How to visit Montserrat Monastery: what to see and do, prices

There is no doubt that the most visited monument in the surroundings of Barcelona is the Monastery of Montserrat, with more than 2,5 million tourists a year.

And if you have not yet visited this sanctuary, when you arrive at the spectacular enclave of the parque natural where it is located, it will be easy for you to understand the reason for this large number of visits.

In itself, it is well worth taking the excursion to get to know the Montserrat massif, on one of whose slopes the monastery rests.

La Montserrat mountain It is a place of great scenic, historical and religious interest within a parque natural that it is characterized by its large formations with rocky needles.

Curiosities about the history of the Montserrat monastery

Its story arises from the discovery of the figure of the Virgin of Montserrat around the year 880.

From that moment on, small chapels began to appear all over the mountain.

At the beginning of the 11th century a new monastery in the hermitage of Santa María de Montserrat, but it would not be until 1409 when it became an independent abbey.

The monastery belongs to the benedictine order, which brought culture in multiple aspects, one of whose exponents is its impressive library.

After the Arab invasion, the surrounding lands became unproductive and this order cultivated the vineyards that have survived to this day.

El Monastery of Montserrat At the beginning of the 19th century, it served as a place of resistance against the advance of the Napoleonic armies, which destroyed a large part of the existing buildings.

That is why in the history of this sanctuary we can speak of two periods, the original, which was medieval, and the reconstruction at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century.

Virgin of Montserrat, La Moreneta, Patroness of Catalonia

For its part, the Virgin of Montserrat, popularly known as la Morenetait's Patron of Catalonia 1881 since.

Currently the monastery is run by a community of no more than 80 Benedictine monks that follow the traditional Rule of Saint Benedict, But during the summers there are up to 120, as monks from other orders come to this place in search of meditation.

How to get to the Montserrat monastery

To get to the monastery of Montserrat You have the option of going by car, but in practice you will have to leave it in the parking lot in Monistrol, town at the foot of Montserrat massif.

You should know that you can visit Montserrat arrive by train from Barcelona, which takes you to the aforementioned town of Monistrol, from where you can go up to the monastery well in rack train or Aerial cable car.

This is the experience of visiting the Montserrat monastery, what to see and do

During Our experience visiting the Montserrat Monastery, we find various points of interest and several possible visits to make.

Specifically, the heart of the visit to this iconic enclave of Catalonia is Basilica where is the popular Brunette.

In front of it you will find a large square that distributes the different areas to visit in the monastery complex.

Cloister of the Apostles in the Monastery of Montserrat

When you head towards the entrance of the abbey, you have to go through some doors and reach a courtyard before the entrance to the church, which is known as Cloister of the Apostles, a stay rich in history.

the imposing abbey facade It was built at the beginning of the 20th century, and in it you can see the sculptures carved in the stone. statues of the apostles.

It is worth highlighting the stone with which it is built, a calcareous material characteristic of the Montserrat mountain and a conglomerate of various minerals and textures.

In the center of the cloister there is a circle that represents the geological epicenter of the mountain.

In recent years, the belief has appeared that a universe emerges from the center of the earth. telluric energy which provides tranquility and good energy to the body.

On one side of this large cloister you can also see representations of the different cities with Marian temples such as Fátima , Guadalupe o Lourdes, among others.

On the other side are represented the different moments that the mountain has experienced, from its beginnings when the church depended on the Barcelona's cathedral, until today it is a monastery.

How to see the Black Madonna at the Montserrat Monastery

If your main interest is to see the figure of the Virgin of Montserrat, in the same entrance cloister is where the queue begins to form.

After entering the interior of the Basilica, this queue runs along the side nave of the church until it reaches the dressing room where is the popular Moreneta.

If you want to see it, you should know that the queue that forms to get to the dressing room At certain times of the year, weekends or specific dates, it can be really long.

This is what a visit to the Montserrat museum is like.

If you want to extend the visit, you can visit the Montserrat museum or Audiovisual Space.

This museum shows various collections of artistic objects, with more than 1.700 pieces on display, from a egyptian sarcophagus and objects from Mesopotamia, Greece and the Holy Land, up to paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries.

It should be noted that in the Montserrat museum you can also see a collection of up to 160 Byzantine and Slavic icons.

