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USD $63.00
Montserrat Royal Basilica Half-Day Trip from Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain
Enjoy a getaway to the Montserrat mountains on a half-day trip from Barcelona! You'll visit the Royal Basilica of Montserrat with its 12th-century carving of the Black Virgin and, after hearing its history from a guide, enjoy free time to explore.
After driving through picturesque little villages you will arrive at the incomparable setting of the craggy mountain of Montserrat, which rises majestically up from the plain to 4,051 feet (1,235 meters) and has amazing views.
The Royal Basilica of Montserrat has been one of Spain's most important pilgrimage sites for hundreds of years, due to its famous 12th-century Romanesque carving of the Virgen Moroneta (the Black Virgin). On weekday afternoons, there is the opportunity to hear one of Europe's oldest children's choirs: La Escolania de Montserrat.
Having heard an introduction to Montserrat from your guide, learning about its importance in past and present times, use your free time (roughly 2.5 hours) to explore independently and discover the site’s magic on your own. Then, meet back up with your guide later to travel back to Barcelona by coach.
A serene visit to Montserrat, a great day trip from Barcelona. Stunning views with a lot history to absorb. The tour was well worth the money spent. The bus was comfortable and on time, everything was as described in the tour description.
Review by: Audrey CJ M, April 2018
Unfortunately was extremely windy . Guide was good . Bus comfortable .
Review by: Daniel M, April 2018
Wonderful day trip! The driver and tour guide were nice, knowledgeable, and a general pleasure to be around... would definitely do it again!
Review by: Marie L T, April 2018
Tour was amazing. I wish we booked the full day tour to Monserrat but nonetheless our guide Nazeem made it all worthwhile and was profoundly knowledgeable of its history.
Review by: ayeownew, April 2018
Montserrat is lovely. Just wish we had more time to queue for the Black Madonna, which was the main objective for our visit.
Review by: Gilbert J, April 2018
Beautiful place! Would recommend getting in line for the Black Madonna right away if you want to see it. Lines were long. Well worth the trip! Wish we had more time there to explore. The views on the drive were amazing!
Review by: Robert W, March 2018
Excellent views and beautiful monastery. Long lines to go inside
Review by: cherie.pope60, March 2018
Our tour guide Nadine kept our group informed, timely, but still a restful tour. The black Madonna is a significant Christian relic and the cathedral is small but majestic. The area is striking for the large rock formations. A great half day tour.
Review by: jen.thomas21, March 2018
Absolutely excellent trip. Cecilia our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and very friendly. I'd love to do any trips planned with her as our guide. _br/_ Julia travel company are very professional and helpful.
Review by: thomas, March 2018
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Kelly S, March 2018
worth every single penny. the mountains of montserrat are something you have to physically see in order to experience it fully. if you are somewhat physically-capable, I would suggest taking the big lift all the way to the top of the moutain for around 7-8 euros per person and then walking down. It takes roughy 45 mins walking down and the guide gives you more than enough time. In addition, make you use your tickets to try out the 4 liquor samples included in the entrance ticket. If you are going as a couple, one couple should get the mini-cookie bites and then the other couple should get the liquor samples.
Review by: SUSAN A O, January 2018
I did not realize that we had not rated this tour before. It was well worth it, and the scenery and information about the place were worth the trip!
Review by: Karen K, January 2018
Our tour to Montserrat was on an overcast and windy day. Our tour guide Anna was a soft spoken with heavy accent and did not carry a speaker system or a microphone. Often she speak against the wind and over to bringing church bells. Cannot hear a thing she said. Would not recommend this tour.
Review by: Karen K, January 2018
Our tour to Montserrat was on an overcast and windy day. Our tour guide Anna was a soft spoken with heavy accent and did not carry a speaker system or a microphone. Often she speak against the wind and over to bringing church bells. Cannot hear a thing she said. Would not recommend this tour.
Review by: Karen K, January 2018
Our tour to Montserrat was on an overcast and windy day. Our tour guide Anna was a soft spoken with heavy accent and did not carry a speaker system or a microphone. Often she speak against the wind and over to bringing church bells. Cannot hear a thing she said. Would not recommend this tour.
