Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: MONTSERRAT
TherearetwowaystoreachMontserratbypublictransport-cable-carandmountainrailway
-butinthefirstinstanceyouneedtotakethe
FGCtrain
(lineR5,directionManresa),which
leaves Barcelona's Pl. d'Espanya ( Espanya) daily at hourly intervals from 8.36am.
By cable-car
Get off at the train at Montserrat Aeri (1hr) for the connecting cable-car, the
Aeri de Montserrat (every 15min; daily: March-Oct 9.40am-2pm & 2.35-7pm, Nov-Feb
10.10am-2pm & 2.35-5.45pm; 938 350 005,
aeridemontserrat.com
). Queues are pos-
sibleatbusytimes.ReturningtoBarcelona,theR5trainsdeparthourlyfromMontserratAeri
(from 6.25am).
By mountain railway
The Montserrat mountain railway, the Cremallera de Montserrat
(hourly; daily 8.48am-5.38pm, until 7.38pm at weekends April-Oct plus daily July-Sept;
902312020,
cremallerademontserrat.cat
),departsfromMonistroldeMontserrat(thenext
stop after Montserrat Aeri, another 4min), and takes 20min. Returning to Barcelona, the R5
trains depart hourly from Monistrol de Montserrat (from 6.21am).
Tickets
An information desk at Pl. d'Espanya station and the FGC shop at El Triangle detail
all the fare options, including return through-tickets from Barcelona (around €20) for either
train/cable-car or train/mountain railway. There are also two combination tickets available:
the Trans Montserrat (€26), which includes all transport services, including unlimited use of
the mountain funiculars; and the Tot Montserrat (€43), which includes the same plus monas-
tery museum and audiovisual exhibit entry and a cafeteria lunch. Both tickets are also avail-
able at the Pl. de Catalunya tourist office in Barcelona.
By car
Take the A2 motorway as far as the Montserrat exit, and then follow the BP-1103 to
the Montserrat turn-off - or park at either the cable-car or the mountain-railway station and
take the rides up instead. All-in cable-car/Cremallera/Montserrat attraction combo tickets are
available at the station for drivers who park and ride.
INFORMATION
Visitor Centre
At the monastery (daily 9am-5.45pm; 938 777 701,
www.montserratvisita.com
)
. You can pick up maps of the complex and mountain, and they
canalsoadviseaboutaccommodation,fromcampingtostayingatthethree-star
AbatCisner-
os
hotel.
Sant Cugat and Terrassa
A series of remarkable churches lies on the commuter train line out of the city to the northw-
est,thefirstinthedormitorytownof
SantCugatdelVallès
-just25minutesfromBarcelona
- and the second (actually a group of three) another fifteen minutes beyond in the industrial
cityof
Terrassa
.Youcaneasilyseeallthechurchesinamorning,butthrowinlunchandthis
