Montserrat Afternoon Tour & Black Madonna Priority Access

Barcelona, Spain

High interest

Booked 5+ times today.

5 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.3

· Anonymous ·

Jun 2026

It was awesome and an amazing experience for the price. Prepare to take a lot of pictures and walking. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes as it was quite hot in the mountains. The views, landscape, history and architecture were incredible. Our tour guide Ivan was very knowledgeable and helpful.

· ellengruber ·

Aug 2026

This was a wonderful tour. To experience the monastery, black madonna, museum with the only Caravaggio in all of Catalunya, liquor, honey, and cheese tastings, and the trip back down the mountain was incredible. Our tour guides were fantastic!

Explore our promoted experiences

Barcelona, Spain

5.0

(2)

Historic Walking Tour & Food Experience - Private Tour

from $237

Price varies by group size

Barcelona, Spain

4.0

(4)

Barcelona Walking Tour: Explore Top Sights & Hidden Gems

from $39

Price varies by group size

Likely to Sell Out

Barcelona, Spain

5.0

(1)

Park Guell Unveiled Guided Tour

from $43

Viator earns higher commissions on experiences featured here

Overview

Make a pilgrimage to Montserrat Monastery, one of Spain's key religious sites, during this guided visit. Scale Montserrat Mountain by your choice of cogwheel train or cable car, enjoying striking vistas of the mountain's surreal rock formations. Then visit the Benedictine abbey and the Basilica de Montserrat, to view La Moreneta (the Black Madonna). Your tour includes coach transport and free time to sample the monastery’s liqueurs.

Guided tour of Montserrat Monastery (Abadia de Montserrat) from Barcelona
Take the cogwheel train or the cable car for panoramic views of Catalonia
See the Black Madonna, one of Spain’s most important religious icons
Taste four different liqueurs produced by the Benedictine monks

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

This combines a tour of Montserrat with a ride on the mountain cogwheel train or cable car, all in just a half a day.

What's Included

Transportation on an air-conditioned coach
Local Guide
Radio guide system
Access to the Basilica and the Black Madonna
Taste of 4 typical liquors of the area
Entrance to the audio-visual exhibition “Espai Audio visual Montserrat”
Cog-wheel train down from Montserrat

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Julià Travel
Carrer d'Alí-Bei, 80 Local nº 180 - Planta baja Delante del andén 19 / In front of the Platform 19, Eixample, 08013 Barcelona, Spain
Please find the Julia Travel Office in Ground floor, Carrer d'Alí Bei, 80, 08018 Barcelona, Spain. It is mandatory to check-in in the counter and after we will go to platform 19

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Start time
.2:00 pm

Itinerary

Explore one of Spain's most important religious sites at Montserrat Monastery (Abadia de Montserrat). The spot offers sublime views, a variety of religious artifacts, and insight into the history and spiritual traditions of this region of Spain.

Begin your excursion by boarding an air-conditioned coach in central Barcelona, continuing on a ride through the scenic landscapes of Catalonia on your way to Montserrat. Your guide provides details about the region's history as you go, offering details about Montserrat Mountain and the monastery that lies near its peak.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, climb aboard your choice of a cogwheel train or the Aeri de Montserrat cable car, enjoying panoramic views along the way. Keep your camera handy for great shots of the mountain's unique rock formations with Catalonia spread out below you.

Arrive at Santa Maria de Montserrat, the Benedictine abbey that occupies the mountaintop. You’ll check out the Basilica de Montserrat and get priority access to a wooden carving of Our Lady of Montserrat, a sacred object also known as La Moreneta or the Black Madonna.

Spend some free time exploring the grounds at your leisure, stopping at the monastery gift shop for a tasting of four monastic liqueurs. Then board your coach for the return trip.

Julià Travel

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Abadia De Montserrat

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Montserrat Mountains

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Cremallera de Montserrat

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Infants must sit on laps
Most travelers can participate
Note that the La Escolania children's choir does not perform in the afternoon

Correct dress code is requested to enter the Basilica at Montserrat. It is not permitted to enter with tank tops, strapless shirts, short shorts or sandals
Queues to see the Black Madonna may occur depending on season
Tour operated in both Spanish and English
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.3

based on 1,988 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Sort by: Most insightful

Do this tour!

ellengruber, Aug 2026

No communication and not so friendly

Robert_D, Aug 2026

instructions were not clear on meeting location, bus left us 3min before scheduled time and staff was not helpful

Montserrat experienced 2026

Arnel_A, Aug 2026

The place was serile and you can feel the peaceful and calmness of the church. Though confusion at tge beginning afterwards it went smooth

Highly recommended tour

Jonathan_L, Jul 2026

We loved this tour to Montserrat. The monastery and its location are breathtaking, and Nuria our tour guide is wonderful. Such an amazing experience throughout the tour, and we appreciated all the details and history provided by Nuria. Thank you.

