Montserrat & Barcelona City Drive

Description

Be sure to read the Special Notes further down this page for important requirements and restriction.

This is a full day out but one that is easy on the eyes and feet. The tour starts with a 75-minute narrated tour of Barcelona, one of the Mediterranean's most popular ports, enabling you to soak up the incredible architecture, beaches, cathedrals and parks.

It´s time for a drive around the city passing by the 197-foot-tall Columbus Monument, which celebrates Christopher Columbus's return from the Americas, before driving around the Placa Espanya, which sits at a large intersection and is one of the most important squares in Barcelona. Built for the 1929 International Exhibition, it boasts fountains and two sky-scraping Venetian towers. You will also see the Olympic ring which was built to service the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic stadium, the Picornell swimming arena and the National Physical Education Institute, all breath-taking examples of modern architecture.

Next up is the city's jewel, La Sagrada Familia, Antonio Gaudi's unfinished yet strikingly modernist church that dominates the city's skyline with its massive spires, stained-glass windows and inherent beauty. Here you will have short time for photographs before climbing back onto the bus for the one-and-a-half-hour drive to Montserrat, through countryside rich with vineyards and olive, almond, and hazelnut orchards.

Montserrat was one of the great monastic complexes of the Middle Ages, drawing monks far and wide who were philosophers, historians, scientists, artists and musicians. Winding up the mountain roads, you will be equally enthralled by this beautiful town which sits some 2,300 feet above sea level and is home to the Benedictine Monastery Complex. There's a ten minute walk from the bus to the monastery, then you will have a full 90-minutes, of which an hour is free time, to explore. Nestled at the foot of an eroded mountain, the monastery is a thousand-years-old, dating back to a time when hermits occupied the crags and caves.

You will also have the chance to explore the monastery's superb Romanesque basilica, a world famous religious retreat, and choose to join the visitors paying homage to the silver altar dedicated to the Virgin. The basilica is decorated with statues of Christ and the 12 Apostles, and the somber interior is renowned for the gilded wooden sculpture of Catalonia's patron saint La Moreneta, also known as the 'Black Madonna' of Montserrat.

Then you will head to a local restaurant within Montserrat where you will be served a delicious sit-down lunch. After sampling the regional cuisine, you will have time to browse the stalls that dot Montserrat Plaza, before heading back to Barcelona port through more glorious countryside.

Special Notes:

THIS TOUR IS NOT AVAILABLE TO PASSENGERS EMBARKING OR DISEMBARKING IN BARCELONA.

The drive between Barcelona and Montserrat is approximately 1 1/2 hours each way.

This tour uses headsets.

There is a two block walk from the bus parking area to La Sagrada Familia for those that wish to take pictures.

Please note that tour order may vary.

Passengers should expect ongoing construction at La Sagrada Familia.

There are scheduled times to visit 'La Moreneta'- At certain times it is not allow to visit it.

Use of an audio headset (included) will enhance your tour experience.

Child Price:

12 years and under only