On my recent solo trip to Barcelona, I could’ve purchased advanced tours to Montserrat via Expedia, Viator, my hotel’s concierge service, or even get a private taxi, but I missed my chance due to last minute decisions. Luckily the front desk associate was able to suggest an alternate route: traveling to Montserrat from Barcelona by train. If you want to save some money and get a feel for a local’s way of going, here’s how I did a day trip from Barcelona to Montserrat by train.
Getting to the FGC Train from Barcelona to Montserrat
I started my day trip from Barcelona to Montserrat by taking the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGC) R5 towards Manresa from Espanya station. To get to Espanya station, take the Metro (TMB) L1 (red) or L3 (green) line. My hotel was right around the corner from Espanya station so it knocked a good amount of travel time off my plate. The total ride takes about an hour.
For timetables, maps and ticket prices for the TMB Metro, visit their website.
Purchasing your Ticket to Montserrat
The FGC train to Montserrat gives you two options to get to the top of the mountain:
- FGC Train + Cable Car (Aeri de Montserrat stop)
- FGC Train + Rack Railway (Monistrol de Montserrat stop)
When purchasing, you can buy a round-trip ticket or two individual rides, but tickets are not transferable from the Rack Railway to the Cable Car. The Cable Car is about a 5-minute ride less the wait time to get on/off while the Rack Railway is a 10-20 minute ride. There are tellers at the station to give you details on ticketing, but you can purchase at ticketing machines too.
For timetables and ticket prices for the FGC train, visit the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat website.
If you decide to take the Cable Car, make note that it stops at a certain time. My hike took longer than expected and I missed the last cable car down by about 15 minutes. I took the Rack Railway and walked into the town to get to the FGC back to Barcelona. Related: 15 Life Lessons Learned on the Hike to Sant Jeroni
For timetables and ticket prices for the Rack Railway, visit the Cremallara de Montserrat website.
Have you taken a day trip from Barcelona to Montserrat before?
Thank you for this! I notice in your included automatic ticket machine photo an option for “Tourist Ticket”… do you know if this would refer to the Trans / ToT Montserrat combo ticket options? It would be fantastic if we could purchase those tickets from these machines rather than wait for the physical sales point to open in the early morning.
Apologies, but I didn’t purchase the tourist ticket so I’m not sure what it includes. You may be able to find your answer on their official website
I really need to get my travel game up. I’ve been to Spain but it was a million years ago and I would love to go back.
It was a great trip. I definitely want to visit the beach next time I go.
I feel completely ignorant for not knowing Monteserrat was a place and not just a FONT I use religiously on Canva!!!! I need to get out more, seriously!
lol it’s okay. ?
Thank you for this. I want to visit Spain and this is great. I will have to keep this for future reference.
I’ve never been to Europe but this is good to know if I want to go to Montserrat from Barcelona. I like the way they designed the entrance to walk through instead of some of ours you have to spin around to get inside.
My mom is from the island Montserrat so I almost thought you were talking about that. You are talking about the Europe one which was the country that colonized my mother’s island. This is good to know though I would like to visit both places eventually!
I cannot wait to start traveling internationally. Spain is definitely in my top 10 places to visit too.
I’ll be in Madrid later this year. Definitely beautiful
I have never been to either city. Thanks for letting me know the best way to get between the two
I love to travel & this article has inspired me to make my way to Montserrat!
Good information. I haven’t been to Barcelona or Montserrat. However, these destinations are on my list! Thanks for sharing the details.
I’ve never been to Barcelona and never thought about putting it on my bucket list. I’ll have to look into it and see I can catch a deal. Great post!
I went to Barcelona and Madrid this past summer. I took the Renee between the 2 cities. It was a great ride once we got there, but had drama actually getting started. Lol
I absolutely need to be more adventurous in 2017!! Thank you for the inspiration….Barcelona has been on my travel bucket list for awhile. I just need to make it happen..