Monserrat, Barcelona on our own ?

:) We are doing a B2B and will have a day in Barcelona between cruises..We need to know how to get to Monserrat from the ship on our own..Has any1 done this and if so can you share your experiences and travel route with us..?

It is a snap. We did it last year. In fact we purchased a pass from the railway. Seems to me that we got transportation to the railway station, fare to Monserrat, entrance, and return trip. We really enjoyed it, I would highly recommend it. Ask at the tourist info office. We bought it at the railway retail outlet at a store at the top city end of Las Ramblas.

Hi kruzin'

We did Montserrat on our own in June and it's very easy to do. You catch the train from Espanya/rail metro station. Once there look for Line 'R5'. You will find a person at a ticket booth selling tickets or you can purchase tickets at a ticket machine. Make sure you arrive early if you need to buy tickets. Trains leave starting at 8:36 am and depart hourly 36 minutes past the hour. It takes approximately 1 hour to reach Montserrat.

We purchased the Trans Montserrat Ticket which costs approx 21 Euros, it includes train fare from Barcelona to Montserrat either with Cable car ride or Track Train ride. It also includes 2 return trips on 2 different funicular rides while at the monastery. You also get 2 free metro rides with this ticket (so it might be a good idea to get this ticket at the information kiosk at Placa Catalunya so you can use your free metro ticket to get to Espanya).

Helpful Tips:

- Get to the Line R5 early so you can get a seat (remember it is an hour ride), check to make sure that the train you are getting onto is R5 headed to Manresa.

- I would suggest taking the Cable Car ride. Get off at Montserrat-Aeri station. It’s a 5 minute ride with great views.

- If you want to see the Black Virgin statue it's best to see it early when it opens. We waited for over an hour and we found the line is very deceiving. The line stretching outside into the courtyard looks short, but really it’s not. From there it will be close to an hour wait, because as you enter the church, the line narrows and then becomes almost single file. You then have to go through the entire length of the church and then up some stairs and more stairs before you reach the statue. When people approach the statue, they take pictures, which significantly adds to the overall waiting time.

- The train back to Barcelona will leave 40 past the hour. Make sure you leave yourself enough time to get to the station. When boarding the train back to Barcelona, do not just get on any train that arrives at the station. We were at the station around 3:30 and got onto the first train that pulled in around 3:35. After boarding, we were not sure whether the train stops at Espanya. Luckily, we asked some other tourists and they were travelling with a companion from Barcelona. She said that originally the train would not stop at Espanya, but there was an announcement saying that the train will stop at Espanya. Be very careful while getting on or off the train. It gets really crowded and hubby almost got pickpocketed. One more tip, the doors to the train do not automatically open once they arrive at the station. In order for the door to open, you have to press the large button near the center of the door.

Have a great trip.

As said, it is dead easy to do. One other tip; you must choose between the cable car or the rack railway when you buy your ticket. The tickets are the TRANS MONSERRAT and the TOT MONSERRAT. TOT is a bit more expensive, but you get a lunch included at either the restaurant by the gift shop, or the black building that hangs out over the mountain edge about 100 yds away. It is important you know which 'way up' you have chosen as they are not interchangeable and you have to use different stations on the R5 train. First is the cable car. To get this get off at Monserrat Aeri. On the electronic 'in train' display (at the end of the carriage) this will come up as MONSERRAT A. The cable car is right beside the station. If you use the rack railway (which we did), you get off at the next station MONISTROL. The green rack railway train will be waiting for you at the end of the platform.

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/spain/montserrat.htm

Simon

:) We are doing a B2B and will have a day in Barcelona between cruises..We need to know how to get to Monserrat from the ship on our own..Has any1 done this and if so can you share your experiences and travel route with us..?

It is a great place to visit but the trip will take much of your day..

