Montserrat with Kids: The Funicular, the Market and the Walks

A mountain monastery does not sound like a children's day out, and on paper it is not. In practice Montserrat is one of the easier famous places to take a family, for one reason: everything a child will actually enjoy is either a vehicle or a view, and both are easy to build a day around. That does change which day tours to Montserrat from Barcelona are worth looking at.

Check the minimum age first

This is the single thing most likely to stop a booking, and it varies far more than you would expect. The operators set their own and they do not agree.

Read the age bands on the listing itself rather than assuming, and note that several departures that say they are not wheelchair accessible do say they are stroller accessible and that infant seats are available.

The ride is the attraction

Ask a child afterwards what they remember and it will not be the basilica. It will be the cogwheel train grinding up the mountainside, or the cable car crossing an open valley on a wire, or the funicular going up what looks like a cliff.

• The cremallera is a proper rack railway, fifteen minutes from Monistrol, and the least frightening of the three.
• The Aeri de Montserrat is five minutes in a cabin over a drop. Brilliant or terrifying, depending on the child.
• The Sant Joan funicular climbs from beside the monastery and takes the steepest part of any walk off everybody's legs.

Fares and how each one works are on how to get to Montserrat. Several tours put one of them inside the fare, which is worth more on a family day than almost any other inclusion.

Keep it to a half day

Five to six hours door to door is the right shape. It gets you back to Barcelona with the afternoon intact, and it keeps the time in a vehicle to about two hours in total.

The full-day departures are mostly wine days, which is not a children's afternoon, and the eleven-hour Girona and Costa Brava runs are a long time in a coach for anybody under twelve. The shorter options are compared on half-day Montserrat tours.

What to do up there with them

The square and the atrium are open, level and free, and small children can move without anyone worrying.

The Audiovisual Space does the mountain, the community and the image in about half an hour, which is a considerably better proposition than a museum for most under-tens.

The market sells mel i mató, cheese and cured meat from producers rather than shops, and buying something is an activity in itself.

The Creu de Sant Miquel is a thirty- to forty-five-minute round trip on a level-ish path with a genuine reward at the end. More ideas, with times, are on things to do at Montserrat.

Feeding them

There are cafeterias and a self-service buffet beside the square, and the listings note vegan and gluten-free options. Nothing up there is a long sit-down meal unless you have booked one, so a half-day departure that does not include lunch is not a problem: eat before you go up, or eat at the buffet.

The Tot Montserrat pass includes a buffet lunch, which for a family doing the day independently is one fewer decision.

The practical things nobody mentions

1. It is colder than Barcelona. The monastery is at 712 metres. Bring a layer more than the city needs, whatever the month.
2. The basilica is a working church. Covered shoulders and knees; one operator lists tank tops, strapless shirts, very short shorts and sandals as not permitted.
3. The throne of the Virgin shuts 10:30 to 12:00. If your children are going to queue once, do not make it the wrong ninety minutes. The detail is on the Black Madonna page.
4. Two operators charge for a child car seat, at eight euros. Ask when you book rather than at the kerb.
5. Toilets and a shop are by the main square, and the information desk is open 09:00 to 19:30.

Getting there without a tour, with children

It is entirely doable and for some families it is the better day. FGC line R5 from Barcelona-Plaça Espanya runs roughly hourly from 08:26, and the change onto the rack railway at Monistrol de Montserrat or the cable car at Montserrat-Aeri is the part children will enjoy most. An adult return on either is €15.00 and a child return is €7.50; under-fours ride the cable car free.

The trade-off is the connections. Two changes with a pushchair and a tired six-year-old is a different morning from a van that comes to your door, and the last train down runs earlier than you expect in winter. The full route, with times and fares, is on how to get to Montserrat.

Which shape of day suits which age

Under five: a coach or van half day, the square, the market and the Audiovisual Space. Nothing with a stated minimum age, and a pushchair is fine on the level ground.

Five to ten: the cable car day. There is a published minimum age of five, the ride does the work and the walk down is short. This is the sweet spot.

Ten and over: the guided hike in the natural park becomes possible, and for a child who likes walking it is the best day on this mountain. The routes are on the natural park page.

Every fare, side by side, with what each one covers on the mountain: Montserrat Barcelona Tours.

Travelling with children? These three put a funicular, a cable car or your own vehicle in the fare, which is what a family day turns on.

Days that work with children

Montserrat Half Day with Cable Car and Easy Hike from Barcelona

Cable car up, guided walk down, atrium and basilica, market time at the end.

From $87 per person

Check Availability

Montserrat Half-Day Funicular & Gentle Walk Small Group (Max 8)

Eight-seat van, basilica entry, the Sant Joan funicular and a pilgrim-path walk.

From $84 per person

Check Availability

Montserrat Private Tour with Hotel pick-up from Barcelona

A private car and guide for half a day, hotel door to hotel door.

From $240 per person

Check Availability