Early AM Tour to Monserrat

Hi all ! We are having a few pre-cruise days in Barcelona in September and are looking to take an early am Montserrat Tour.

1.Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions ?

2. How awkward is it to come back by train ?

3. Any recommendations ?

4. Anyone use Amigo Tours and what experience did you have ?

Thank you....

Enric:

You have convinced us that we don't need bareclona dat tours to get us there. (Can't speak for taffytime). Which of the two choices do you recommend, cable car or rack train. Is it possible to take one up and the other down?

Enric:

 

You have convinced us that we don't need bareclona dat tours to get us there. (Can't speak for taffytime). Which of the two choices do you recommend, cable car or rack train. Is it possible to take one up and the other down?

We took the rack train as the journey was longer than the cable car and I could be hands free (sitting down) to take photos. The ticket was round-trip cable car or round-trip gondola.

Montserrat is wonderful any way you get there.

If you want to experience both, get one TransMontserrat combo ticket at the station, f.e. for the rack-train, and go up the mountain this way. When you're ready to descend, simply purchase a single ticket on the spot for the cable car, and ride it down to the train station, then continue using the TransMonserrat to get back to Barcelona. This will merely add 7€ (per adult) to the total cost, but you'll have the experience to ride both methods to ascend/descend from the Monastery at Montserrat. https://www.aeridemontserrat.com/en/

Great - thank you everyone !

EnricM,

I wish I had know that! Would have liked to do both.

I would go early still, as the crowds can get large.

In February, the crowds are light. We traveled as a couple of seniors prior to our cruise day. It was easy and well worth the time. At the station, there is an assistant to help you with purchasing tickets from the machine. Purchased round trip tickets with rack train option. Get one Euros discount as a senior. R5 is the train to Monserrat. We were directed to line 3 to wait for the train. Remember to exit at the second Monserrat station. The first is for the cable gondola. The second stop is for the rack train. The views are amazing from the rack train. At the top, you will disembark at a nice station and when you reach the street, you will see the tourist information center for directions and a free map. The basilica is beautiful and the art work is memorable. We did not go to the museum and other venues as we left late (11:30am)and returned to Barcelona at 5:30 pm. It was slightly over 1 hour each way. It was a great outing.

Have been there twice...The first time we took the train ALL the way and walked around DIY it is fantastic!! The second time there were 6 of us, we had a guide, we drove from Barcelona, and took the cable car to the top with our guide....We saw the choir performing this time AWESOME, and I must say I got alot more out of it with a guide this time....there is only so much you can read on a sign....either way you go, it is fantastic and beautiful!!

We did Monserrat on our own and it was easy. Get an early start. You can take the Metro to Placa Espanya and then buy tickets at the machine or at the window. Then go to the train platform. I recommend the early train for more time. We caught the 930 am train, and it was standing room only for an hour. We took the Rack Train (second Monseratt stop) up to the monastery, which adds another 30-45 minutes. Left around 4 pm and didn't get back until 6 pm.

We did this on our own this past October. And we listened to EnricM and went to a local market, bought some bread, cheeses, meats, some fruit and some plastic utensils, a bottle of wine and the plastic cups from our bathroom and had a picnic lunch while we hiked up the mountain after visiting the monastery. I cannot tell you how wonderful, and relaxing a day it was. We even shared some of our wine with a family from Japan, and even though we could not understand eachother, it was that much more memorable. As we walked away, one of their children ran over to us to give us something they brought with them from Japan. We got waterchestnuts and they got wine, (and a pack of gum from the USA! LOL).

Is a Sunday or Monday a better day to go?

@dbail4, it depends on what you're looking for...

Sunday is a festive day for us too so many families take the opportunity to escape the cities and spend a day in nature, and Montserrat is one of the many destinations. Thus, you'll find more people than on a Monday, obviously.

But, if you really want to enjoy the performances of the world-famous boy's choir, l'Escolania de Montserrat, Sunday is the perfect day as they sing twice in the morning, once during the mass at 11 am and then again at noon they sing a salve and the Virolai, the hymn to Our Lady of Montserrat. On Monday they only sing the later at 1 pm. You can peek at some of their other performances here. And for a great video shot for the annual Christmas telethon in Catalan TV for fundraising for rare illnesses, see it here: http://infocatalonia.eu/w/tlNRX

Enjoy!

@dbail4, it depends on what you're looking for...

 

Sunday is a festive day for us too so many families take the opportunity to escape the cities and spend a day in nature, and Montserrat is one of the many destinations. Thus, you'll find more people than on a Monday, obviously.

 

But, if you really want to enjoy the performances of the world-famous boy's choir, l'Escolania de Montserrat, Sunday is the perfect day as they sing twice in the morning, once during the mass at 11 am and then again at noon they sing a salve and the Virolai, the hymn to Our Lady of Montserrat. On Monday they only sing the later at 1 pm. You can peek at some of their other performances here. And for a great video shot for the annual Christmas telethon in Catalan TV for fundraising for rare illnesses,

see it here: http://infocatalonia.eu/w/tlNRX

 

Enjoy!

