There are tons of different ways to explore Montserrat, with dozens of tour companies taking advantage of tourists to offer big “excursions” for big money. I’m sure many of these are wonderful for those who want to do tapas, and wineries, and distilleries, and big coach buses, but for me and my wife, we just wanted to view the basilica – and hike.
If I could do it again, I would have started at the first transport up the mountain, as my only grievance was that we didn’t have enough time to explore all that we wanted to see. We did pieces of a few trails, but didn’t have the time for the longer hikes.
Getting there:
Because we wanted the maximum amount of free time to explore and hike around, we opted out of one of those company excursions with all-inclusive activities and instead purchased the “Trans Montserrat Ticket” from Turisme de Barcelona Information Office at Plaça de Catalunya. It’s not something you can buy online and just show on your phone; you have to go in person. You can buy them in advance if you know when you’re going; we simply purchased the day-of; however, if we had known for sure in advance which day we planned to travel to Montserrat, we would have purchased and picked up our card in advance to save some time day-of. There is also a “TOT Montserrat card” which includes everything we purchased, plus a buffet lunch.
round-trip train fare (you don’t have to pick the time in advance). The train is basically a commuter rail, not a high-speed train, so be prepared to make plenty of stops.
round-trip train or cable car to Montserrat. You must choose at the time of purchase between the rack railway car or the cable car*
unlimited rides on the funiculars. There are 2 funiculars, which grant you convenient access to the multiple levels of the mountain. We took the one to the very top to hike!
Access to the cathedral and audiovisual space.
*We did the cable car, and I’m glad we did – the views were incredible and it was honestly pretty awesome. Some things to note though: 1) for those claustrophobic, they really pack you in like sardines; 2) I would not recommend for folks scared of heights; 3) the journey is quick, but know that it’s standing room only for those with limited accessibility; and, 4) even in the off-season – early December – on a weekday, the line was long. We waited probably 15-20 minutes to board our car. There are only 2 cars that continuously loop, so were I to do this in peak season, I’d probably opt towards the rack rail to avoid waiting in a 45-minute+ line.
Day Six: Game of Thrones?
It happened again. Sickness strikes abroad.
We had another slow morning with a light breakfast and sudafed before taking the high-speed rail to Girona.
The train was about 40 minutes. We grabbed a snack of an incredible, loaded salmon toast from a bar on a square and then followed a guide through the old town. The bartender was very friendly and patient; she really appreciated our efforts to try speaking Spanish. The absolute coolest part was the city walls that originally enclosed the town (now, of course, the town spreads within and beyond the walls). The walls and towers are open access, and offer incredible views of the city.
Several scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed here as well, and those interested can pay for Game of Thrones walking tours to show you all of the spots. We did our tour self-guided, but still made the effort to visit those locations from the show.
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Lez-Travel Rating:
This is a bit trickier to rate since we didn’t have much interaction with others. I’d be inclined to be distrustful of Montserrat, with it’s Catholic affiliation. Girona, a smaller town, seemed fine – while we didn’t notice any significance of gay pride showing, we felt safe.
Typically, in flights from Columbus, OH, we connect in Philadelphia when traveling to Europe. It’s a drab place (I know, I have spent a whole night here before – thanks U.S. Airways), but an American Airlines hub. My wife travels for work and has earned a depressingly high level of status and perks with American.
This trip, I picked up some travel books from the library. I haven’t done this before, but always will from now on – they have the newish publications, it’s zero dollars, and why buy a travel book for just six days when you’re going to be stuck with it? Even if we return to Barcelona (I hope we do! It was awesome!), we would need the newer version. It also allowed us to compare notes.
I’m getting ahead of myself. So, my wife’s perks landed us to the fanciest of fancy American lounges, our ticket earned in combination with our international tickets and my wife’s ultra-status. They greet us with a glass of champagne, which we carry amidst giggles to a bartop area by the windows. Not only do they have an open bar and full buffet, but also meals to order – all for free. Never has a six-hour layover been more fun.
My wife tackled the Lonely Planet and I picked up the Fodor’s, and we started planning our trip – which we hadn’t done at all – besides booking tickets to la Sagrada Familia. After six hours of snacking, drinking, and planning, we made our way towards our red-eye flight, landing in Barcelona around 8:00am. We hailed a cab from the airport (very reasonable fare, particularly as uber and lyft are rare–and frowned upon) to our hotel.
