Barcelona to Montserrat Monastery: Tour, Transfers & Basilica
Description
Escape the bustle of Barcelona with a guided bus tour to the breathtaking Montserrat mountains. Meet your guide in the city center and enjoy a short, scenic bus ride to the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Upon arrival, explore the stunning mountainside monastery and learn its rich history. The tour ends with an included ticket to the basilica. After which you then have your 3 hours free time: hike the hills, savour a buffet lunch with panoramic views, or visit the museum. We recommend taking the funicular (extra cost) for unforgettable vistas. After your adventure, return to Barcelona in the afternoon, 6 hours after departure. Be aware that in the summer months the transport is normally a coach, and in the winter is usually a minibus. Please note: "Monastery" refers to the entire complex, not just where monks live. This is included in the tour "Basilica" (literal church interior) is included "Throne Room" with the Black Madonna is not included.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Discover the history, culture and beauty of this magical place. Tour through the famous Monastery before enjoying some free time to enjoy in any way you like.
Free time in the mountains of Montserrat
Take in the beauty of the Catalan countryside as you make your way to the World famous Monserrat monastery.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(266)
Thst u guide took off quickly. Couldn’t catch up. So got a bus but no guide experience. Waste of money’s
Well prepare for a long challenging hike, do not scare to start from challange path, if you feel you cant wait you can always go back! Enjoy!
As you would expect, there were a lot of people there. There are restaurants, gift, shops, and a small open air market with cheese, honey, and other things. I came on a tour bus from Barcelona. Our tour guide, Francisco, was very versed in the history surrounding Monserrat. Listen carefully for your meeting spots, because I couldn’t find anyone when I came out of the cathedral. The Basilica is very grand. I went to see the boys choir sing, and one of the benefits of that was that the lights for the choir made the gilded frames around the art in the chancel and apse glisten. However, the music performance is very short. From start to finish it was 14 minutes, and part of that was speaking. Since I could see it from the nave, I did not go up to see the Black Madonna. There was a continual line of people crossing in front of her above the apse which was interesting to watch. Because walking is difficult for me and it was sunny and hot, I took the Saint Joan funicular up (buy your tickets at the station) and looked at the view, but I did not take any of the hikes. The rock formations were indeed incredible.I waited in order to be in the front car for the trip down. It was worth it. This was my first Viator tour, and I feel like it was worth the expense. It helped that Francisco was personable and friendly.
They left us, no way to contact them. They didn’t contact us back either. This is not fair, we came all the way from mexico
Marc was excellent at adding historical context. Trip was organized, on time and bus was quite comfortable.
The monastery is beautiful, and I love that you get some history, but can mostly do your own thing. Wonderful!
Great tour, lots of time to explore on your own! The ride was not too long to get there, easy to find where to be picked up.
Great guide and trip, but if you get motion sickness, sit in the front of the bus and be warned. It’s a very windy road up the mountain.
One hour trip from Barcelona to Montserrat. Guide Mark passing instructions on the site, history of the Monastery. Wonderful place, mountainous and very well taken care of. Many tourists from school-age children to adults. Various attractions, such as restaurants, shops, bars, funicular, etc. The goal was to get to know the Basilica with schedule for 13:15 hours. However, there was a downtime,which the guide solved and we met the Basilica around 15:00. It was a very quick visit because the guide was worried about the time back to Barcelona. The group was at ease to stroll through the Monastery, between the time we arrived (10 hours more or less) and 15:00. Return to Barcelona at the same place as boarding. I think that the visit to the Basilica and the entire space of the Monastery could have been made by the manha, as soon as we arrived. We had no interest in taking the funicular, and we were at the mercy of the 15 hours time for visitation. The temperature was very high, very hot (more or less 30 degrees on the 28/5 day and shaded space only in restaurants and shops.
Bus to Monserrat was very comfortable! Our guide Francesco was terrific and kept us well informed. There was enough free time to explore the area after the basilica tour. We enjoyed taking the funicular to the top of the mountain and hiking back down! So many different options of activities for different levels of interest!
