Overview
- Barcelona Super Saver tour, offering a 10 percent saving
- Enjoy a sightseeing tour that includes a walk through the Gothic Quarter
- Take in views of Barcelona’s skyline, including La Sagrada Familia, on a cable car ride up Montjuic
- Relax on a cog-wheel train ride up Montserrat for unbeatable vistas
- Visit Montserrat, see the royal basilica and 12th-century carving of the Black Virgin, and sample local liquors
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
Start your morning by meeting your guide at 8:45am in central Barcelona near the city's Plaça de Catalunya. Proceed on a sightseeing tour of central Barcelona during the morning, including a visit to scenic hillside Montjuic and ride aboard the sky-high Montjuic cable car. Then in the afternoon, continue on to the mountaintop retreat of Montserrat just outside Barcelona proper, where you'll board a cog-wheel train to explore this unique pilgrimage site, including its 12th-century Romanesque carving of the Virgen Moroneta (Black Virgin).
For full details of your day-long excursion, read the full itinerary below.
Itinerary
Start your morning sightseeing tour with a stroll through Plaza de Catalunya; admire its many fountains and statues, and then wander along the narrow medieval streets of the Gothic Quarter. As you walk, your guide will explain interesting details about Barcelona’s historical sites. See many buildings from the 15th century, including Barcelona Cathedral, as you continue to Plaza Sant Jaume, where important government buildings are located, including the Palace of Generalitat and the Town Hall.
Next, board a coach and take in views of the Mediterranean Sea and Barcelona’s coastline on the drive to Montjuic, a hill near the coast that features many attractions. Pass the Olympic Village (Vila Olimpica), which was home to athletes during the 1992 Olympics, and drive by Port Olympic. Continue up Montjuic for a panoramic view of the city and harbor, and then enjoy a tour of Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, the Palau Sant Jordi and Calatrava Tower. Next, visit the Spanish Village (Poble Espanyol) to see architecture and traditional crafts from different regions of Spain.
Finally, board Montjuic cable car and take in aerial views of Barcelona landmarks such as La Sagrada Familia as you ride down the hill to Montjuic Castle. Admire the castle from the outside, then head back to central Barcelona, for a short lunch break (own expense).
Montserrat Royal Basilica Tour and Cog-Wheel Train Ride: (4.5 hours)
After driving through picturesque little villages, arrive in the small town of Monistrol to hop aboard your cog-wheel train for your 20-minute ride through the mountains. Gaze out at the glorious scenery, and hop out on the craggy mountain of Montserrat, a peak that rises to roughly 4,051 feet (1,235 meters).
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.
After hearing an introduction to Montserrat from your guide, learning about its importance in past and present times, use your free time (roughly two hours) to explore independently and discover the site’s magic on your own. Then, meet back up with your guide to enjoy a tasting of four typical Montserrat liquors and learn more details about the site by watching the 'Montserrat Inside Closed Doors' video, at the visitor's center. Later, travel back to Barcelona by coach.
Reviews
Viator Traveler's Reviews
Tour guides: Daniella and Cecilia. They are great tour guides.
Barcelona is beautiful city. Full of history. Very picturesque. Its one of best city to visit while in Spain/Catalina. Cable car was great to great to see wonderful view of the city and Spainish town was great to get idea what are Spain structured houses looks like from different regions of Spain and walking tour was also great too. And then 2nd tour Montserrat is something that should not be missed. It's a beautiful mountain area town with full of history.
I enjoyed the trip up to Montserrat. We had spectacular views from the top of the mountain. The liquor samples were good and I ended up buying some to take home... along with some chocolate! Our guide was knowledgeable and had some interesting stories on the drive up there.
Montjuic was nice but, honestly, if you are pressed for time or have other options, maybe consider a different tour. The tour itself was good nothing against Viator but the site itself was kinda boring. I wish I opted for another tour that I was considering. The cable car ride and views from the top overlooking all of Barcelona made the trip.
The tour guide Giovanna is the BEST TOUR GUIDE we ever met. She is thorough, intelligent, tireless,attractive and polite. She patiently answered all our questions and was very knowledgeable. The walking tour part of the tour is difficult for a tour guide because one has to have a loud a clear voice, which she did, in both Spanish and English. She was the tour guide for the morning tour. The afternoon guide on April 9 was also excellent but I did not get her name. Thank you.
This was two great tours combined in one that was fabulous! The morning was the sightseeing tour around Barcelona aboard a bus followed by the visit to Montjuic and the fantastic views from the cable car. We ended the morning tour with a brief walking tour and highlights of the Gothic area. We then had time for a quick lunch and then headed back to the tour office to meet up to head out on the second tour to Monserrat. This was nice in the afternoon, since it gave you a bit of a rest, as it took roughly and hour or so to drive to the monastery. There we had plenty of free time to explore the beautiful grounds and the Basilica. I highly recommend going inside the Basilica to see the Black Madonna. This was a wonderful way to see all the highlights of Barcelona!