Amazing

Colleen_C, Jul 2026

What an amazing place . Our guide, Nuria, was brilliant.. so much history passed on to us. Loved everything about this tour. An absolute must do .

Monserrat Tour once in a lifetime experience.

michelle_c, Jul 2026

It was an amazing experience, the guide was excellent. The views and the entire tour was absolutely once in a lifetime.

Fantastic experience....

Colleen_O, Jul 2026

Fantastic experience. Amazed to be nature and wonderful mountains. The Basilica is a unique experience. Once in a lifetime. Highly recommended. We had a fantastic guide. A young woman called Nuria - great energy, very knowledgeable, and a lovely sense of humour.

Highly recommend, great tour

Jodi_F, Jun 2026

Really enjoyed this tour, enjoyed the train ride back down. Liked the mixture of tour & free time, had a great tour guide

Awesome Experience for a great price

Anonymous, Jun 2026

Great experience and even better guide

Kristina_C, Jun 2026

Mira was fantastic! She made the trip so memorable with her knowledge and expertise. Montserrat was stunning and a great cultural and historical experience

Rubbish company

Suzanne_C, Jun 2026

You should know that if something happens as an emergency they don’t care and are happy just to take your money. I had this tour booked and became unwell the night before so I messaged them at 5 am to see what they could do and to let them know I wouldn’t be able to do that trip. They messsged back some time later and said I had to go in person to Julia travel and explain it to them so reluctantly my partner and I started making the journey. I wasn’t well and actually vomitted on the metro ( very embarrassing) and then my partner was like that- no we are turning back. While on the journey we even called Julia travel to explain and was told the same thing we had to go In person. To someone who is actively vomit ting and in the heat at 12.00 in the day, got them yo even suggest me to go to their office and speak to them from gracia was completely out of order. I raised a refund request with Viator and was refused because thrr ed your operator said no to the refund. Dont know about you, but I think that’s ridiculous given the money the have coming in for every trip would a refund of £108 really have killed them?

Wonderful afternoon in Montserrat

Niel_V, Jun 2026

An amazing outing an hour out of Barcelona. We were spoilt with information about the history of Montserrat by our guide Sophia. The monastery was a great experience and the village had so much to offer. Enjoyed the liqueur tastings and bought a significant amount of these from the local vendors. The Sunday afternoon slot also ensured that it was not too busy.

Montserrat is beautiful...

John_C, Jun 2026

Montserrat is beautiful and the history of the cathedral makes this an important venture to partake in. Our guide, Ivan, was so wonderful and shared so much great history and insight. We highly recommend this trip.

Comprehensive tour

Ma_A, May 2026

Lorena was an excellent tour guide, approachable and knowledgeable. Even if it was chaotic at first, Julia Tours is located inside the Estació del Nord, ground floor, platform 19. Carrer d'Alí Bei, 80. I should have read the comments because we kept going around in circles and did not know that Julia tours was inside the terminal. We were there 30 minutes before the tour but the line was so long we got our tickets at 2 pm and there still at lot of people behind us. The buses left late past 2pm. Julia travels should issue the tickets electronically the day before the trip so people will not get confused. Some went straight to the bus thinking the ticket was the confirmation letter. Overall, the tour was great, very informative and not too tiring for seniors like us. I gave overall 4 rating because the chaotic lines to get the tickets. 5 star rating for Lorena.

Pick-up point so easy to...

Craig_H, May 2026

Pick-up point so easy to find. Tour guide Ivan was very informative and funny. His knowledge of the Monserrat was amazing. It was a beautiful day and the views were spectacular. Be prepared, it can be busy and we felt that there wasn't enough time at the monastery. The buildings and history and views were incredible - how they got the monastery built all those centuries ago, what a feat of engineering. The art gallery was beautiful, but again not enough time, to take our time. We did not manage to go up to the top of the funicular railway, to the very top of the mountain, again time. Also we were unable to do the "inter-active experience. We chose the option of tasting "4 typical liquors" of Monserrat. This was the biggest disappointment. The lady was so quick, the liquors were spilt over the counter, there was very little explanation of them - The whole experience took less that 4 minutes. Very disappointing and not impressed!! If you get the chance to go, definitely put it on your list - so worth a visit.

