caixa, next to the info booth (open M-F 9:15am-2pm; Oct.-May M-F 9:15am-2pm, Sa 9:15am-1:30pm); public bathrooms to the right up the stairs if you’re facing the tourist office; ambulance (inquire at info booth); the Patronat del Parc Natura l (☎938 35 05 91); and the post office (open M-F 10am-1:30pm, Sa 10am-noon).

Accommodations And Food

Cel·les Abat Marcet has beautiful apartments with bath, kitchen, and heating. (☎938 77 77 01; ask for Cel·les. Reception daily 9am-1pm and 2-6pm. From €15-29.50 for one person, €27.50-44 for two. Min. 2 nights; discounts for longer stays.) Camping Montserrat is a 5min. walk past the funiculars on the road that goes uphill. Its library has out-of-print climbing books for Montserrat, and the mountain-savvy staff can put you in touch with climbing guides. (☎938 77 77 77; ask for camping. No parking on the site but available near Pl. Creu, €5 for 3 days. Open Apr. 1-Oct. 31. €3 per person, €2 for kids under 12, €2.50 per tent. Reception open 8am-2pm and 5pm-9pm Cash only.)

Food options in Montserrat are limited and aimed entirely at tourists trapped on a mountainside with no other alternatives. Pack food for your hike before coming or else descend into buffet hell. You can pick up some snacks at the small Queviures supermarket in Pl. Creu (open daily 9am-6:30pm). For a quick meal, Bar de la Plaça , in Pl. Creu, has limited self-service food options. (Sandwiches €3.50-4.20. Salads €3.45-4.50. Steak and fries €5.80. Open M-F 8:45am-7pm, Sa-Su 8am-8pm. MC/V.) There’s a very popular self-service cafetería up the hill to the right from the cable car steps (in the building with the red “Mirador” sign), with wider selection and included in the price of the Lucky Tot Montserrat card. (With card, 2 dishes, chosen from paella, pasta, and meat, plus dessert and bread, drinks not included; otherwise, paella €6.60, meat and fish €4-7, salads €4-5. Open daily noon-4pm.) A fancier alternative, Restaurant de Montserrat , is located in the same building. ( Menú €23; children’s dishes available. Open Mar. 15-Nov. 15 daily noon-4pm. AmEx/MC/V.)

Sights

Above Pl. Creu (facing the info booth, take the stairs up and to the right), the beautiful basilica looks onto Pl. Santa Noría. Inside the courtyard, next to the main chapel entrance, a marble hallway through side chapels leads to an elevated shrine with the 12th-century Romanesque La Moreneta (the Black Virgin), an icon of Mary. (Hallway open daily 8-10:30am and noon-6:30pm; in summer also Sa-Su 7:30-8:15pm. Expect a line in summer.) For many years it was revered as a Black Virgin, until it was discovered that the statue was merely very dirty; the custom stuck, however, and it was subsequently painted black. The Escalonia boys’ choir performs in the basilica (Aug. 21-June 29 M-F 1pm; Su noon and 7:30pm; schedules may change; check www.escalonia.net). Also in Pl. Santa María, closer to the stairs up from Pl. Creu, the small Museo de Montserrat has art ranging from a mummy to Picasso’s Old Fisherman and Dalí’s El Mariner, as well as works by Degas, Renoir, and Monet. (Open daily June 26-Sept. 15 10am-7pm; Sept. 16-June 25 10am-5:45pm. €6.50, students and over 65 €5.50, ages 6-12 €3.50, under 8 free, temporary exhibits €3.)

Hikes

Some of the most beautiful areas of the mountain are accessible only by foot. The steep Santa Cova funicular descends from Pl. Creu to the Rosario Monumental, which winds along the face of the mountain past 15 religious sculptures by notable Catalan artists, culminating at the ancient hermitage Santa Cova where the Virgin Mary sighting took place. (Funicular daily every 20min. 10am-1pm and 2-5:45pm. Round-trip €2.70, students and over 65 €2.45, ages 3-14 €1.50. Santa Cova chapel open Apr.-Oct. daily 10:30am-5:15pm; Nov.-Mar. M-F 11:30am-4:15pm, Sa-Su 10:30am-4:30pm.) Take the Sant Joan funicular up the hill for inspirational views of Montserrat, the monastery, and surrounding towns. (Daily every 20min. in summer 10am-6pm. Check the signs for the last return. Round-trip €6.60, students and over 65 €5.95, ages 10-14 €3.60; joint round-trip ticket with the Santa Cova funicular €7.45/6.70/4.10.) Upstairs in the upper station you’ll find an exhibit on the funiculars and the Nature Hall, containing a model of Montserrat and some of the mountain’s history. The Sant Joan monastery and shrine are only a 20min. tromp from here, and Sant Jerónim (the area’s highest peak at 1236m), with its views of Montserrat’s jagged, mystical rocks, is worth the 1hr. trek from Pl. Creu (1hr. from the terminus of the Sant Joan funicular). The paths are long and winding but not difficult—after all, they were made for guys wearing very long robes.