Barcelona To Montserrat by Train

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This page will give you instructions on how to travel from Barcelona to Montserrat by train. You will also find the different ticket types including the options for the cable car or rack railway up to the top of the mountain.

Barcelona Montserrat

How to Travel by Train to Montserrat

You can travel to Montserrat by train which you catch from España rail station.

The España rail station is on the green and red metro lines making it accessible from any part of Barcelona city centre that has a metro stop.

Once at España look for Line R5 headed towards Manresa.

It's advisable to arrive at España station in plenty of time as it can be a little confusing to find R5 track. The España rail station is quite large and the directions to the R5 track could be clearer.

Click to book your tickets for ToT Montserrat tickets: includes round trip public transport from Barcelona to Montserrat, cable car ride, audiovisual exhibit, ticket to museum, meal at Montserrat and ride on the Sant Joan funicular to the mountain summit.

Map showing the train from Barcelona, cable car up to the mountain (Aeri de Montserrat) and Cremallera de Montserrat.

Aeri de Montserrat (Montserrat Cable Car)	Train	Funiculars	Cremallera de Montserrat (Rack railway mountain train)

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Plaça España station is huge and has many surface entrances to the station below ground. It can be confusing for tourists to find their way around especially as each entrance only has partial information about the lines that you will access from any particular entrance. The best advice here is just to ignore the line information displayed as you enter a surface entrance to the underground station and just enter the nearest surface entrance you can find. Once you are underground look for signs for the R5 track. You may have to walk around a little but you will find it eventually.

This train timetable information was last updated in 2024

Timetable information can change without our notice and we therefore recommend that you check this timetable information at the Montserrat information desk at Plaça España at the entrance to R5 railway line.

The train timetable below shows the trains times from Plaça España to either the starting point to take the Cable Car ride (Aeri) or the starting point for the Rack Railway (Cremallera) which are at the foot of Montserrat mountain. You would then need to add another 23 minutes to the journey time for the cable car or rack railway up to Montserrat mountain before you are arrive at Montserrat monastery. Also note that there are trains leaving from Plaça España station other than those shown however their times do not correspond with the departure times of the Cable car or rack railway so we have not included these in the table below since you would have an extended waiting time.

There are some trains that run at other times but they do not run every day and therefore we excluded them from the table above to avoid possible confusion.

Train Timetable Foot of Montserrat mountain to Barcelona.

Important note the departure times given below are the train departure times form the foot of Montserrat mountain therefore you would need to account for an extra 23 minutes earlier departure time to account for the cable car and rack railway journey time from Montserrat Monastery.

There are some trains that run at other times however they do not run every day therefore we have not included these in the train timetable to avoid any possible confusion.

Train Tickets To Montserrat With Tickets Offering Optional Extras.

Tickets are purchased at Plaça España station from ticket booths just in front of Line R5 to Manresa. You will find attendants there that will explain the ticket prices to you. They speak English, Spanish and Catalan.

Make sure you buy the right tickets

First you need to decide do you want the Cable Ride (Aeri ticket version) to the Monastery after the train journey from Barcelona. Or, do you want the Cremallera Funicular ride to the Monastery (Cremallera ticket version). The train from España station takes you to the foot of Montserrat mountain. Then you have two options. A cable car or Cremallera Funicular to go up the Montserrat mountain to the Monastery. You will need to get off the train at different stops depending on which one you decide to take.

Montserrat ticket booth

When you purchase your tickets to travel to Montserrat at España Station you need to ensure to purchase the correct type of ticket. There are two versions of the tickets listed in the table below. There is one ticket for the route with the Cable Car (Aeri) to the Monastery and the other ticket type is to go up to the Monastery by the Cremallera Funicular. Although the tickets listed below have the same name and the same prices there are these two versions of ticket and you will need to specify which one you want when you purchase the ticket at the station. They are not interchangeable and you cannot change your mind and use the other route once you have purchased the ticket.

e.g. for the "Trans Montserrat Ticket" you will need to specify if you want the Cable Car version or if you want the Cremallera funicular version of that ticket. The prices are the same and the names of the tickets are also the same which has led to some confusion with tourists. If you buy a cable car version of the tickets below you cannot use it on the Cremallera funicular and vice versa.

