Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain

However you chose to get there (We chose the train which takes around an hour from Barcelona) it is well worth pulling yourself from the charms of Barcelona for a day. With the train ticket you can chose if you want to take the cable car or the rack railway to the top, the cable car sounded more fun especially after taking a train to get there so we chose that. 

When you arrive to this mountain of many peaks you will most likely make your way over to the bright yellow cable cars which glide on up to the top reaching what looks like from the bottom as an extreme angle to get there; people stand waiting while taking pictures before squeezing into the cable car. A slightly bored looking man presses some switches and off we go, every window view taken with cameras and nervous smiles as ears pop all around, the view is amazing; the rock formations swallow up the cable car until you are immersed in them. After the ride you will end in Monserrat-Aeri there you walk up a path which leads to The Monastery of Montserrat, there are other buildings near which look to be carved into the rocks including an art gallery and some small gift shops but the main building here is clear from the start; shrines and a nice little square lead up to the Monastery which has seating areas and view points to take in the sights (we chose this time to eat before entering the building). A square inside of arches and beautiful sculptures show the entrance to the basilica, people stand around admiring the details with their cameras in the sunlight before moving in through the thick doors.

The first thing I noticed when entering was the sign stating “Silence” after this friendly welcome comes the gold trimmed lining of the beautiful interior, natural light enters from above as candles burn all around. People queue in large numbers at the side to be able to go close to the Black Virgin statue which stands in a little window in the centre. We chose not to join the queue as we are both not religious and the main reason for this trip to Montserrat was for the hikes which would have been taken up if we were to join what seemed like a very long wait. We left the Monastery and headed over to the museum which in my opinion was the most surprising (in a good way) that I have ever entered, inside you will find Picasso, Dali, Caravaggio, Monet, Manet and Degas among others as well as sculpture and artefacts from ancient Egypt....very much worth €6.50 to enter.

Then we walked on up to the starting point of the hiking trails (we picked a route which we had decided on beforehand) the route took us through the trees which hide religious sculptures  along the path; areas of rest are not far away and have great views. Not many people chose to walk to the top and instead chose the train which runs straight up so the trail was peaceful and not very challenging at first; the path gently weaves through more and more incredible views before we reach the point we had set out for which was a cross on the edge of a peak....after reaching it though the peak didn’t seem enough and we still had plenty of time so we carried on. 

The path became steeper and steeper and with it the views grew in scale. Just when you think that you have reached the top, higher peaks push you back down (Take lots of water) the hike was challenging but very worth the effort (even though at the time I regretting not taking the train up...especially after seeing the fresh faces leaving the train through my exhausted eyes) the views were unmatched to any other below and the hike back down was refreshing. I would recommend going to Montserrat early and spending the whole day there, I’d take food and drink with you and if you are planning on going for a hike....don’t wear flip-flops.