Montserrat Monastery Guided Tour with Transportation

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. The coach is a brand-new, state-of-the-art low-emissions vehicle with panoramic windows, ensuring you won’t miss a single view on the trip. After a one-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 lead your group 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.

Once you’re done with the tour, you can also enjoy the local culinary specialities, 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, nicely rounding off your trip before you return to Barcelona.