By a stroke of luck (and aforementioned wife’s status), we were able to check in at 9am. We headed to our room, freshened up, and then broke all the rules on adjusting to the time change. The second my head hit the pillow, feeling how incredibly and impossibly comfortable I felt, I said “uh oh” and fell immediately into a deep sleep.
Our alarms went off 2 minutes later (hours, it was 2 hours), but our struggles to get up and ready caused us to miss our city walking tour. We had booked through one of the “free” companies, so we notified them and then planned our afternoon using our handy library guidebooks.
We chose a self-guided tour around the gothic area, Barcelona’s old town. We purchased a 10-ride transit pass (no expiration) which worked well for us, since some days, we didn’t use transit at all, and used buses almost as often as the metro. We landed at Plaça de Catalunya and wandered around for a bit (it was heavily under construction) before moving into the Gothic area.
Had we been more prepared, we would have downloaded Rick Steves’ free audioguide for this neighborhood, but we followed his route in any case. We explored the area around the Catedral de Barcelona (we didn’t pay for entry), but enjoyed walking around the area and enjoying some of the history as shared by Rick Steves. There are free hours to enter the Cathedral, but – we hadn’t timed it just right. No matter – it was a gorgeous day and plenty enjoyable to view all of the narrows streets, plazas, and gothic architecture.
We stopped at Bar del Pla, one of the few places that’s open during the pre-dinner time (most restaurants do not open for dinner until 7:30 or 8pm). It was crowded, but they made space for us after first trying to seat us by the toilets. We ordered wine (I believe I got the house red, which was low-cost and delicious) a few tapas – tomato bread, croquettes, and our first of many experiences with jamon iberico.
After our pre-dinner snacks/ late lunch, we continued walking the neighborhood where each “street” is a tiny alley that all wind around like a maze. We eventually find what we’re looking for — the Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar. We expected to have to pay (listed as five euro), but the entry for us was free.
Our selected destination for dinner didn’t open until 8pm, so we popped in to a cocktail bar on the same plaza: Cocktail Bar Mudanzas. The drinks were unique, colorful, and incredibly strong!
For dinner, we showed up just after 8pm, mere minutes after the restaurant opened, and it was already slammed: Cal Pep. The staff squeezed us in at the bartop. The restaurant has no menu, just a chalkboard list of the daily offerings, listed in Spanish. The server went very quickly through the options, and we agreed to too many things, not always knowing what we were signing up for – but it was all incredible.
Day Two: the Scam
I admit it. We were scammed (kinda).
I’m ashamed.
While on our way home from a camping trip, our cousins who had just traveled to Barcelona messaged us saying, “OMG! You haven’t bought tickets for Sagrada Família yet?! You need to — NOW.” For the record, folks visiting in the off-season are probably just fine by purchasing tickets a few days or week in advance, but our cousins had traveled to Barcelona in July.
So, with our cell phones as our only devices, we quickly purchased tickets without doing due diligence. When we arrived at the basilica (note: they turned people away for arriving late, so you must arrive during your ticket window), we used our scammy tickets to enter (second note: the security of the basilica is more thorough than Spanish Border Control).
Once inside, we realized our tickets were sold third-party and the audio guide would not download on the free Sagrada Família Wi-Fi. We approached staff to request the visitor audio guides, but since our tickets were purchased third party (for double the price), we were not able to utilize the basilica’s audio guide.
So – we still were able to enter, explore one of the towers, and view the masterpiece that is Sagrada Família, but not having access to an audio guide was a huge bummer. I take responsibility for this screw-up; we’re typically way more careful and have always noticed the websites that pay google to show up first in the search, mimicking and impersonating the legit websites — but still, beware the third-party sellers out there, that sell tickets to the basilica for twice or ten times the cost that the Sagrada Família actually charges, and with fewer resources and access. They make their website look as close to identical as the real thing as possible and purchase a domain as close as possible, like, SagradaFamília.org. If we hadn’t been in a rush, I’m confident we would have realized our error. And – at least we got to see it!
After the Sagrada Família, we wandered through the plaza (Plaça de la Sagrada Família) for a final, different view of the basilica. We popped into a bar that had just opened for a quick beer and bathroom break while we used the bar’s Wi-Fi to check out some options for a late lunch. We decided to get a bit away from the touristy area and walked about a mile to La Pepita. It was a hip bar with excellent tapas.