Review by: Tara, January 2018
Montserrat is magnificent and the black Madonna is a beautiful sight to behold. The monastery is high up in the mountains and this tour takes you via car but you can take the train if you prefer. I believe the train would provide a better view of the valley and the surroundings._br/_ The tour guide was pleasant and did a good job of providing the history and story behind the monastery. Please be aware that the guide does not come into the monastery with you but only gives you instruction on what all you can see the guide meets the group at the end and takes you back via bus to Barcelona._br/_ For the cost of the tour - it is easier to take the train or bus to Montserrat independently and tour the monastery on your own time . This tour is not necessarily value for money.
Review by: Edik B, December 2017
Very interesting tour.
Review by: shari, December 2017
It was great but very quick. The day we went was exceptionally busy so longer waits to see things. If you have time it may be relaxing to do day trip. Beautiful to see!
Review by: velascosm, December 2017
The scenery was beautiful, the tour guide was very intelligent, informative, and had a pleasant attitude. The Montserrat was beautiful, however I did not like the liquor provided in the liquor tasting. Overall, my trip to Barcelona was only 3 days, so I wish I saw something else that didn't consume so much time for a place I ended up not being that interested in.
Review by: Abul R, December 2017
Excellent and breathtaking.
Review by: Ann.mac, November 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: John C. M, November 2017
It would have been great if Julia Travel could've answered their phone.
Review by: Ibis C, November 2017
Easy to find office for imbarkation and sufficient time at the sight to enjoy this beautiful place.
Review by: Lorrie, November 2017
Glad we went! Bus comfy- with Wi-Fi -a relaxing narrated trip. Great scenery. Montserrat was just beautiful! Walked to Cross of Saint Michael for breathtaking views and pics- up hill but worth it- about 25 minutes- Cathedral was beautiful-Mass going on-nice shops and cafe. Great guide- don't miss
Review by: Geoffrey G, November 2017
Great location stepped in history. Tour was not long enough to explore location. Would suggest spend a full day or weekend
Review by: Lynette A, November 2017
Really interesting and beautiful place. Loved the boys choir so glad I got to see them. Wonderful tour great tour guide who was very informative and helpful.
Review by: Zainab A, November 2017
would recommend.
Review by: Maylene B, October 2017
The tour was great! Cecilia the tour guide was amazing. This area is beautiful!
Review by: Lisa V, October 2017
It was a beautiful site but our guide didn't utilize a microphone and the group was large and so we missed 75 of the information he was sharing. That was a disappointment. I do think it's worth going to see but make sure to ask if you will be able to hear the guide.
Review by: dennis p, October 2017
This was a nice trip well done but I have a small complaint. Our guide was a sweet well informed young woman who obviously was not a Christian. This trip was to a monastery and she kept referring to the religious beliefs surrounding it as myths and fairy tales. She may be correct I don't know. What I do know is that for me and other people of faith they are not myths and fairy tales. I would just say that she should take into account that her customers may not feel as she does and treat her commentary with a little more tolerance.
Review by: James P, October 2017
A wonderful experience with a great tour guide! Montserrat is beautiful both in location and the magnificent basilica. I will probably do it again the next time I'm in Barcelona!!
Review by: Gurjeet, October 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Priscilla Q, October 2017
This is a highly recommended tour to take part in when visiting Barcelona. The drive in itself is great especially the area as the coach approaches Montserrat. Our tour guide Nadeem is very knowledgeable and personable. The bus is clean and very comfortable and my husband I thoroughly enjoyed the tour.
Review by: purpleoc, October 2017
This tour was fantastic but it's impossible to cram everything into the time allowed. We had to rush the liquor tasting to try and see the boys choir but when we got there we couldn't see a thing. We then had to rush back to the bus. Scenery at the top of the mountain was breathtaking
Review by: Rebecca, October 2017
Simply a great tour!
