Montserrat Afternoon Tour & Black Madonna Priority Access
Badge of Excellence
Barcelona, Spain
- 5 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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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 TravelCarrer 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.Operating hours.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.
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.
1
Julià Travel
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
2
Abadia De Montserrat
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
3
Montserrat Mountains
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
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
Reviews
4.3
based on 1,979 reviews
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
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.
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
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jennifer_H, May 2026
Lovely afternoon with my family taking the cog train to Montserrat. Lorena from Julia Travel is a great guide.
Chester_W, Apr 2026
Beautiful!!! Very informative. Mountain was beautiful. Church was magnificent. So much detail. Wood do it again.
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
Norma_T, Apr 2026
Enlightening experience. Weather can be from very hot to very cold and anything in between so be prepared
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.
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!
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.
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💖
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.
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!!!
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.
Alfred_U, Feb 2026
We booked an English Tour to Monserrat. But our Tour Guide keeps on speaking Spanish. And when she talks in English. It still sounds like Spanish
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Dear Alfred_U,
Thank you for sharing your feedback regarding the Montserrat Afternoon Tour & Black Madonna Priority Access. We are sorry to learn that the language of the tour did not meet your expectations and that this affected your overall enjoyment of the experience.
We would like to clarify that the regular Montserrat tour is operated in a bilingual format. It is not offered or published as an English-only or Spanish-only tour. Our guides provide explanations in both languages to accommodate all participants in the group.
It saddens us to know that you were not able to fully enjoy the visit due to the guide’s accent when speaking English. Please note that all our guides are officially accredited by the local government and are regularly assessed to ensure they meet the required language standards and professional qualifications.
We truly appreciate you taking the time to share your comments, as they help us continue improving our services.
Sincerely,
Reena_P, Feb 2026
Lovely experience and safe....
Good service...........................................................
Matthew_T, Jan 2026
This was a very fun, informative, and enjoyable tour; made even moreso by our guide Emma. From start to finish, it was very well organized, efficient, and had plenty of time for self paced touring of Montserrat.
Prasanthi_T, Dec 2025
I could not take the tour because I was 2 minutes late. Due to heavy rains at Barcelona and roads been closed my taxi took extra 2 minutes to reach the meeting point at Julia travels. Julia travels ( 2 ladies) were inside the office and would not open the door for my family to verify tickets. The bus was right there in front of me and as my tickets were not verified , the bus left without us. Most important fact- I called Julia travels 7 minutes before the tour time and they still would not wait. They were very mean to us. This is totally unacceptable.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Dear Prasanthi_T
I regret to learn that you missed the tour by arriving late.
Please note that we request customers to arrive 15 minutes before the tour to try to avoid this type of situation. The tour can not be delayed, even if the lateness is advised by phone call, out of respect for customers arriving on time.
On the website where you booked it is indicated that arriving late means losing the tour.
Sincerely,
Francisca_H, Nov 2025
It was a last minute booking but everything was smooth sailing. We went to the meeting point at the bus station below and has a smooth check in. The tour guide Ivan and the conductor was awesome very friendly and had a clear presentation about the black madonna. At the end we all got a gift from the tour guide! How sweet was Ivan!
Debra_J, Nov 2025
It’s a lot of information to take in but really worth it. The mountains are beautiful and the chapel is a wonderful surprise. The Black Madonna is breathtaking.
MartaRosa_B, Nov 2025
We had a great experience on our tour, beautiful place very interesting history and excellent tour guide. Love this place just short of time to explore more
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