Other museum collections are the iconography of Saint Mary of Montserrat, metalwork from the 15th to 20th centuries, and paintings from the 13th to the 18th centuries.

Audiovisual Space in Montserrat

Another place you can visit in Montserrat is the Audiovisual Space which has been recently renovated.

Through audiovisual presentations, the theme revolves around three fundamental axes: mountain, monastery and sanctuary.

How to climb Montserrat mountain from the monastery

In Montserrat mountain, the monastery is the highest point where there is a population and which can be reached by road.

But it is possible to get even higher, to the top of the mountain, which you can do by taking another funicular which in less than 10 minutes takes you to an area of ​​complicated trails but with impressive landscapes.

Around the funicular you have some good viewpoints from where to get almost aerial photos of the monastery.

But if you want to walk some of the trails, you have to know that the ideal is to go with guides due to the difficulty of the paths.

We walked 15 minutes until we reached a hermitage, and once there we could see the difficulty of continuing along the trails.

We even came across many hikers who were carrying ropes to cross some of the sections, as this is a very popular area for practicing mountaineering, and even for doing climbing baptisms.

Where to eat at the Monserrat Monastery

A visit to the sanctuary usually takes no less than 4 hours, so it is almost mandatory to eat something there.

Basically there are two restaurants, one that is more elegant and with more elaborate food, which is part of the Abat Cisneros hostel, whose dining room is located in old stables from the 40th century, where it is usually necessary to reserve a table in advance (average price, XNUMX euros).

Additionally you have the Monserrat restaurant located in the building Apostles Viewpoint, known for its excellent views (menus, 19 and 25 euros).

Other places for a quick and cheaper meal are Monserrat Buffet, in the aforementioned Glass Viewpointas well as a café and the Plaza Bar, with mixed dishes and sandwiches.

Visiting hours of the Montserrat monastery

The  Visiting hours of the Basilica of Montserrat They are every day of the week, from 7 a.m. to 20 p.m. in the afternoon.

What are the times to see the Camarín de la Virgen de Montserrat?

If you would like to visit the Dressing room of the Virgin of Montserrat, access hours are from 8 a.m. to 10,30:12 a.m. in the morning, and from 18,25 p.m. to XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.

In summer, from mid-July to September 30, the Dressing room You can also visit between 19,30:20 p.m. and XNUMX p.m.

For visit of Dressing room you have to pay an entrance fee with a price of 12 euros.

When does the Montserrat Choir School perform? Dates and times

Before your visit, you should know that from Monday to Friday you can see the children of the Choir of Montserrat sing the Hello and the virolai at 13 p.m. in the Basilica.

From Monday to Thursday, at 18,45:XNUMX p.m. they sing Vespers, the Hail Montserratine y polyphonic motet.

On Sundays and holidays the times are at 12 noon in the morning, and at 18,45:XNUMX p.m. in the afternoon, and on Saturdays they do not sing.

To To listen to the Escolanía you must pay an entrance fee with a price of 12 euros.

Visiting hours of the Montserrat Museum

Meanwhile, the Montserrat Museum hours They are every day of the week from 10 a.m. to 18,45:XNUMX p.m.

The  Montserrat museum ticket prices They are 8 euros for adults and 6,50 euros for retirees and children from 8 to 16 years old.

New Audiovisual Space Schedules in Montserrat

The Hours of the New Audiovisual Space of Montserrat They are, Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 18:9 p.m., and on weekends and holidays, from 18,45 a.m. to XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.

The ticket prices to see these multimedia presentations The general price is 5,50 euros, with a reduced rate for retirees (4 euros) and children from 8 to 16 years old (3 euros).

Tour and guided tour of Montserrat

If instead of going on your own you prefer to sign up for a Tour to Montserrat with guide in Spanish, you have several options.

With a duration of five hours, you have the Tour to Montserrat by cogwheel trainBecause from Barcelona You will go by air-conditioned bus and then you will go up to the monastery on said train.

During the guided tour in Spanish you will enter the Basilica to see the la Moreneta, and you will also see the Montserrat Audiovisual.

You also have the option of Montserrat + Sagrada Familia Tour in Spanish, so that during the afternoon you will visit the great masterpiece of Gaudí, including the climb to one of its towers.