To round out our afternoon, we walked up to Gaudi-designed mansion La Pedrera – Casa Milà. We purchased tickets at the door (note: you can save a few euros per person by purchasing in advance online). The tour includes an audio guide and headset. I would definitely recommend catching the sunset; the views from the roof were incredible.
Following la Pedrera, it was about time for dinner – already 7:30pm, but we were still the first people at the restaurant – a back-alley spot known for its paella. The service was friendly, but the paella was just fine, unfortunately, and the walk to get to the restaurant was, at best, uneasy, especially for two women. Drunk men watched the women’s every movement, and the restaurant was situated along a dark alley with a rank smell and belligerent humans. For those reasons, I’d steer clear of this restaurant. Sketchy alleys aside, this is Barcelona! We can’t stand for mediocre paella!
Day Three: BARCA
Day 3 welcomed my wife’s biggest dream: Barca futbol match. The match started early afternoon, and we had a slow morning before heading out from the hotel — too slow, really; we had planned to venture through the Jardines de pedralbes, but ran out of time.
Our hotel breakfast was excellent, so we just wanted something light for lunch; we strolled into one of the small neighborhood bars near our hotel (we were walking distance from the football stadium): Bar Lucas. We just had some pan con tomate and croquetas.
Spotify Camp Nou stadium has been under construction for a while, and we attended one of the first matches since it opened back up. It was still under construction in some areas, so we unfortunately were unable to do a full walk around the stadium concourse, but it was exciting to see their home stadium and experience the enthusiasm of the fan base (even for me, and I didn’t grow up on soccer like my wife did!).
After the match (Barca won!), we headed back to our hotel to watch the Ohio State v. Michigan futbol de America game (we just can’t help ourselves). Go Bucks!
Day Four: Castles and Gaudí
Sunday brought us from one corner of Barcelona to the other. We began our day with our ticketed entry at Park Guell, via the city bus. The city bus in Barcelona is an experience; locals are incredibly pushy with the transit, and to hell with the ethical understanding of “let people exit first before you enter.” I’d be waiting to exit at the next time right by the rear door, and be pushed out of the way for people trying to go first. We lived in Boston for seven years, so it’s nothing shocking to us, but… it’s there.
Anyway, we began exploring by following the path of Rick Steves (which we affectionately refer to as Ricky-Recommends). We climbed the steep hill to the cross (great views of the park and the city) and took the windy path back down to view more Gaudí architecture.
I find Gaudí’s work to be quite cool – albeit odd – but Park Guell was a level of crowded, even in the off-season, that stressed me to the core. I wanted to venture off into the adjoining urban park to enjoy nature with fewer humans, but my wife was starting to get hungry and feared getting lost. So, we finished our exploration – my favorites were the mosaic tiles on the ceiling and the stone columns that, if I remember right, was a driveway or parking area for the rich people’s carriages? – and headed out.
We climbed down the hill and walked about a mile to the metro, taking us back to the city center. Our afternoon plan was to explore Montjuïc Castle and the area; typically, you can take a Funicular (same fare as the metro) up the hill. Unfortunately, the funicular was closed during our visit, so we took the 150 bus. The bus was pleasant enough and offered a nice few of the Montjuïc area on our way up (take heed, those with motion sickness); the bus stops at the top of the hill, just below the castle.
On Sunday evening, the castle is free, so we passed through security and admissions; they handed us our free ticket and we entered the fortress area.
The castle walls offer an unparalleled view of the city (and the water) with a spectacular view of the sunset.
On our way back down the hill, we walked. A lot of the public park areas were under construction and closed off, but it was still a nice stroll with views of the water.
For dinner, we had made reservations at Tiberi Bar, a cool Mediterranean vegetarian-forward restaurant (still plenty of meat options). We found Tiberi Bar by recommendation from Fodor’s (see, we don’t just follow Rick Steves). With some time before our reservation, we first stopped at Bar Seco for a glass of wine. Bar Seco is also highly recommended for its food, but we only had time a drink.
It was our best meal in Spain; I may drool a bit thinking of it for years to come. They rotate through new menus seasonally, so it may not matter to share what we ordered, but our experience makes us believe that customers of this restaurant can do no wrong.
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Barcelona Lez-Travel rating:
Three rainbows! We felt super comfortable being Out and Proud, and saw plenty of other queer couples during our adventures.
Lez Travel 