15 places to see and visit near Barcelona on a day trip

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Monserrat Monastery near Barcelona

You know what Barcelona It has become one of the most visited cities in the world.

In addition, visitors often repeat and it is increasingly common to also want to know the heritage that the localities around the Catalan capital have.

In recent trips to Catalonia We have had the opportunity to meet several places with great heritage interest to visit around Barcelona.

They are places that well deserve an excursion to meet them, some on the coast, others very close to the capital, and more towards the interior of the province, surrounded by beautiful landscapes that are hard to believe that it is so easy to get from the Catalan capital.

What to see around Barcelona

Next we will highlight 15 interesting places that we have met on several trips so you can take them into account to plan possible day trip from Barcelona.

Monastery of Montserrat

And we start with one of the emblems of Catalonia and aessential excursion on a trip to Barcelona.

In fact, approach the Montserrat mountain It is one of the most popular activities among tourists visiting Barcelona, ​​so that this place will always be very popular with visitors.

Montserrat It is the central mountain of a small mountainous system on the outskirts of Barcelona, ​​which is located within a natural Park where the imposing monastery with its abbey is located.

With origins dating back to the ninth century, in that abbey you can see the figure of the Virgin of Monserrat, patron saint of Catalonia.

The monastery is one hour inland from Barcelona.

For to get to Monserrat from BarcelonaIn addition to your car, you can use the commuter train and then climb the mountain well in the funicular Aero, or the rack train.

In Monserrat you can visit the abbey and a couple of museums, but you can also walk along several routes and paths that run along the steep mountain famous for its capricious forms.

If you prefer, instead of going on your own from Barcelona, you can join a tour to Monserrat by train, or yet tour to Monserrat at sunrise.

Colonia Güell church near Barcelona

Gaudí's Güell Colony

In Santa Coloma de Cervelló, on the outskirts of Barcelona, ​​just half an hour from the city center, you will find the Colonia Güell where you can see a church unique in the world.

It is a magical creation of Gaudi, the great architect of modernism whose works have become one of the great attractions of a visit of Barcelona.

He Mr. Güell He was a great immensely rich textile entrepreneur who created a colony for his workers.

Güell he commissioned his friend Gaudi build with absolute creative freedom and without spending limit a church to give religious services to the workers who were going to live in that colony.

This led to the Colonia Güell church became the Gaudí design laboratory, where the famous Catalan architect could experience different solutions thinking about the great work of the Holy Family of Barcelona.

Colonia Güell church near Barcelona

It is a building in which there is no order or pattern; For example, each column is different, both in terms of building materials, and their inclination.

A real madness!

In the words of his own Gaudi, thanks to having built this church it was a little easier to address the project of the sacred Family.

San Cugat del Vallés Monastery

Very near Barcelona, just half an hour inland, you find a prominent heritage corner that deserves a visit, the monastery of San Cugat.

It's about a Benedictine monastery founded in the ninth century, which had great importance during the tenth and eleventh centuries.

Monastery of San Cugat del Vallés near Barcelona

Your visit will focus on your great Romanesque cloister, one of the most prominent of this architectural style that you can see in Catalonia.

Of square plant and semicircular arches supported on pairs of columns, you can see capitals 12th century with biblical scenes of animals and artistic crafts.

From the church that mixes the Romanesque style with the Gothic, the great rose window of the main facade will catch your attention, and inside you will see three naves finished in three apses.

Manresa

An hour from Barcelona inland you find the town of Manresa, where there are two monuments that are well worth knowing.

On the one hand, the Seu de Manresa, great basilica of Gothic style built from 1328 by the same architect of the Cathedral of the Sea of ​​Barcelona, and that when you visit it you will see that it reminds you in a certain way.

Located on top of a hill, in its interior, the great altarpiece of 1394, the great artistic jewel of the basilica, will call your attention.

Seu de Manresa in the province of Barcelona

And on the other hand, a place that puts Manresa on the big map religious pilgrimages, the Cave of San Ignacio de Loyola.

This is the cave in which the saint stayed for a year since March 1522, a period in which he lived several mystical experiences that led him to write his work there Spiritual Exercises.

In that enclave, and as a prelude to the cave, you can now see a Baroque-style church with a 19th-century interior.

Món Sant Benet Monastery

Very close to Manresa, in Sant Fruitós de Bages, one hour from Barcelona, ​​you can visit a curious corner.

Its about Món Sant Benet monastery, although its origins date back to the 10th century, the building that is visited is the one that was built in the 12th century of romantic style.

Món Sant Benet Monastery in the province of Barcelona

The monastery was abandoned during the Confiscation of 1837, but in 1905 it was acquired by the painter's family Ramón Casas, who reformed the area of ​​the old cells of the monks to enable them as a residence.

Now under the ownership of the La Pedrera Foundation, among other places, during the visit you will visit the church where you can see a multimedia presentation, as well as its very interesting cloister.

But you can also visit the area rehabilitated by the aforementioned family of the Catalan bourgeoisie where you will see a collection of furniture and objects that belonged to it.

