Montserrat is a multi-peaked mountain thirty kilometres inland from Barcelona. The mountain is famous for its 13th Century Monastery, which was built to house a statue of the Virgin Mary, discovered in a cave more than a thousand years ago. Although the monastery is impressive, the main reason for visiting Montserrat is to experience the…
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Walking the Camino de Santiago from Barcelona to Montserrat (A pilgrim’s guide)
The Camino de Santiago is the world’s best-known Christian pilgrimage trail and hundreds of thousands of people set out to walk it every year. The history of the Camino de Santiago can be traced back to the Middle Ages, and although nowadays, most pilgrims only walk the 100-kilometre section from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela,…
Basilica of Sants Màrtirs Sant Just i Pastor
The Basilica of Sants Màrtirs Sant Just i Pastor dates back to the fourteenth century and was built on the ruins of a fourth-century church, which was itself built on top of a pagan temple dedicated to the deity Mithras from Greco-Roman mythology. The church’s plain exterior, typical of Catalan Gothic architecture, belies the beauty…
From Barcelona to the Santa Maria de Montserrat Monastery by Train and On Foot (A Hiker’s Guide)
The Monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat is an eleventh-century Benedictine monastery set in an idyllic mountaintop location approximately thirty-five kilometres from Barcelona. If you’ve already read my Ultimate Guide to Visiting Montserrat from Barcelona, you’ll know that the most convenient way to reach the monastery is by taking the R5 train from Barcelona, followed…
The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Montserrat from Barcelona
Tucked away amongst the jagged peaks of Montserrat, the Benedictine Monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat is one of the most popular day trips from Barcelona. The monastery dates back to the eleventh century and was built to house a wooden statue of Our Lady of Montserrat, which, legend has it, was found in a…