Montserrat Info & Full Day Itinerary Suggestions

We did Montserrat a few years ago by ourselves just as you are planning.
We took the second train scheduled. from Placa Espanya. That train was crowded and standing room only. Everyone else on the train was going to the same place. so Yes, absolutely take the first train at 830 and get there early. The later trains will be crowded.
We took the cremellera (rack railway) instead of the cable car, so can't speak to that. The cable car (aeri) stop is one stop before the cremellera stop.
Once you get there, go see the Black madonna FIRST to avoid the long line later in the day.
As you wait in line to go behind the altar, you will get an idea of how crowded the church is getting for the boys choir at noon.
You can decide how early you will wait in the church pews.
If you have time, go see the exhibits (included with your ticket) before heading over early for the choir.
we arrived 20 minutes before the performance and the church was packed by people who had gotten there about 45 minutes early and we had to stand in the back.
The performance is short- about 15 minutes.
After the choir, everyone else will get in line to see the Black Madonna, so this is not the time to go.
Go get lunch at the cafeteria at this time
I wouldn't buy the package that includes lunch. Not worth it.
Just buy your own lunch at the self-service cafeteria. so buy the Trans Monserrat ticket over the TOT
then go do your hikes and take the funicular up to the top and walk out to the cross. Bring your own water bottles
Skip the Museum. We did the museum and it was OK, but not a must do and your hikes will take up the rest of the day.

One tip: At the end of the day, Take the Rack Railway back down. Why? Because the train stops at that station first, picks up those passengers and they will get a seat. Then it goes to the cable car station, and those passengers will most likely have to stand for the rest of the trip back to Barcelona.

Also, we bought our tickets at the machines at the station using a credit card. You can read the screens in English and follow the directions, but it took us some time to figure it all out, so if you want to maximize time, you can also purchase the tickets online ahead of time. Not sure how that works.

Also, there are no guided tours once you arrive. Once you get there, you just follow the signs and walk around. There's really only the church with the Black madonna and the exhibits, the museum and then the hiking. But the mountain backdrops are incredible.

Have fun! we enjoyed our DIY day trip to Monserratt and highly recommend it!

Thanks Derek, excellent information and useful tips for everyone planning a visit!

Derek,

Thank you so much for the fabulous information and details! They will come in handy!

A few follow up questions:

• We were thinking of taking the cable car roundtrip for the views (and speed getting up/down). But after reading your comments, I’m thinking we might take the cable car up and then buy a separate one way ticket to take the Cremallera back down to beat the crowds coming in at the cable car train stop. Does that make sense?
• The “exhibits” that you mention. What are they and are they near the church?
• I saw a reference to “Open Air Museum”, are they referring to the various walks/trails?
• Walks sound like they take at least 1-2 hrs. This is the most confusing part. Which are the most important given our time limitations of starting at 12:30ish and finishing by 16:00 (and not wanting to kill ourselves)?

Walks I Saw Online:

• Degotalls (Door to Montserrat) - 1 hr roundtrip walk?
• Santa Cova Chapel/Cave - 1 hr roundtrip if by funicular (or walk down, funicular up)?
• St Michaels Cross - 40 mins roundtrip walk from Santa Cova funicular upper station?
• Sant Joan funicular for choice of two walks (these seem longer and more strenuous)?

The new itinerary plan is:

• Purchase Trans Monserrat combo tickets in advance
• Take first departing train from Barcelona
• Arrive Aeri de Montserrat station 9:40 and take cable up
• Go to see Black Madonna and view church interior
• See exhibits
• Return to church at approximately 11:15a for noon choir performance (it's noon due to religious holiday, rather than 1300) which lasts 15 mins.
• Take picnic lunch with us on our hikes (will bring from Barcelona or purchase in Montserrat)
• Go to Cremallera station approx. 16:00 (or sooner) to take it down to train station (separate single ticket)
• Take 16:45 train back to Barcelona

Thanks again for all your helpful input!

Hi gg96

1.) CROWDS: Note that Whit Monday is NOT a festive day in our calendar. Yet, the date you're choosing to visit is bound to be crowded because of visitors, which albeit they (you!) come to Catalonia all year long, the period from June to early October is especially busy. Still, I'd say, it'd be manageable that early in June.

2.) TRAIN: for info, note this is a commuting line, so folks in the towns and cities along the line take the train in the morning to go to work, study or whatever; thus the first train is not at 8:36 but at 5:16 -a bit too early for you, I know, but I'm just saying- and there's a train every hour at '16 and '36 until 8'36, then one every hour until 11:36 and then again at '56 and '36... For more info, https://www.fgc.cat/en/searcher/ and choose line "Llobregat-Anòia". If you are taking the cable car, your destination is "Aeri de Montserrat" station -for the cable car-, and your origin "Pl Espanya" (in Barcelona).

3.) TICKET: The ticket you purchase at Pl Espanya and ask for a TransMontserrat Combo Ticket. You need to decide there and then whether you're going to ascend/descend the mountain via the cable car or the rack-train as the combo ticket -albeit costing the same- includes either one or the other but not both (they're run by different companies).

4.) WHEN?: This brings me to the question of WHEN to arrive at Montserrat. While there are many early-risers like you --so sadly you won't get to experience the place "on your own" unless you were to drive up there at 6am!--, the earlier you go the fewer people you'll find. Note that the first ride of the cable car is at 9:40, but the first one of the rack-train is one hour earlier. This should give you food for thought on whether to ascend via the cable car or the rack train.

