Montserrat

We went on an adventure day out to Montserrat while on our Barcelona trip! For details on Barcelona see this post. From our hotel we hopped on a train to Placa d'Espanya then hopped on another train across the square to Montserrat. Before getting on the second train we bought both our train and cable car tickets. The second train was an hour long ride out of the city to get you to the base of Montserrat. We lucked out and found seats, the train was full. The whole trip took us most of the day and we got back to Barcelona in the late afternoon.

There are two choices for how to getup to Montserrat: cable car or tram. We opted for the cable car which is one stop before the tram stop on the train. Once we got off the train we made our way across the train station to the cable car station. We had a short 15 minute wait to get on the cable car. The ride up is pretty quick and the views were beautiful!

There are a few different hiking options up at Montserrat, we opted for a 5k loop down to Santa Cova church and back to the main town area. The first part of the hike was downhill on a paved path (tip: follow the signs to Santa Cova and stick on the paved path until you get to the church).

Along the path to Santa Cova church there were a few sculptures and the stations of the cross.

Once we reached the Santa Cova church we took a look inside and then retraced our steps for less than a block to find the dirt path to the rest of the loop trail. This area of the trail was a lot more remote. We only saw a few other people on the backside and it was gorgeous!

The last bit of the hike was a little bit uphill but not too bad. As we go closer to the town a saw a lot more people on the trails but overall it wasn't too crowded (tip: if you go in the summer, make sure to bring water and sunscreen, it was hot).

We were able to get a few pretty views of the main square as we hiked our way back.

Once we made it back to town we stopped at a shop for a refreshment then we went to look at the main square. The pictures don't even do the views justice. The rocks in the distance were unlike ones I had seen before.

Since we came all this way we bought tickets to see the Basilica and Black Madona. There is no longer free entry to the Basilica for non-Spain residents so make sure to buy a ticket if you plan on going here. For the Black Madona there is timed entry, we lucked out and there were some tickets available an hour within purchasing. While we were waiting for entry to the Black Madona we went into the Basilica and looked around for a bit.

The Black Madona is upstairs in the Basilica. You pretty much line up and make your way to the statue, then one at a time you have an opportunity to touch the statue. The statue is said to have healing powers.

If you turn around while at the Black Madona you see the Basilica from a different angle.

On the way out from the Black Madona there are ton and tons of prayer candles lit.

After a full day up at Montserrat it was time to take one last look at the square before heading back to the cable car.