joannyc

Hi,

I'll be visiting Barcelona in a couple of weeks. I would like to visit Montserrat one of the days I am there.

Friday, September 8 seems to be a pilgrimage day to Montserrat according to an old New York Times article:

<< A monastery has stood on the same site in Montserrat since the early Middle Ages, though the present 19th-century building replaced the rubble left by Napoléon's troops in 1812. The shrine is world-famous, and one of Catalonia's spiritual sanctuaries: honeymooning couples flock here by the thousands seeking La Moreneta's blessing on their marriages, and twice a year, on April 27 and September 8, the diminutive statue of Montserrat's Black Virgin becomes the object of one of Spain's greatest pilgrimages.>>

I imagine that day will be very crowded.

The only other day I have available is Sunday, Sept 10. Anyone have any experience with how crowded it will be on a Sunday, please?

Thanks very much!

rialtogrl

September 11 is a holiday, so its a holiday weekend.. probably both days will be REALLY busy. But I would go with the 10th if the other day is a pilgrimage day.

Is there ANY chance you can go up and spend the night? Arrive in the late afternoon and leave in the morning? It makes such a difference to go after the hordes have left.

joannyc

Thanks very much, rialtogrl!

While I should have planned an overnight there so I could reprise your and kja's sunrise mimosas... unfortunately, I didn't.

So, it is either Sunday or Friday when I can get there in time for the boys' choir.

joannyc

I may have come upon a solution.

I found a couple of forums that say you can cancel and rebook Sagrada Familia tickets. I had booked SF for Thursday, Sept 9 @ 4:15pm. I thought I would start on Thursday with Parc Guell about 10am then go to Racinte de Sant Pau around 1pm before SF @ 4:15pm.

But, if I rebook SF for Friday Sept 10 that will allow me to go to Montserrat on Thursday avoiding both the pilgrimage day and the holiday weekend.

I was trying to avoid Friday at SF but it may be my best option? Figure it is much better than Sunday of that weekend.

So, would you start with SF on Friday morning and end up at Parc Guell late in the afternoon or vice versa, please? Doing Parc Guell first allows me to walk downhill!

joannyc

BTW, my thought process for booking SF later in the day was that I may have better lighting for photos of stained glass windows, etc.

kja

If you can spend a night on Montserrat, I don’t think you would regret it. If you can switch to a less busy day, that could also be a good option, IMO. Of course, I defer to rialtogrl for information about would it would be like to be there on a busy day – or on any other aspect of your timing! Here are my thoughts:

I saw no reason to visit Parc Guell in the morning, and was pleased to visit it in the two hours before it closed (arriving, IIRC, at about 6 p.m.) – it was quiet and not too hot and not too crowded and didn’t require me to give up seeing other things during the day. I took a bus to and from the park.

I visited the Sagrada Familia during the afternoon / late afternoon, and so can’t speak to the lighting during the morning. Sorry! What I can say is that I was stunned by how much light streamed into that cathedral, particularly from above, even though one almost never sees any access for light above! Gaudi included an incredible array of options for natural light to enter that space. (BTW, that's part of what I found most interesting about visiting a tower -- seeing some of the ways in which he accomplished that.) I’m sure some windows would be more impressive in the late afternoon light than at other times of day, but surely, there are some that would be more impressive earlier in the day? And if not, well, at least you might not know it. ;-)

FWIW, I would NOT recommend sacrificing your time for the utterly awesome Racinte de Sant Pau to adjust your plans. And it's one of the few places I've visited for which I thought a guided tour truly helpful.

(Sorry, joannyc, I know I’m being no help….)

P.S. I’m sure you can find another way to honor the glasses rialtogrl and I raised to you!

joannyc

On the contrary, you are very helpful, kja! Thank you!

rialtogrl

Joan can you check your dates? 9th is a Saturday. Is your ticket for the 7th?

No matter what day you go (7th would probably be better) I am not sure if it works with public transportation, but if yiu can, go up in the afternoon and stay for evening vespers rather than the midday boys choir. If you can't, try to get into the church early to sit closer to the front, so your experience is not of looking at a thousand people taking video on their phones.

Where will you be on the 11th? Its Independence Day. There will be castellers (human towers.)

joannyc

Oops, sorry, rialtogrl! Typo on my part... I currently have SF tickets for Thursday, Sept 7. I just sent an email to them requesting a reservation change to Friday, September 8.

So, if it goes through... I will:

* Arrive Barcelona @ 10am, get to hotel around 12-1pm, afternoon in Barcelona - Wednesday Sept 6

* Montserrat - Thursday, Sept 7

* Parc Guell (10am), Racinte Sant Pau (1pm), SF (4:15pm) - Friday, Sept 8

* Palau de Generalitat - Saturday, Sept 9 (have a reservation for 10:45am)

* Lots more of Barcelona - Saturday, Sept 9, Sunday, Sept 10, and Monday Sept 11

* Castellers - Monday, Sept 11 (11:30am)

Thanks for the tip to get into the church early for the boys choir. Who knows, maybe I will stick around for evening vespers, too!

And, while writing this post, I just received an email from SF that my reservation change has been made! Yay!

joannyc

Also, planning to see some of the festivities at the Festa Major del Poblenou between Friday and Sunday!

rialtogrl

Cool!

kja

I'm glad that worked out for you, joannyc -- should be wonderful.
By all means, make time for the castellers!

joannyc

Thanks so much, rialtogrl and kja!

So much to see in Barcelona. I need to put a calendar together just for that city!

I thought 6 nights w/ a day trip to Montserrat would be enough... Now I'm wondering! LOL! Going to be going all day and night long to see what is on my itinerary! Actually put it all on a map so I could figure out logistics day by day!

kja

I agree about Barcelona -- it really does have a wealth of wonderful things to see and do! I managed to fit what I wanted to see into 5 full days + a separate day for Montserrat.... I planned my trip with extremely careful attention to opening hours and logistics, so to the extent that our interests overlap, you might find some useful ideas by looking at my trip report.

joannyc

Thanks very much, kja! I will look at your TR, I believe I already have it bookmarked! ;-)