We wanted to visit Montserrat for a long time, but didn't have a chance.
This time in Barcelona we had a free day and decided to finally go there.
Montserrat is a mountain near to Barcelona and on top of this mountain there is a monastery of Montserrat (Santa Maria de Montserrat)
One can get to the monastery by bus-tour (costs around 50 EUR) or by train from Barcelona.
We've decided to take a train (Line R5 to Manresa). At FGC train stations you can buy a combi-ticket in the vending machines.
This combi-ticket covers train and a cablecar to the top of the mountain, costs around 20 EUR.
There is also a church on the same territory, called Basilica.
Inside this church one can find the statue of "Black Madonna" - the whole monastery was built around this statue.
The statue is made of wood and got darker over the time, hence the name - "Black Madonna"
To get into the room where the statue is located you need to wait in a small queue.
In front of us stood a whole bus of Asian tourists, but they were quick and didn't hold the line too much :)
After visiting the church we walked around the monastery.
There are a few spots from where magnificent views of Catalonia can be seen.
Monastery's cat has been to some fights
Later we decided to go up to Sant Jeroni peak. It's the highest peak of Montserrat elevating some 1,236 meters.
It is possible to hike there by trail or just take a funicular ride.
The park was closing soon, so we've decided to go by funicular instead of hiking.
Folks are taking pictures of our funicular