A waste of money with this tour operator.

Christina_S, May 2026

We were allowed less than 15 minutes at the site rushed through. The tour guide said we would be refunded, and when we requested a refund it was rejected. We were in hours of traffic. The tour didn’t deliver, and they didn’t offer any explanation for not providing the itinerary we paid for, or adequately reimburse. An entire waste of our last day in Barcelona.

The tour itself was good....

Siva_G, May 2026

The tour itself was good. Finding Julia Travels was a bit difficult since they provided a specific street address with number, rather than simply state that they were located inside the Bus Station. Being unfamiliar with the area (as a foreigner) we were trying to find the address near the bus station, without realizing that they were located inside the bus station.

Wonderful tour of Montserrat

rastormont, May 2026

We had a great time with Miri and Sandra our tour guides. The bus ride up went by quickly with lots of little stories of sights we passed. The tour itself was wonderful with lots of history and incredible religious statues and paintings the black Madonna was very impressive and awe inspiring.

Miscommunication between Viator and Julia Travel

travis_s, May 2026

On May 2, 2026 We were told by the Julia travel service member In Barcelona that we missed our trip because Viator emailed us and changed our time and we never received an email from Viator. We were devastated to have missed a very special and meaningful tour.

Lovely afternoon with my...

Jennifer_H, May 2026

Lovely afternoon with my family taking the cog train to Montserrat. Lorena from Julia Travel is a great guide.

Loved it!

Chester_W, Apr 2026

Beautiful!!! Very informative. Mountain was beautiful. Church was magnificent. So much detail. Wood do it again.

This tour is amazing!...

Christy_S, Apr 2026

This tour is amazing! Absolutely recommend! There is a lot of walking and I did travel with family that has trouble with mobility and guide was very patient and allowed time to catch up

Enlightening experience....

Norma_T, Apr 2026

Enlightening experience. Weather can be from very hot to very cold and anything in between so be prepared

Informative and beautiful

mike_M, Mar 2026

This was a very informative and beautiful tour. While we were not able to take the tram up, the bus ride was beautiful and informative. The train ride down was pretty cool as the sun was setting.

Great tour

Hayley_W, Mar 2026

Ivan was a great tour guide and very knowledgeable,he was friendly and engaging The only negative was we didn’t have a lot of free time, it states over 3 hours in the advert but this includes all the things included so you actually only had about hour to yourself to explore which if you want to do any extras not included on the tour you might struggle to fit it all in, overall it is value for money though and I would go again as I did enjoy it and the views were amazing!

Nice tour and good value for the price

Tram_H, Mar 2026

This trip was a nice experience. The mountains were very cool to see. The Basilica was beautiful and we got to touch the Black Madonna sphere for good luck which was cool. The tour guide, Laria, was very nice and gave us a lot of information. The bus was comfortable. I recommend this tour.

Wonderful Tour!

Raeva_D, Mar 2026

Miriana was our tour guide and she was absolutely phenomenal! It was a smooth bus ride with some fun facts and also time to rest. Once we got to Monserrat we took the cable car up and toured the area. Miriana was very knowledgeable and also allowed us a decent amount of free time to explore on our own. It was absolutely beautiful and I highly recommend this tour! Request Miriana for your tour💖

Recommend

Amy_W, Mar 2026

The experience was great despite the weather being rainy and foggy. Lorena was a great narrator giving us insight and the history. I recommend the tour. We chose to take train up because some in our group are afraid of heights, so no cable car for us.

Nice tour

Charnsilp_S, Feb 2026

Tour is nice and I love the cable car experience. The guide is knowledges and sweet. It’s off season, so not much to do on your free time. The thing that the tour guides need is the new microphone in the car… it’s unclear and very loud!!!

Montserrat visit.

Alan_D, Feb 2026

All happened exactly as arranged, no delays, easy to get to starting point. Ivan an excellent guide. Fabulous views. Wonderful place to visit and appreciate. Liquor tasting a bit hit'n' miss. All else was excellent and very good value.