We did a ship's excursion the day the cruise ship returned so our trip there was via tour bus. (very scenic, high montains, hairpin turns)

We arrived very early before most other groups--had no lines at all, plenty of time to see the Black Madonna & to visit the stores, get a snack etc... By the time we left it was really crowded...so many busses.

The children's choir was not in residence the day we went--& we did not buy the CD--should have since we have not been able to get it on the internet or in stores... Have a great visit!

We're planning to visit on a Sunday in early September, in order to hear the choir. I imagine this will be a busy day to visit. Can anyone elaborate as to what time we should plan to leave the city, in order to arrive early enough to try to beat most of the crowds? Thanks.

Mary

We're planning to visit on a Sunday in early September, in order to hear the choir. I imagine this will be a busy day to visit. Can anyone elaborate as to what time we should plan to leave the city, in order to arrive early enough to try to beat most of the crowds? Thanks.

 

Mary

Practically, the first train you can get from Placa d'Espanya to Monserrat is the 8.36 (on the R5 route). This is because both the cable car and Cremella (rack railway) don't start operating until this train arrives at their respective stations. Aim to get to Placa d'Espanya by 8.15am and wait for the train to pull in to the platform. As this is essentially a commuter train, there is lots of standing room and not very many seats. So, when the train doors open, do not be polite! Get on the train as quick as you can and grab a seat...its a 1 hour trip to Monserrat!

Simon

:) thanks for your info...you didnt happen to be there on a Sunday? As I had mentioned we will dock in Barcelona early 2/15 Sunday and will have to be back on board by 5pm that evening 2/15..I hope my plans can work out since we have been to Barcelona 2x I wanted to plan something different...

Practically, the first train you can get from Placa d'Espanya to Monserrat is the 8.36 (on the R5 route). This is because both the cable car and Cremella (rack railway) don't start operating until this train arrives at their respective stations. Aim to get to Placa d'Espanya by 8.15am and wait for the train to pull in to the platform. As this is essentially a commuter train, there is lots of standing room and not very many seats. So, when the train doors open, do not be polite! Get on the train as quick as you can and grab a seat...its a 1 hour trip to Monserrat!

 

Simon

:) thanks for your info...you didnt happen to be there on a Sunday? As I had mentioned we will dock in Barcelona early 2/15 Sunday and will have to be back on board by 5pm that evening 2/15..I hope my plans can work out since we have been to Barcelona 2x I wanted to plan something different...

No, we went on a Tuesday. You will have to watch your leaving time, as the trains run every hour. Barcelona trains leave Monistrol (rack railway) at 33 mins past the hour and Monserrat Aeri (cable car) at 36 mins past. As it takes an hour to get to Barcelona, you can either leave yourself 20 odd minutes to get from Placa d'Espanya to the ship (which would really be cutting it fine!) or if you get the 2.33 train, you would have an hour and 20 mins.

Simon

Practically, the first train you can get from Placa d'Espanya to Monserrat is the 8.36 (on the R5 route). This is because both the cable car and Cremella (rack railway) don't start operating until this train arrives at their respective stations. Aim to get to Placa d'Espanya by 8.15am and wait for the train to pull in to the platform. As this is essentially a commuter train, there is lots of standing room and not very many seats. So, when the train doors open, do not be polite! Get on the train as quick as you can and grab a seat...its a 1 hour trip to Monserrat!

 

Simon

Thank you, Simon. That's what we'll do then!

Mary

It is a great place to visit but the trip will take much of your day..

We did a ship's excursion the day the cruise ship returned so our trip there was via tour bus. (very scenic, high montains, hairpin turns)

 

We arrived very early before most other groups--had no lines at all, plenty of time to see the Black Madonna & to visit the stores, get a snack etc... By the time we left it was really crowded...so many busses.

 

The children's choir was not in residence the day we went--& we did not buy the CD--should have since we have not been able to get it on the internet or in stores... Have a great visit!

Hi,

I am planning the same too - take the excursion the last day of the cruise. I think it is the best if you don't have enough time to do the trip on your own.

