Where to stay near Barcelona: at the foot of Montserrat or near Tarragona

Barcelona is wonderful and crowded. Within an hour or so of the city, you can sleep somewhere completely different: under the rock towers of Montserrat, with the monastery a short train ride up the mountain, or by your own pool near Tarragona, with Roman ruins, beaches and theme parks within reach. This guide compares the two, with the trains and drive times you need and the homes we host in each.

Two ways to stay outside the city

• The mountain: Montserrat, about an hour from Barcelona by train. Walks, the monastery and its choir, and quiet evenings in a village. Best for couples, friends and walkers.
• The coast: the Tarragona area of the Costa Daurada. A villa with a private pool, Roman Tarragona, beaches and PortAventura. Best for families and groups.

Montserrat: sleep in Monistrol

Montserrat is the jagged mountain north-west of Barcelona, with a Benedictine monastery and basilica on its flank. Most visitors come for the day from the city. Sleep at the foot of the mountain and you can be on it early, before the crowds, and come back down to a quiet evening.

Monistrol de Montserrat is the village on the river Llobregat at the bottom of the mountain. The rack railway, the Cremallera, climbs 5 km from Monistrol to the monastery in about 15 minutes, and it stops in the village itself, at Monistrol Vila. The other way up is the cable car, the Aeri, which leaves from its own stop on the train line from Barcelona.

At the top:

• The basilica and the Black Madonna, La Moreneta, the statue at the heart of the monastery.
• The Escolania, the monastery's boys' choir, which sings in the basilica on weekdays at 13:00, except in school holidays. Check the times on the Escolania's website before you go.
• Walks: paths and funiculars lead higher up the mountain, towards the hermitages and the summit of Sant Jeroni, with views across Catalonia on clear days.

Our three-storey stone house in Monistrol de Montserrat was built as a tribute to Gaudí, with Montserrat stone, hand-carved details, mosaic touches and a sculptural staircase that links all three floors. There is a wine lounge carved into the mountain rock, a full kitchen and an artistic living space, and the whole building is yours. It sleeps up to four, and its tourist licence number is on the listing.

A day on the mountain from the village

1. Early: take the Cremallera up from Monistrol Vila and visit the basilica and La Moreneta before the day visitors arrive from Barcelona.
2. Mid-morning: take a funicular or a path higher up the mountain for the views, or walk towards Sant Jeroni if you have good shoes and a few hours.
3. 13:00 on a weekday: the Escolania sings in the basilica, outside school holidays.
4. Afternoon: ride or walk back down, and spend a quiet evening in the village while the mountain empties.

Getting to Montserrat from Barcelona

• By train: the R5 line of the Catalan railways (FGC) leaves from Plaça d'Espanya and reaches Monistrol de Montserrat in about an hour. Change there for the Cremallera, which also stops in the village. Combined train and mountain tickets are sold at Plaça d'Espanya and on the official Montserrat website.
• By car: roughly 50 to 60 km from central Barcelona, usually under an hour without traffic.

The Costa Daurada and Tarragona

South-west of Barcelona, the Costa Daurada, the "Golden Coast", runs past Tarragona to Salou and Cambrils. Tarragona was the Roman city of Tarraco, and its Roman remains, including the amphitheatre above the sea, have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. Along the coast you have long sandy beaches, and near Salou, PortAventura World, about 12 to 15 km from Tarragona. High-speed trains from Camp de Tarragona station reach Barcelona Sants in under an hour.

What to do from a base near Tarragona:

• Roman Tarragona: the amphitheatre by the sea, the walls and the old town around the cathedral, with the city beach just below the amphitheatre.
• PortAventura World: theme parks, including Ferrari Land, and a water park, near Salou.
• Salou and Cambrils: seaside towns with long beaches and promenades, and Cambrils's fishing port for seafood.
• Barcelona for the day: by high-speed train from Camp de Tarragona, or by car.

Our villa with a private pool is in the Tarragona area. It has four bedrooms for up to eight guests, a private patio with a swimming pool, a dining table outside and a brick barbecue, a living room with a fireplace, air conditioning and heating, and one bathroom. Parking is available. A car is the easy way to reach the beaches, Tarragona and PortAventura from the villa: ask us for the drive times when you book.

Which one for whom

• Couples and walkers: the stone house at Montserrat. Early mornings on the mountain, the choir at midday, a bottle of wine in the rock lounge at night.
• Families and groups: the villa near Tarragona. A pool for the children, a barbecue for the evenings, and the beach, the Roman city and PortAventura for the days.
• Both: they lie in different directions from Barcelona, so they work as two halves of one trip, a few nights in each.

Pick your dates near Barcelona to see which home is free and the exact price. Spanish law requires every guest to be registered, so we ask for each guest's ID during online check-in: our guest registration guide explains why. For what to expect from a villa, read the seven amenities that matter.

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