Montserrat is a mountain range in Catalonia, located several dozen kilometers north of Barcelona. The name of the massif comes from jagged mountain peaks, and the highest peak, Sant Jeroni, rises to 1,237m above sea level. On the slopes of the massif there is a Benedictine monastery, the holiest site of Catalans, the Sanctuary of the Black Madonna of Montserrat.

Monserrat is therefore both a place of pilgrimage in honor of the Mother of God, and a place ideal for longer and shorter hikes in the mountains, as there are many trails in this area (Tomasz’s friend, who comes from Catalonia, even wrote a small book about this area).

There are several ways to get into Monsterrat. We originally planned to go there by train, but the day before the trip, both google maps and the website of Catalan railways did not show us any connection in this direction and unfortunately we do not know what the reason was. We did not want to risk a trip to the station without some information, so we rented a car as a result and this way we got to the vicinity of the monastery. Parking is paid 6.50 € for the whole day. However, if you would like to get there by public transport, first you need to take the train from Barcelona to Monistrol, and from there there is a cable car (Funicular Aeri) or a rack railway (Cremallera de Montserrat). It is worthwhile to check the various options well, because you can immediately buy combined tickets for the cable car, guided tours of the basilica, etc.

We decided to take the cable car to the Mirador del Funicular de Sant Joan (one-way ticket € 9.75 for adults, € 4.90 for children 4-13 years old), and then hike down to the monastery (about 2.5 km). Of course, after entering the planned point, we decided to walk a bit higher (about 600 m) to the Hermitage of St. John (Ermita Sant Joan), and Tomasz even higher to the Hermitage of St. Magdalena. The views from there are beautiful, the route is wide, but sometimes quite steep. The heat that day was also quite big, which unfortunately did not help us much in walking. Gabriela was brave as always, but unfortunately Adam was tired and bored. It would be different if he could climb somewhere and not just follow such a straight path 🙂

At the end of our trip, we also visited the Basilica, which is often the only place visited by tourists / pilgrims coming to Montserrat. This abbey is the second most important pilgrimage center in all of Spain (after Santiago de Compostela).
According to legend, around 50 CE St. Peter came to Montserrat and in the grotto-hermitage he left a wooden figure of the Madonna with the Child, carved by St. Luke. Currently, blackened from candles burning for hundreds of years, the statue of the Virgin Mary is located in a niche, above the main altar of the basilica. Contrary to legend, radiocarbon dating showed that it dates back to the 12th century.

There is a hotel in Montserrat, a grocery store and a few bars / restaurants, but the food is of terrible quality so we wouldn’t recommend it (it also has adequate google ratings).