Monistrol de Montserrat

On my last day in Barcelona I decided to escape the city and head for the hills. A short one hour in a small minibus saw our group of 15 English speaking tourists to the Montserrat Monastery. It was built in the 10th century after an image of the Virgin Mary was found in a cave in the hills. The Monastery and surrounding buildings are beautiful, nestled under the dramatic peaks of the "serrated mountain".

The statue if the Virgin was placed in a stunning gold arch inside the church above the alter. People queue for hours to get a few seconds with her to touch and pray. The guide gave us the history of the Monastery and also some tips for what to do in the four hours we had there. There was many choices and some people stay overnight here at the hotel or camp in the small campground on the side of the mountain.

I chose to take the funicular up to the top of the mountain ridge. From here you got stunning views of the Monastery below. Many walks and treks started from here but I chose to ride back down and walk to another lookout point called the cross. This was about 30minutes uphill in the heat of the day but the views were definitely worth the pain!.

A twenty minute walk downhill saw me reach the church in time for a special small ceremony in which a boys choir sings two songs. It was very moving and the acoustics in the church very good.

So far the day trips I've done have been worth every penny.Read more