Price information was last updated 2024

Click to book your tickets for ToT Montserrat tickets

Journey Times To Montserrat From Barcelona And Train Stops To Get Off At.

The Journey time to Montserrat from Barcelona España station is approximately one hour by train.

You have two options to reach the Monastery once you have taken the train ride. The first is a cable car ride (Aeri) up to the Monastery the second is the Funicular Cremallera Train. As stated above you need to select which ticket you buy at the station.

Cable Car (Aeri de Montserrat)

The cable car ride from the train stop Aeri de Montserrat is only a 5 minute ride. You will have breathtaking views on the cable car ride up to the Monastery however you will need to stand for the journey.

Official web site for the Montserrat Cable Car

Cremallera Funicular - Rack Train

If you don't feel comfortable taking the cable car ride you can choose to take the Rack Train instead. For the Rack Train ride, you will need to get off one stop after Aeri de Montserrat called Monistrol. The Rack Train ride will take 15 minutes to the Monastery and is a more comfortable ride than the cable car. However, you won't have as good views as you would from the cable car. The other advantage to taking the Cremallera Funicular is that you can sit down during the journey and the train is also suitable for those with wheelchairs.

Cremallera de Montserrat Rack Railway

I recommend that you arrive in plenty of time at España rail station because there are often queues to buy the tickets and the trains to Montserrat leave on time.

España Station Montserrat Tourist Information Help

Look out for the helpful Montserrat tourist information people at the stands just at the entrance to the Montserrat trains at España station. We recommend you say hello to Cluny when you are there. He and his colleagues are there to help you and they say it really makes their day when the tourists appreciate their help. We would like to say a big thanks to Cluny for helping us put the information together on this page.

Stay vigilant at España Station

We have also been informed by Montserrat information office based at España station that tourists have been regularly pick-pocketed at España rail station when they are trying to purchase tickets from the automatic ticket booths. They recommend you stay vigilant especially when at the ticket vending machines. They say this is a daily occurrence and although the police have been informed the pickpockets still return. The best way is pay attention at España station when purchasing your tickets. Please don't let these petty thieves spoil your visit.

Montserrat Museum

There is no entrance fee to the Monastery however if you wish to visit the museum you will have to pay an entrance fee.

Paintings on display at Montserrat Museum

Entrance fee to the musem
Adults: €8.00
Pensioners: €6.50

Funicular Rides from the Monastery to other parts of Montserrat mountain.

Once at Montserrat you have the option to visit the peak of the Montserrat mountain where you would have magnificent mountain views of Catalonia and the Montserrat mountains. You would need to catch the funicular to reach the top of the mountain.

Funicular going to the top of the mountains

Funicular ride
Single ticket: €10.70
Return ticket: €16.50

There is also another funicular ride to Santa Cova cave from the monastery.

Funicular ride to Santa Cova
Single ticket: €4.10
Return ticket: €6.30

There is a restaurant at Montserrat mainly serving sandwiches. I recommend you also bring plenty of water, especially if you want to do some walking in the mountains.

Keep an eye on the time as the Cable car only runs till around 17:00 (times change so please check this out independently on the day you go). You can pick up a train timetable from the information desk at Plaça España before you enter the train.

Map showing the funiculars in Montserrat mountain from Montserrat Monastery to other parts of the mountain

Aeri de Montserrat (Montserrat Cable Car)	Funiculars	Cremallera de Montserrat (Rack railway mountain train)

Coach Tours To Montserrat

If you would rather have the trip to Montserrat organized for you to include coach ride to Montserrat and guided visit then consider taking the Montserrat Morning Tour.

Book tickets for your half day tour to Montserrat from Barcelona with return journey

There are two organized tours that save you the time and trouble of organizing your own trip to Montserrat. They include return journey from Barcelona to Montserrat in an air conditioned bus. You can choose either a half day morning tour or half day afternoon tour.

Morning Tour

Click to book your tickets online for the Montserrat Morning guided tour leaving from Barcelona