Barcelona Safety & Montserrat

We were in Barcelona this past May and had no problems at all. We walked the Las Ramblas and saw no unsavory activities and saw no one pick pocketed. No problems on the bus to Parc Guell either. We are careful with money, CC's, etc. and try to stay aware of our surroundings. Barcelona is a wonderful city and you will love it. Have a great trip!

Barbara,

This has been discussed a number of times recently, but here's a summary of previous posts: "Don't turn your brain off while abroad, and you'll be fine." Europe in general is much safer than comparably populated areas in the US. Act as you would when in a big city in the US, and you will have no problems.

To tell the truth, I've never been to Montserrat, although I am planing on going next week, and will have more details then.

Montserrat is very much worth visiting. The church is beautiful.

You can, if you wish, book a tour on a bus to Montserrat, but really, the easiest and most fun way to get there is to take a train from Barcelona. I understand there are two different trains now, but the oldest line, that I took a number of years ago and then, again just last week, is the Ferrocarriles Catalanes (Catalonian Railways). It leaves from the Plaza de Espanya station in downtown Barcelona. You take the R5 train from Plaza de Espanya to Montserrat-Aeri. Takes about an hour. Montserrat-Aeri is a little station located just below the monastery. The "Aeri" is a tram that runs up the mountain to the monastery, on a cable. The tram ride is included in your ticket. Beautiful views!

Recommendation: the cafeteria at Montserrat, very popular with pilgrims, has good food and very reasonably priced lunches.

Montserrat is definitely a worthwhile day trip. We just did this 2 weeks ago. We purchased the TransMonserrat ticket at Tourist Info at Placa de Catalunya- that includes round trip metro and train (from Placa d'Espanya) aerial cable car (or rack railway) up to Montserrat and use of all funiculars while there. About 20E.

Took about an hour to get there- we spent about 4 hours there.

There is also a TotMonserrat ticket which includes lunch. We took a picnic.

it is a beautiful spot- fantastic views-try to catch the Boy's Choir- M-TH at 1:00 or Sun at 12-and if you want to see La Morenta- I'd suggest getting in line for that first- took us an hour later in the day- we should have done it first when it opened!

As far as safety in Barcelona- we had no problems, and left our daughter there to study- so hoping she stays safe as well! But as anywhere- caution and awareness.

I'm female and recently went to Spain on my own. I did visit Barcelona, among other Spanish cities, and loved it. I have not been to Montserrat. However, in general, I felt very safe on my trip as a solo female traveler throughout Spain. I'm sure Montserrat would be no different.

One thing that makes it easy is that people in Spain walk everywhere and stay out very late for dinner. If I was eating dinner at 8:30 or 9 pm, I felt very safe heading back to my hotel room around 10:30 pm or 11 pm each night since many people were still out and about.

If you do speak Spanish, it's a great opportunity to really immerse yourself in the culture and meet the locals, but you can get by with English. One of my favorite experiences was in Granada where I asked some locals to point me in the direction of one of Rick Steve's recommended tapas bars, and the locals told me they were headed that way and invited me to join them. It was one of the most memorable meals and experiences of the entire trip, and I was thrilled to meet locals and practice my Spanish.

Another time when I asked someone for directions he asked me if I was alone, and I told him I was meeting a friend who was flying in later that afternoon. This wasn't true of course, but he doesn't need to know that.

I didn't want my family to worry about me, so I checked in often with friends and family via internet cafes.

I did not book any tours as I've traveled throughout Europe extensively with friends. If you take trains don't forget you will need reservations. I splurged on single hotel rooms instead of hostels since the only hostel rooms left when I booked were in mixed male/female rooms, and I did not feel comfortable with that.

I agree that if you keep a good head on your shoulders, you'll be perfectly fine. Solo travel is liberating, and it's nice to be able to do what you want when you want since you're likely trying to fit as much as possible into a few days or weeks.