Trips & tickets
Coach from Barcelona, the rack railway up the mountain, a guided visit to the basilica with priority access to the Black Madonna, and a liqueur tasting.
Round trip from central Barcelona with a guide, free time at the monastery and an optional Black Madonna ticket.
The do-it-yourself option: travel from Barcelona, the Museum of Montserrat and a Catalan lunch on the mountain in one ticket.
The full GetYourGuide listing for Montserrat — rack railway and cable car tickets, combined tickets and guided tours from Barcelona, with live prices.
Montserrat is reached in two very different ways from the valley: the rack railway from Monistrol, or the Aeri cable car, run by a separate company, which swings straight up the cliff. Above the monastery, funiculars and footpaths lead on to the higher ridges.
From Barcelona you can combine train and lift yourself, buy a combined ticket, or join a guided tour. These pages set out what each option includes and who it suits.
Plan it properly
Every way from Barcelona to Montserrat compared: the R5 train with the rack railway or the Aeri cable car, the daily coach from Sants, driving and parking at €4 a day, and the tours that do it all for you.
How to plan a visit to the sanctuary of Montserrat: Basilica hours, when to see La Moreneta (the Black Madonna), when the Escolania boys' choir sings, the Museum of Montserrat and the tickets that include timed or priority access.
How to explore the mountain above the monastery: the Sant Joan and Santa Cova funiculars, the natural park's hermitages route (7 km, about 2 hours) and the climb to Sant Jeroni at 1,236 m, with what to bring and how to fit it into a day.
The massif
Photographs licensed from Shutterstock.
Take FGC line R5 from Barcelona–Plaça Espanya. Trains leave hourly and connect with both the Aeri cable car and the rack railway.
The rack railway climbs more than 600 metres over 5 km from Monistrol to the monastery in 15 minutes, leaving Monistrol Vila every 20 minutes, where there is a free car park. The Aeri cable car runs every 15 minutes; in 2026 an adult one-way is €10 and a return €15.
You can park free at Monistrol Vila and take the rack railway up from there.
Yes. Several tours and the museum ticket on the tours page include timed or priority access to see her.