Beautiful. Brought tears to my eyes. Thank you.

Have been there twice...The first time we took the train ALL the way and walked around DIY it is fantastic!! The second time there were 6 of us, we had a guide, we drove from Barcelona, and took the cable car to the top with our guide....We saw the choir performing this time AWESOME, and I must say I got alot more out of it with a guide this time....there is only so much you can read on a sign....either way you go, it is fantastic and beautiful!!

who was your guide? and would you recommend?

We did this on our own this past October. And we listened to EnricM and went to a local market, bought some bread, cheeses, meats, some fruit and some plastic utensils, a bottle of wine and the plastic cups from our bathroom and had a picnic lunch while we hiked up the mountain after visiting the monastery. I cannot tell you how wonderful, and relaxing a day it was. We even shared some of our wine with a family from Japan, and even though we could not understand eachother, it was that much more memorable. As we walked away, one of their children ran over to us to give us something they brought with them from Japan. We got waterchestnuts and they got wine, (and a pack of gum from the USA! LOL).

Was the market in Montserrat or in Barcelona proper? Sounds like a good idea just need to know where to head.

@dbail4, it depends on what you're looking for...

 

Sunday is a festive day for us too so many families take the opportunity to escape the cities and spend a day in nature, and Montserrat is one of the many destinations. Thus, you'll find more people than on a Monday, obviously.

 

But, if you really want to enjoy the performances of the world-famous boy's choir, l'Escolania de Montserrat, Sunday is the perfect day as they sing twice in the morning, once during the mass at 11 am and then again at noon they sing a salve and the Virolai, the hymn to Our Lady of Montserrat. On Monday they only sing the later at 1 pm. You can peek at some of their other performances here. And for a great video shot for the annual Christmas telethon in Catalan TV for fundraising for rare illnesses, see it here: http://infocatalonia.eu/w/tlNRX

 

Enjoy!

Would you have a plan we could use to see the sites at Montserrat. We will catch the 1st (hopefully) train from Barcelona at 8:30. Take the train up the mountain. We would like to see as much as possible while there. Spending the whole day.

Was the market in Montserrat or in Barcelona proper? Sounds like a good idea just need to know where to head.

We just went to one of the little local markets close to our hotel in Bari Gotic area. I believe it was either a Super Merkat or Veritas. Many little markets all around the city. We popped in and out of them.

Veritas is at Via Laietana, 28, 08003 Barcelona, Spain

@dbail4....try this: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/a-visit-to-montserrat-the-holy-mountain-near-barcelona-in-catalonia

Btw, this is a regular commuting line, the first trains depart at 5ish AM.... http://fgc.cat/downloads/horaris/R5_Manresa_220x450_LA51_octubre_17_web.pdf

Just sayin'

Some photography lovers go to Montserrat at first light -albeit the museums and the abbey won't open to visits until much later- just to catch a magic moment alone at sunrise. Due to the temperature difference between the air and the land, there's often (albeit NOT always) an amazing "sea of clouds" that offer great photo ops:

In this timelapse video you can better see its dramatic effect:

PS. For those not familiar with the term: a timelapse is a video sequence that concentrates many hours of video in a few seconds/minutes, thus seeing everything like "at high speed". Saying this because don't you go thinking you're going to see live the "sea of clouds" at the speeds seen in the second video. Also, for those that have been in Iguazu or in Niagara, what you see in the video is not water, but clouds:).

Eric

Can tickets be bought on the day we decide to go? I would like to hear about the weather before we make a decision.

Thanks,Debbie

Yes, the TransMontserrat ticket is to be bought on the day. As mentioned this is a commuting line so there are plenty of trains and no need to prebook -actually, you can't. If you find one train too busy, you catch the next, which is just a few minutes later (there are several per hour)

Yes, the TransMontserrat ticket is to be bought on the day. As mentioned this is a commuting line so there are plenty of trains and no need to prebook -actually, you can't. If you find one train too busy, you catch the next, which is just a few minutes later (there are several per hour)

How about the tickets to Montserrat. Can we buy the tickets that day? We don't want it to sell out.

Tickets to Montserrat?... what do you mean exactly? There are no tickets to enter the monastery, that's free. For the museum you purchase onsite, once in Montserrat. Although if you feel more comfortable, you can also purchase it online: http://www.museudemontserrat.com/en/visit/-/3

You should buy the TRANSMONTSERRAT ticket once at the station in Plaça Espanya in Barcelona. This ticket includes all the TRANSPORTATION tickets you're going to need (train+cable car or rack train+funiculars once in Montserrat). For more info: http://www.fgc.cat/eng/bitllets_oci_turisme.asp -check for "transmontserrat". There's another ticket called "totmontserrat", which offers a lunch/buffet but it's not worth as the restaurant included is rather bad.

We made a decision and will take the Metro getting on at the Urquinaona station to the Espanya station and buy the package that includes all except lunch. We will stop at a store and buy food on the way from our hotel to the metro. We will go on Sunday the day our ship gets into port since we will be up very early anyway. Hope the metro will be less crowded with less computers that day. April should be great weather for hiking.

Thank You for all your help Enric.