If a ride in the cable car is a must... some people simply purchase a TransMontserrat combo ticket for the rack-train, which includes both ascend and descend via this service, and simply do not use the descend part and just purchase a single ticket on-site for the descend with the cable car (https://www.aeridemontserrat.com/en/timetable-fares/). If you were to do this, you could take the 7:36 train in Barcelona and transfer to the first departure of the rack-train at 8:48 arriving into Montserrat earlier than the batches ascending via cable car.

As per "groups", you might not be aware, but even if you go on your own, you're part of "the groups" arriving all the time, in fact, you're part of the "problem with crowds", LOL! :)) Seriously, there's no "avoiding crowds", just assume it and enjoy your day. You may be lucky and find 'fewer' people visiting one day and more another. C'est la vie!

IMPORTANT: the destination station for transferring to the cable car is "Aeri de Montserrat", but the one for transferring to the rack-train is "Monistrol de Montserrat" -actually, is the "next" station ;-)

5.) ITINERARY: it really doesn't matter much... once people arrive at Montserrat they scatter in all directions as everybody has a "preferred order", so to speak. Besides, motivations for visiting Montserrat vary, some go for the 'churchy stuff' others more for the 'nature bit', some just for the views, some for the museums, etc.

Enjoy!

PS: Since 99% of you won't get to see this -unless you drive to Montserrat at sunrise!- I thought you'd like to see the "mar de núvols" (Catalan, the local language in Catalonia, for "sea of clouds") happening many mornings in the mountain of Montserrat due to the orography of the terrain and the micro-climates in the area. This is a timelapse ("accelerated videos" for those unfamiliar with the term) which shows the phenomenon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzeYTiCklt8

Hi Enric!

Thank you for your wealth of info and the beautiful video!

Good to know about Whit Monday. If it is not considered a religious holiday, then that would suggest the Boys Choir would indeed perform at 1300 and not 1200, as I had thought.

All the information I had seen about trains leaving Barcelona at 8:36 bound for Montserrat seemed to be aimed at those that want to take a train to get to Montserrat when the cable cars first open. It seemed to suggest the train was solely for the trip to Montserrat. I am happy to go as early as possible to avoid the largest of the crowds and to have longer once we get there. So it is good to realize that train route has earlier times.

The fact that the rack-train leaves an hour earlier is also definitely good to know. I think that with this in mind, we will take an earlier train and then the rack-train.

Hi GG96
Enric's info is correct. When you buy your ticket, you have to specify Cremellera or Aeri- you cannot do both on the same ticket.
I think there is an option to pay more to do both, but not worth it. I think taking the rack railway early is a good decision and both ways (up and down) makes sense. That's what we did, as the both rack railway and cable car option was not available at the ticket machines at the station. Had to make a choice at the ticket machine.
The exhibits are in a separate building near the church. It's the same building as the museum, but you have to pay to enter the museum area. It doesn't take long to view the exhibits, so seeing them between the Black Madonna and the choir is a good use of your time.
With the afternoon for a hike,I would take the funicular up and do one of the suggested walks- like St. Michaels Cross or the cave, and walk the trail down. 2 hours should do it.
I don't know what the "open air museum" is. Sorry.

Just to emphasize, this is an easy DIY tour. You don't need to pay for a private tour company to do this, unless you are short on time and also want to go a winery in the afternoon. good luck and bon voyage!

Thanks Derek!

Apologies.

I thought I had all the info I needed for this day trip. But I’ve learned a couple things that now have me confused. Below is the itinerary I had come up with using the information I received from your responses.

The two questions:

• I read about an “express train” to Montserrat. Is that different from other trains throughout the day and does it only run at specific times? Also, is the length of the trip different? We were hoping to depart Barcelona 7:16 to get to Montserrat and have a short wait for the first Cremellera at 8:48.

• I just read that unfortunately, the Santa Cova funicular is closed until 2020. Bummer. This means if we wanted to visit the chapel and cave we’d have to walk both ways. I could probably make it walking down, but it sounds like it’s a pretty steep climb back up (in June weather). Is that true? And how long would the roundtrip walk take? Should we consider the Degotalls walk instead?

Day trip to Montserrat

• Purchase Trans Monserrat combo tickets in advance for “Cremellera”/rack rail (not “Aeri”/cable car)
• Metro to Placa Espanya (covered by ticket)
• Take early train from Placa Espanya at 7:16/7:36 (to arrive 8:20/8:40).
  
• Arrive “Monistrol de Montserrat” station (next station after the one for cable car, “Aeri de Montserrat")
• Take 1st rack rail up at 8:48 (leaves 1 hr earlier than cable car)
• Arrive Montserrat by about 9:05 (get TI Map)
• Go to see Black Madonna and view church interior
• Take the walk to St. Michaels Cross (20 min walk each way)
• Early picnic lunch (will bring from Barcelona or purchase in Montserrat)
• Return to church at approximately 12:15p for choir performance at 13:00 which lasts 15 mins.
• Take Santa Cova funicular down and walk to Santa Cova Chapel/Cave - 1 hr roundtrip if by funicular or 1 hr each way if walking.
• Return to Monastery.
• See exhibits (separate building near church).
• Go to Cremallera station approx. 16:00 (or sooner) to take it down to train station (separate single ticket)
• Take 16:45 train back to Barcelona

I also researched it and also read the Santa Croce funicular is closed indefinitely. Without this funicular, I think the hike back up would be too steep for me. But that's just me. The Degotalls hike is an easy hike. What about the Sant Joan funicular? If that's open, you could take it to the top and then walk downhill back to the monastery (1hr or so walk)
Your revised plan looks good.
The Trans ticket is a round trip ticket, so you would use that same ticket to go back down the mountain. No need to purchase a separate one.
Have a safe and wonderful journey!