About 45 km northwest of Barcelona You can spot an amazing place. At about 1,200-meter-high mountain Montserrat there is beautiful Benedictine monk retreat of Santa Maria de Montserrat planted. It is not only a place of significant religious importance but also a place where you can surround yourself with estingiushed natural beauty and enjoy breathtaking panoramic view down to Catalonia landscapes.
Montserrat Monastery has been present on this mountain since the ninth century. It is not known exactly when Monks came and began to build the monastery, but it is believed that in the ninth century four of the Chapels were built on Montserrat Mountain, inhabited by hermit Monks who lived a solitary life of prayer. Today only one of these Chapels is still standing - St.Iscle, located in the Monastery garden.
The monastery of Montserrat maybe is not a specific architectural landmark but location of it and its background make the place special. The Royal Basilica of Montserrat holds famous 12th century Romanesque carving of Virgen Moreneta, the Black Madonna. Many of the tourists travel there only to see the statue of Catalan’s patron. The place still remains one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Spain.
Everyday you can hear a concerto of about 50 boys from the "Escolania de Montserrat", the monestary's boarding school, one of the oldest boys choirs in Europe, singing Gregorian chants. There is also Museum of Montserrat monastery, where you can see works of major artists such as Dali, El Greco, Monet or Giordano.
If you get hungry while sightseeing, you can eat something at the nearby restaurant.
If you enjoy walking, there are also some interesting paths through the mountains where you may experience magnificent views with some of the most unusual rock formations in the whole Catalonia. From the monastery, you can go another 300 metres up to get to the peak of the Montserrat.
You can get there by a funicular. It will be short but really exciting ride. The rails go up very steep.
From there you have several good and well-marked hiking trails which leads you through the nature park. Walking is worth the effort - you will be rewarded with a magnificent view of Catalonia.
If you are in Barcelona you have many option which allows you to get there. You can arrive by train. The trip takes about 1.5 hours. You need to go from Plaza Espanya and take train the FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat) in the R5 line, Manresa direction, took off at the station "Aeri de Montserrat"where you may change to the cable car, or if you go one more stop to "Monistrol de Montserrat", pick a rack railway running up directly to the monastery. The 15-minute ride is worthwhile.
You can also buy two combined tickets Trans Montserrat (for around 26.60 euro) and Tot Montserrat (euro 42.65) at the vending machines inside the stations of the FCG, the Catalan railway, at Plaza Espanya and Plaza Catalunya. With this ticket you will get: two metro rides, the train ride to Montserrat and return, the ride with the funicular (Aeri) or rack railway, the continuation with the funicular and the entrance to the audiovisual exhibition, plus with The Tot Montserrat ticket you will have the restaurant menu included.
If you are more lazy and don't want to make any effort by yourself, you may also book an organized guided tour in some tourist information center.
The place looks really incredible. Maybe is not that epic and dramatic as Mateora monasteries but still totally worth visiting, while you are in Barcelona or nearby.
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