Where to visit near Barcelona in Catalonia

These are ideas for lucky people. Lucky because they travel to Barcelona and they can also spend a few days visiting other destinations in Catalonia, discovering its added attractions. Are you one of them? Then take note and make the most of your holidays by taking one of these day trips.

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Mountain and monastery of Montserrat

Minimum time recommended: one day. Distance from Barcelona: 60 kilometres. How to get there: about a one-hour drive on the A2 motorway. There’s also a train service from Plaça Espanya station in Barcelona. To get to the monastery from Montserrat, we recommend either the cogwheel railway or the cable car to get the most out of the spectacular views to the max. What you’ll see: a Natural Park of extraordinary beauty. You’ll be especially surprised by the unique shapes of the mountains and the massifs that shape it. It’s also home to one of the best-known pilgrimage sites in Catalonia, the Monastery of Montserrat. Don’t forget: the various options for visiting the nature park and monastery include services such as the guided visit, the inclusion of the cable car trip or entry to the museum. Interesting fact: the monastery houses 'La Moreneta', the patron saint of the region of Catalonia. It’s a sculpture of the Virgin of Montserrat, renowned for its black skin and for being a Romanesque image of great beauty.

Tarragona and the Roman era

Minimum time recommended: one day. Distance from Barcelona: 100 kilometres. Reus airport is less than 10 kilometres away. How to get there: just over an hour by car on the AP7 toll motorway. The high-speed train connects Barcelona with Camp Tarragona station in just 31 minutes. This station is 10 kilometres from Tarragona. The regional trains connect Barcelona with Tarragona in journeys of about one hour. What you’ll see: an archaeological site that reveals one of the most important capitals of Roman Hispania in Imperial times: Tárraco. Its features include a Roman amphitheatre, a Roman circus and an aqueduct. Its Cathedral, Archaeological Museum and Roman and Early Christian necropolis are also interesting. By the way, there’s a combined entry ticket for most of the monuments. Don't forget: every May the ancient Roman capital comes back to life with the Tárraco Viva festival, which fills the city with Roman gladiators, soldiers and merchants. Interesting fact: the Tarragona archaeological site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

PortAventura, a day of adrenalin and fun

Minimum time recommended: one day. Distance from Barcelona: about 115 kilometres. How to get there:: less than an hour and a half by car on the AP7 motorway. Line R-16, leaving from Barcelona, stops at the park after a journey of about one hour and a quarter. There’s a ticket option that includes the train journey too. What you’ll see: a fun-packed theme park with more than 40 attractions and 40 shows a day for all the family, a refreshing water park and, since April 2017, the first theme park in Europe devoted to Ferrari, the icon of speed. Don’t forget: the park varies its opening hours during the year and doesn’t normally open continuously in January, February or March. When organising your trip, remember that you can stay at various themed hotels in the complex. Interesting fact: there is also a wellness centre and golf club with massage and beauty treatment services and three golf courses.

The Cistercian monastery route

Minimum time recommended: one day. Distance from Barcelona: the route takes in the monasteries of Santa María de Vallbona de Les Monges (Lleida), Santes Creus and Poblet (both in Tarragona). They’re at a distance of between 100 and 150 kilometres from Barcelona. How to get there: about an hour and a half away by car on the A2 and AP2 motorways. What you’ll see: three important monasteries of the Cistercian order that make up one of the Catalonia’s most traditional tours. They’re famous for their attractiveness as monasteries and for the spirituality they permeate. Visiting them is a good way to find yourself and enjoy nature, far from the fast pace of everyday life. Don’t forget: the monasteries of Santes Creus and Poblet offer guided tours. And Santa María de Vallbona even offers accommodation at certain times of year. Interesting facts: one cultural and one for sports fans. The first is that the Poblet Monastery has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. The second is that the GR175 trail connects the three monasteries on a route of about 100 kilometres that you can do by bike or on foot.

Dalí's Triangle

Minimum time recommended: two days. Distance from Barcelona: Púbol, about 125 kilometres; Figueres, about 140 kilometres; Cadaqués, about 170 kilometres. How to get there: we recommend going by car to travel more conveniently between the towns. From Barcelona you’ll reach the farthest point, Cadaqués, in just over two hours. What you’ll see: Mediterranean towns that inspired the artist Salvador Dalí and three of the cultural locations that best describe the Surrealist painter: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres; the Salvador Dalí House-Museum, in Portlligat (Cadaqués); and the Gala Dalí Castle House-Museum in Púbol. Don’t forget: these towns and their surroundings are right in the Costa Brava and provide Mediterranean landscapes of great beauty. Interesting fact: the Dalí House-Museum in Figueres is considered the largest surrealist object in the world and was designed by the artist himself.

Mediterranean beaches and coves

Minimum time recommended: two days. Distance from Barcelona: this region is 100% Mediterranean Sea and in the town itself and its surroundings you can spend days enjoying the beach. There are two especially popular areas: the Costa Brava, in the province of Girona, with small towns such as Sant Feliu Guíxols, Tossa del Mar, Begur and Palafrugell (75 to 150 kilometres from Barcelona going north); and the Costa Dorada, in the province of Tarragona with resorts like Salou, Cambrils and Calafell (70 to 130 kilometres from Barcelona going south). How to get there: they’re easily accessed from the AP7 motorway. Also, the regional train lines that leave from Barcelona usually have connections with the most popular tourist locations. What you’ll see: many of the most beautiful postcards of the Mediterranean in real life. You’ll visit fishing villages like L’Ametlla de Mar or Sant Carles de la Ràpita, landscapes that inspired artists such as Picasso or Gaudí on the Costa Dorada, or major tourist hotspots like Sitges or Lloret de Mar. Don’t forget: you can enjoy thousands of seaside activities like fishing boat trips, a day of sailing, diving to seabeds brimming with life, etc. Interesting fact: if you visit Tossa del Mar and you look out from one of its spectacular vantage points over the Mediterranean, you’ll probably come across one of the myths of American cinema: Ava Gardner. A sculpture with which the town pays tribute to the actress who starred in 'Pandora and the Flying Dutchman'.

Romanesque sites in the Vall de Boí

Minimum time recommended: three days. Distance from Barcelona: about 300 kilometres. By car, it takes about three and a half hours to get to the towns of Taüll or Boí. How to get there: by car, using the A2 or AP2 motorways. There are also regular bus services from Barcelona and Lleida. Don’t forget that the high-speed train connects Barcelona with Lleida in less than an hour. Lleida is about 140 kilometres from the Vall de Boí. What you’ll see: one of the most highly-valued heritage sites in Europe, comprising several Romanesque churches. They’re right in the heart of the Pyrenees, in spectacular natural surroundings which we recommend you to discover by visiting the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park. Don’t forget: you can visit all the churches, but some of them aren’t open all year round. Before travelling, check the Vall de Boí Romanesque Centre. Remember that there’s a combined entry ticket that includes the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona, where original Romanesque paintings from the churches are kept for conservation reasons. Interesting fact: every day, the church of Sant Climent de Taüll reproduces its original paintings in its interior through an attractive video mapping that definitely should not be missed.