A Day Trip to Montserrat: Our Sant Jeroni Hike & Photos of the View

I'd been meaning for some time to go to Montserrat, tempted by the promise of incredible views and fresh mountain air. Being outside Barcelona it required a day trip, but the perfect opportunity came up when Chris, my boyfriend, was staying with me for eight days. 

We decided to go early on a Saturday (although the plan of leaving at 8am didn't quite work out for us), and took the metro to Plaça Espanya where we could then catch the R5 train to Montserrat. We queued up for tickets at the designated Montserrat area of the Espanya metro station, feeling slightly smug that it was all going so smoothly thus far, then realised that we had no idea which ticket to buy. Chris hastily grabbed a leaflet from the Montserrat information desk, and I skimmed through it just as the ticket machine assistant (funny how these are so common in Spain) approached us. He could clearly see we were both English and confused, and therefore knew that we warranted his full attention. 

"TransMontserrat?" I queried, plucking the information from the rather unhelpful leaflet without giving it much thought. This ticket would probably get us there, at least. The ticket machine expert promptly selected the option from the million other options on the screen, and the grand total 53.20€ filled the screen. Woah. Being the unquestioning tourist that I was that day, I smiled and rummaged for the amount from my thief-proof bag (which a pickpocket went for the other day, but more on that another time) and paid the excessive sum.

After getting on the wrong train but having the luck to quickly transfer onto the right one, we then took the railway up to Montserrat Monastery. The views became increasingly sublime, only to get even better when we took the St Joan funicular further up the mountain. We'd chosen to do the Sant Jeroni walking route - mainly because it was the most difficult and we wished to somehow prove ourselves to the Spanish - and we soon became glad we did. The hike is estimated to be a two hour round-trip, excluding breaks, and it took us roughly this time.  

The view from the early stages of our Montserrat hike

The views were incredible all the way up the hiking path, but when we finally reached the top it was unrivalled. At Sant Jeroni peak there's a panoramic view for miles, and it's the perfect spot to sit with a picnic and your camera. To be honest, after climbing 1,236 metres above sea level you need a picnic loaded with sugar and other providers of unhealthy energy surges.  

The view from Sant Jeroni, Montserrat

The route back down was understandably a lot quicker, but it did involve an insane amount of steps. For the first half an hour or so this was fine for us, but for the last ten minutes it did start to finally challenge us. By the time we returned to the monastery, my calf muscles were noticeably spasming (although my weird joint disorder that involves unnatural bendiness may be responsible for this behaviour). A bottle of Fanta soon sorted me out, and we spent the last part of our visit appreciating the Montserrat Monastery itself.

Montserrat Monastery

It's such an ornate building - extravagant, even - and it's a really calming place to sit inside. What with the remarkable views and relaxing atmosphere (despite the tourists, of which there weren't too many during our visit), you can tell why many people claim Montserrat to be a place of healing.

All in all, visiting Montserrat has been one of my favourite parts of being in Barcelona thus far. Also, the ticket price soon turned out to be worth it when it included our return trip from Barcelona, our rail trip up and down Montserrat, our funicular trips, and several Metro journeys. Chris and I will certainly go back at least once, mainly because Chris has the somewhat ambitious aim of completing all the other Montserrat hiking routes in a single morning. I'll let you know how that one goes.