How many free time do you have in Monsterrat?

CC

Practically, the first train you can get from Placa d'Espanya to Monserrat is the 8.36 (on the R5 route). This is because both the cable car and Cremella (rack railway) don't start operating until this train arrives at their respective stations. Aim to get to Placa d'Espanya by 8.15am and wait for the train to pull in to the platform. As this is essentially a commuter train, there is lots of standing room and not very many seats. So, when the train doors open, do not be polite! Get on the train as quick as you can and grab a seat...its a 1 hour trip to Monserrat!

 

Simon

It appears that you can now get there 1 hour earlier. Please correct me if I'm wrong but it looks like the first rack rail departs Monistrol Vila at 8:35am:

http://www.cremallerademontserrat.cat/website_cremallera/media/downloads/cremallera/horaris_cremallera_2009.pdf

Their timetable search shows departing Pl. Espanya at 7:36am, arriving at Monistrol at 8:44 and then getting on the rack train at 8:48am to arrive at Montserrat at 9:08.

http://www.cremallerademontserrat.cat/website_cremallera/eng/cremallera_resultats.php

The reason I bring this up is because we are hoping to go to Montserrat on our last day in Barcelona, but we need to be at the airport by 3pm (for a flight to Granada). We'd prefer to get to Montserrat as early as possible to allow time to see it before returning to the city. We are assuming that means we'd have to take the 12:15 rack train back down in order to be at our hotel around 2 and get to the airport by 3. We realize this is a busy plan, but our flight time got changed so we are trying to make the best of it:cool: Also, is three hours (approx. 9-12) enough time to spend at Montserrat. We know we will miss the boys' choir but unfortunately that's how it worked out. If you think the travel time involved is not worth it to go to Montserrat for only 3 hours, then we may look into alternate ideas, but we already have all our "must-sees" scheduled for earlier in our visit.

3 hours is plenty--we were there for two and saw everything we wanted to see. It was a great time. I recommend the cable car--faster and not scary at all--you have to get off at the first stop--if you go all the way to the end you will have to take the train.

Cathy

3 hours is plenty--we were there for two and saw everything we wanted to see. It was a great time. I recommend the cable car--faster and not scary at all--you have to get off at the first stop--if you go all the way to the end you will have to take the train.

 

Cathy

Cathy you seem to be the Barcelona expert :) Thanks for all your help! We definitely want to hike the Grotto path so that will be first on our agenda and we'll fit the rest of our visit into whatever time is remaining. Did you take either of the two funiculars to higher on the mountain? Are they worthwhile?

The reason for taking the rack rail instead of the cable car is because my mother is deathly afraid of heights. Otherwise I would have loved to try the cable car. Maybe on my next visit to Barcelona, whenever that may be...

Obviously they have changed the timetable bqkali. If you can find an e mail address on that site, it might be worth checking that the rack railway is working OK, as I'm sure I read somehwere that part of the line was wiped out by a landslide a month or two ago.

Simon

Panic over! Apparently it re opened on 13th March. http://www.cremallerademontserrat.cat/website_cremallera/eng/index.asp

Simon

Panic over! Apparently it re opened on 13th March. http://www.cremallerademontserrat.cat/website_cremallera/eng/index.asp

 

Simon

Thanks!

We're boarding our ship on a Sunday but it overnights in Barcelona, not leaving until 4:00pm the following day. If we got up first thing in the morning would there be enough time to see everything (including a choir concert) and still get back into Barcelona to check in? We haven't gotten the details of when we can check in, but in previous cruises it seems like it starts around 12:00 noon or 1:00 pm. I imagine there's more of a time window since the ship isn't leaving that day.

Last Oct we visited Monserrat on a Sunday. We took the first train out of Barcelona. There are frequent Masses going on in the Cathedral where the Black Madonna is located-so it is good to visit there first. The only day we had was rainy, cold and foggy--matter of fact when we arrived on the cable car we were encased in fog--don't give up if this happens--it clears and is beautiful. It was easy to do. Got our ticket at the Tourist Info office. It included the rail, cable car and was even good for the subway.

