Literally. With its highest peak at 1,236m (4,055ft), Montserrat has some amazing views and with the initial cloud cover, it did look and feel like we were a lot closer to heaven.

Having missed a trip to Montserrat last time we visited Barcelona, it was one of our priorities for this trip. And we are glad we did it as it is a truly beautiful and different place. There are different legends belonging to Montserrat, one being that the Holy Grail was found there. One other special legend is that St Peter hid a statue of the Virgin Mary in the mountain after Jesus’s death and only after many centuries, in 880, some shepherds were drawn to a grotto by a bright light and recovered it. The Virgin statue has since been re-sculptured and can be found in the monastery (built in 1025). Visitors can receive a blessing by touching the bronze globe in her hand, and not being able to resist a blessing, we too lined up to visit the statue.

Tips
– Dress warm, as it is a lot colder atop the mountains
– Don’t throw out the tourist card at the end of the day, as there are about 5 free metro trips on there
– If you like exploring/walking, get there early, as there are some great tracks up/down the mountain that we missed due to lack of time
– The trip to Montserrat by train takes close to an hour (and the train from Plaza España leaves hourly), so plan your time well
– There are cafes there, otherwise you can do as we did, and pick up some bocadillos from Vienna (on Ramblas) for the road