Sleeping in Montserrat

Hi Christine,
A personal reflection: unless you have a very special reason, there's no need to stay in Montserrat overnight as once day visitors leave the place is totally deserted and there's absolutely nothing to do. Personally though, the only reason I would consider staying overnight is the spectacular sunrises that you can see many mornings during the year. From the monument to the poet and mystic Ramon Llull (http://bit.ly/monumentRamonLlull) located at the end of the road -at about 300 metres from the train station- by the extensive parking lots you have a magnificent view of the valleys. Sometimes, when it's cloudy, the effect is even more breathtaking and they tend to be lower than the vantage point thus giving you the impression you have a "sea of clouds" at your feet.

Actually, if you nothing but time, you might consider an overnight. We went on a day trip and several in our group said, "I'd love to come back and stay overnight" - specifically to experience the place when it was "deserted" and quiet.

Yes of course I didn't mean it's not worth, Janet has a point, experiencing the solitude in the middle of the Montserrat mountain range is already an experience on its own, meaning that walking the area at night with nothing but you, the black of the night, the lightly illuminated facades of the different buildings of the monastery, the wind blowing, a magnificent starred sky and a superb view of the valley with the dimmed lights from the far away towns is already something worth experiencing. A perfect setup for a night of reflection and intimacy.

But again, that I'd recommend if you were to stay in Catalonia for several weeks this being 'one experience more', but if you're not, I must assume there are other priorities to get the most of your stay that's the reason of my earlier post . But hey, who am I to presume anything, right?... ;))

Thanks so much for your input. Yes, as much as I would enjoy the solitude of a night in a hilltop monastery, I do have limited travel time.