Montserrat from Barcelona

Montserrat is a serrated mountain an hour west of Barcelona with a monastery two-thirds of the way up, a black Madonna that has been visited for nine hundred years, and a ridge walk above it all that most visitors never reach. It is the one day trip from Barcelona that is unlike anything in the city, and it is the one to do if you do one.

Getting there without a tour

The R5 train from Plaça d'Espanya runs hourly and takes about an hour to the foot of the mountain. From there two ways go up: the rack railway from Monistrol de Montserrat, which is the smoother ride, and the cable car from the Aeri stop, which is the view. Buy the combined ticket at Plaça d'Espanya; it includes the train and one of the two. On the mountain, the Sant Joan funicular goes up to the ridge and the Santa Cova funicular goes down to the cave. Both are worth it, the first more.

What to see, in order

Go up first, before the basilica. The Sant Joan funicular and the walk along the ridge to the Sant Jeroni viewpoint take about ninety minutes return and are the best thing on the mountain; the crowds stay below. Come down for the basilica and the Madonna, where the queue to touch the sphere builds from late morning. The boys' choir sings at one o'clock on most weekdays and the basilica fills for it. Lunch is either the self-service, which is fine, or a sandwich on the ridge, which is better.

Tour or train

Take the train if Montserrat is the whole day and you want the ridge. Take a tour if you want a winery on the way back, if you are a group of four, or if you would rather not work out the funiculars. The half-day tours, five or six hours with pickup, are the most booked because they leave the afternoon free; the full days add the Penedès cellars or a proper hike. Almost every tour includes the rack railway, but check whether the basilica and the funiculars are in the price.

Weather and timing

Montserrat has its own weather. The ridge is often in cloud when Barcelona is clear, and it lifts by midday more often than not. In summer, go early: the mountain is hot by noon and the rack railway queue at the bottom is long by ten. In winter the monastery is quiet and the walk is at its best.