Early AM Tour to Monserrat

[EnricM]

@dbail4, my pleasure. Note however that if you go on a Sunday shops are closed. Still, there'll be some convenience stores and food establishments open so you'll be able to grab something to-go but you might need to look around a bit more to find them :)

[dbail4]

Is there a ticket booth or a machine to buy the train ticket from. Is it underground?

[dkata]

Is there a ticket booth or a machine to buy the train ticket from. Is it underground?

 

Yes, both the metro and train station are underground beneath the Placa Espanya.

There is both a ticket window and a machine. The machine has a (button?) or icon ( I think it was a British Flag) to switch the language to English. then you can make your selection type and pay by credit card or debit card.

If I recall correctly, the option to ride both the rack train and the cable car was not on the screen, so you may need to go to the ticket window for more choices But the round trip ticket for the rack train was on the machine screen as that is what we chose.

 

Have fun! It's really an easy DIY trip and Monserrat is worth seeing.

[Travelling2Some]

@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!

 

So beautiful! Thanks very much for posting those links. Will they still perform on Sundays in mid November do you think or is that too much out of season?

[EnricM]

... what season?... this ain't Disneyworld, LOL!.... this is a real monastery, with monks living there and the lot. It so happens that we, secular visitors, "disturb" them all year long, but they go on with their daily routines, among which the teaching of music to children and the training and performances of the choir. Don't worry, life in Montserrat, like many other things in here in Barcelona, flows all year around, this is a very vibrant city with 2 million inhabitants.

[MCazer]

Of all the places I've been to in my life, Barcelona is in the top five, and Montserrat is one of the most beautiful!!

 

My husband and I speak no Catalon or Spanish, but came with an open mind, and a translation app, and a cheat sheet of phrases. We fell in love with this city, and if we ever wanted to move from NY, I can't think of a more welcoming place.

[WelshieLover]

Montserrat was my favorite excursion on our cruise. Make sure you take some time to walk around some of the paths where people go have memorials to loved ones. It’s so peaceful and the views of the the surrounding area is stunning!

 

 

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[LEtue]

 

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.

 

I used the link to try to view more information but I can't find a place to translate to English. Am I missing something?

 

How much time should we plan on to tour the site? We don't arrive until 9 AM but I think a late morning or early afternoon trip to Montserrat would be a great way spend the rest of the day :D