- Montserrat comprises the Sanctuary of the Virgin Mary of Montserrat and the Benedictine monastery, which, for almost 1,000 years, has been at the service of pilgrims from all over the world, who come to worship the Black Madonna, a Romanesque sculpture dating from the late 12th century featuring delicately carved features.
- You start booking the time of this visit. You can do the rest of the visit before or after this time.
- The best option to reach Montserrat from Barcelona is the train and rack railway combination. From the Barcelona-Pl. Espanya station there are Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya trains to Montserrat every hour beginning at 8:26 am. The Montserrat Rack Railway is a public transport means that climbs over 600 metres, allowing visitors to fully enjoy the mountain surroundings, straight to the sanctuary.
- When you are in Montserrat, start by going to the Information Office where you will have the Open air Museum: thanks to an audio guide, a map and an informative booklet, you can discover on your own all the most important facets of the monastery's history, not to mention the major sites of the Sanctuary of Montserrat.
- The Audiovisual Room “Montserrat portes endins” showcases what Montserrat is all about and what it means. The exhibition revolves around three main elements: the mountain, the monastery and the sanctuary.
- The Museum of Montserrat (MDM) is home to one of the country's most important art collections. Containing works by Caravaggio, El Greco, Rusiñol, Casas, Picasso, Dali, Monet and others, it also has a valuable collection of the Archaeology of the Ancient World with archaeological remains from the Near East (ancient Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Holy Land...). There also are temporary exhibitions in addition to the permanent collection. The MDM was declared Museum of National Interest in 2006.
Check the hours of the Information Office, the Audiovisual Space and the Museum, at this link.
The funds obtained are used to pay for the maintenance of Montserrat as a whole and to collaborate in the various activities with a social purpose promoted by the Monastery.