The family ahead of us in line to see the Modonna statue got off the ship that am-had their hotel store the luggage and they took the train to Monserrat. We were back in Barcelona by about 5p.

A good source of info is Rick Steves Spain Book--Have fun:)

We're boarding our ship on a Sunday but it overnights in Barcelona, not leaving until 4:00pm the following day. If we got up first thing in the morning would there be enough time to see everything (including a choir concert) and still get back into Barcelona to check in? We haven't gotten the details of when we can check in, but in previous cruises it seems like it starts around 12:00 noon or 1:00 pm. I imagine there's more of a time window since the ship isn't leaving that day.

Are you trying to go on Sunday or Monday? It is unclear from your post. I can't help determine if you can go on Sunday since I don't know what time you are allowed to check in for your cruise. It may be possible.

If you are trying to go to Montserrat on Monday, you can catch either the 7:36am or 8:36am train from Placa de Espanya to Montserrat, where you take either the cable car or rack railway up the mountain...expect about a 90 minute - maybe longer - journey once you factor in the time up the mountain + getting from the port to Pl. Espanya. You will need about two hours there, or longer if you would like to hike any of the trails. Then another 90 minutes return to the port. If you took the 8:36 train, you could be back at the port by 2 or 3 depending on how long you spent at Montserrat.

Cathy you seem to be the Barcelona expert :) Thanks for all your help! We definitely want to hike the Grotto path so that will be first on our agenda and we'll fit the rest of our visit into whatever time is remaining. Did you take either of the two funiculars to higher on the mountain? Are they worthwhile?

 

The reason for taking the rack rail instead of the cable car is because my mother is deathly afraid of heights. Otherwise I would have loved to try the cable car. Maybe on my next visit to Barcelona, whenever that may be...

Sorry, I missed the part about the rail--only mentioned the cable car because it is a 5 minute ride vs about 20 mins for the train and you will have a time consideration. We would have taken the funiculars, but it was raining the day we were there--and they were up in the clouds--so not worth it. If we had done those, we def. would have needed more than 2 hours. We hiked a ways up the hill with our umbrellas, though. It was also our first day after the int'l flight the day before, so we were ready for a little down time back at the hotel. If it had been a pretty sunny day, however, we would def. have gone up higher. Luckily, there were not many people and we walked right up to see the Madonna--no lines at all. Here is another website with great BCN info--this is how I found out how to do it, although the info above is spot on: http://www.barcelonayellow.com/component/option,com_magazine/func,show_magazine/id,2/Itemid,286/

I'm jealous--would love to go back even again, but it looks like this year we will concentrate on Rome pre- and Venice post-cruise. Can't get enough of those two cities either!

Cathy

We generally enjoy driving when in Europe because it allows us to stop whenever/wherever we want. We'll be in Lisbon for a few days prior to arriving in Barcelona the day before our cruise (we'll land at 11:30 on a Sunday). We were thinking of either renting a car for the day to drive to Monserrat OR doing that after we return to Barcelona (on a Sat.) as we'll have 2 days in town then. We have been to Barcelona before so that is one reason for driving - to maybe see other areas outside of the city. For instance, after we visit Monserrat, we could putz around somewhere else if we see anything interesting between there and Barcelona or hear of someplace a little farther away that is scenic. That is my main question:

To those of you who rode the train to Monserrat, were there interesting places along the way, or that were in the area that you might have enjoyed stopping at had you not been on the train?

That is not far from Montserrat but only reachable by car:

http://www.monstbenet.com/en/

In order to have some idea of how much money to exchange, I was wondering if the Trans Montserrat Ticket can be bought with a VISA card.

We realize that this ticket should be bought at the first Metro station and I assume that there are ticket windows to do that.