Review by: Jeffrey A, October 2017
The scenery was beautiful and the boys choir stunning. Unfortunately there is simply not enough time to participate in most of the activities available. This is particularly the case if you wish to hear the choir sing at 12.00 noon as you need to be in the church by about 11.40 am. Those wanting to see the Black Madonna close up had to queue for over an hour. Most people on our trip didn't bother about the liqueur tasting as the line was too long._br/_ We were unlucky the day we went as the mountains were completely shrouded in clouds so by lunch time visibility was very limited. Our guide was friendly and informative.
Review by: Carisa M, October 2017
All worth it! Our tour guide was fantastic!
Review by: cincedugan, October 2017
On a scale of 1 to 5, I would rate this tour a 5. It was very crowded when we got there with so many buses in the parking lot. in fact we had to get out of the bus sooner and walk a short distance. The tour guide was excellent. His recommendation to walk to the cross on the hill was a good one --instead of taking the tram to the very top and walking down. The scenery along the way is spectacular and once you get to the cross, the views from all directions are breath taking! We went back to the Cathedral to hear the choir sing after our walk to the cross, but it was so crowded we couldn't even get into the main part of the Cathedral. We stood in the vestibule. I would highly recommend this tour. On a scale of 1 to 5, I would give it a 5. We went at 9 in the morning - - I am not sure whether it would be less crowded in the afternoon._br/_ Carolyn Dugan
Review by: Ernest D, October 2017
The Basilica itself was wonderful but our guide for the day was terrible. We were not alone in our evaluation. She gave us very poor information about things to do and see. This was our third excursion with Viiator during our trip to Spain and we have a complaint about every tour guide. Either they were very political, did not give us enough information about what to do at site we were seeing, or were unwilling to answer questions and got very snippy with people if they dared to ask a question or understand something she was saying. She walked way ahead of most of the group and explained things before whole group was with her, therefore, not all information was heard. Loved the sites....not happy with any of the guides.
Review by: yeogan, September 2017
This was supposed to be an interesting trip for us. Unfortunately, the half day trip by Julia Travel, the local tour company, was too rush. They don't give you enough time to do the things that was advertised. You only get two hours to visit and enjoy Montserrat Royal Basilica.
Review by: Stanley H, September 2017
This tour didn't give us enough time to see very much at Montserrat. About half the tour is spent on the bus going to/from Montserrat. The tour was also bilingual, so when the tour guide explained something he had to do it in English and Spanish. While we were able to view the Basilica and a few other things, we were frustrated that we waited over 30 minutes in the line to see the Black Virgin but had to get out of line to catch the bus back to Barcelona. If we had to do it over again, we would take the train to Montserrat so that we weren't so time constrained.
Review by: Narelle M, September 2017
Excellent scenery
Review by: MartiniGirl, September 2017
Wonderful day at Montserrat. Wished it were just 30 minutes longer. Had to leave after only hearing the Boys Choir for 5 minutes. An additional 30 minutes would be great so that everyone could enjoy this wonderful Boys Choir. Otherwise the trip was great.
Review by: Vivien L, August 2017
A very good tour but for those wanting to cover more such as the walk up to the cave or queuing in the Cathedral, more time is needed - several hours to cover everything and have time to eat at lunchtime especially as it is busy.
Review by: Jaci W, August 2017
I think Montserrat is definitely worth seeing. If all you are doing is visit no wine tasting, hiking, etc., then 1/2 day is plenty. We paid extra for the liquor tasting but the line was so long we never were able to try it. Also, the first thing we did is pay extra to go round trip up the funicular which was great! Later on, the lines get really long. It was well worth the ride - the views from the top were amazing!
Review by: Elwira D, August 2017
The place is gorgeous to must see, but the guide Francesca was horrible. We wasted our time and money since the limited time of the tour wasn't organized within timely matter.
Review by: Warit W, August 2017
Good place to visit not very far from Barcelona.
Review by: Carolyn R, April 2017
Terrific to see - loved the place. Tour guide was knowledgeable. You had to be there early to get a seat to hear the singing.
Review by: Celeste K, April 2017
The bus ride was fine. It was difficult to understand the tour guide because she had no microphone and her English was not very good. We were disappointed in how little a tour we got when we arrived at the site. We were on our own most of the time. I was happy that we got a few hours to enjoy the place. It was beautiful and so worth going. I felt that we would have been better off organizing our own transportation.
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