Cardona Castle

One of the most interesting monuments that you can know in the province of Barcelona is undoubtedly the Cardona Castle. located on the same route of Manresa, something more inside.

An hour and a half from the capital, this historic castle is located on top of a hill next to the Cardona town, whose story is marked by the presence of a salt mine that now you can visit

He Cardona Castle He has lived key moments in history and earned the reputation of being a fortification that was never defeated.

At present this great castle houses a national hostel, and on your visit you will see a large Lombard Romanesque church that is located inside the fortification.

Vic

Road of the region of the Garrotxa, an hour and a half from Barcelona, ​​is the city of Vic, of medieval origin, where it highlights its great Main Square, the second largest of Catalonia Because of its dimensions.

In you Vic visit you will see from a roman temple rebuilt, until Sant Pere Cathedral with a great mix of architectural styles, in which the Romanesque bell tower stands out.

But surely the paintings that cover all the walls of the cathedral made by the local artist will also attract your attention. Jose Maria Sert, considered the best muralist painter in the world in the 1930s.

Market day at the Plaza Mayor de Vic in Barcelona

Also noteworthy is the Episcopal Museum with an impressive collection of Romanesque and Gothic works of art that make it one of the most important museums in medieval art in Europe.

And, of course, you should not miss the chance to taste the delicious Vic Salchichón Handcrafted

Rupit

If I have to highlight a pretty town in the province of Barcelona, that is without a doubt Rupit, which is located 100 kilometers north of Barcelona, ​​past the aforementioned Vic.

Rupit It is a town of medieval origin with remains of a castle of the early eleventh century, located in a really beautiful landscape, which stretches over a hill and next to a meandering river.

Suspension bridge in Rupit in the province of Barcelona

I anticipate that it is a pretty tourist town, but it really contains a great charm to walk through its cobbled streets seeing the stone ones of the 16th and 17th centuries.

In short, a highly recommended place to take an excursion from Barcelona.

Tavertet cracks

If from Barcelona you are looking for an excursion to see beautiful landscapes, we suggest you go to see the Tavertet cracks, in the area of natural space of Las Guillerías, near Rupit.

These are some boulders that rise above swamps of Sau and Susqueda, with reddish rocky outlets in a wooded area, with large cliffs.

Tavertet cracks in the province of Barcelona

The landscapes are spectacular, and there you have the town of Tavertet, with stone houses, some built since the 17th century.

Sitges

Sitges It has become famous in the world, apart from its beaches, for its film Festival, but who visits it ends up surprised by its heritage.

In fact it is one of the most demanded visits around Barcelona, ​​and rightly so! since it is a town that mixes its great beaches with the tradition of the Indians and their modernist and colonial style houses.

Church of Sant Bartolomeu in Sitges near Barcelona

Coastal town located 40 kilometers south of Barcelona, ​​also in your Sitges excursion you will have to walk through the old fishing district with its white houses.

You can also visit the Cau Ferrat museum in the old house-workshop of the artist Santiago Rusiñol and the Maricel Palace museum With his great art collection.

A monument that you must see is the church of San Bartolomeu, one of the icon images of Sitges.

Vilanova i la Geltrú

Adjacent to Sitges, 48 ​​kilometers south of Barcelona, ​​in Vilanova i la Geltrú You find several points of interest.

Vilanova and la Geltrú near Barcelona

In this small and quiet coastal town, what you can't miss is its castle, its Villa square and his Vigilance tower, from where the arrival of pirates to the town was controlled.

But what we recommend without hesitation is the Daurada Beach Club, one of those lovely terraces at the foot of the sea from where you can see a spectacular sunset.

Tossa de Montbui

One hour from Barcelona inland is a curious place, Tossa de Montbui.

It is the remains of a 10th century castle located on top of a hill, which was abandoned in the twelfth century, and where you can now see its church whose interior has a very interesting style very primitive Romanesque.

Romanesque interior of the church of Tossa de Montbui in Barcelona

The conservation of this architecture is due to the fact that, since it was abandoned in its day, it has not had the usual architectural evolution in the churches.

From the viewpoints of Tossa de Montbui You will be able to see other castles, because in this area that once was border, you can still visit up to 25 fortifications.

Tarrasa

Maybe Tarrasa It has been one of the places that has surprised us most in our excursions around Barcelona.

Tarrasa It is 35 kilometers inland, and is a historic city of strong textile industrial tradition of the Catalan bourgeoisie.

Masia Freixa in Tarrasa near Barcelona

But how attractive it is Tarrasa Nowadays, this industrial tradition is interspersed with spectacular modernist buildings, as the Masia Freixa, which now houses the tourist office, wave Cheerful House of Segra.

It is one of localities that has been rebuilt while maintaining the charm of the large red brick chimneys, so characteristic of the factories of industrial cities.

In you Tarrasa visit can you sign up for Guided visits for his modernist industrial heritage, in addition to a route through its medieval history. with a tower or original churches between the 6th and 12th centuries.

Mura

Something further inland from Tarrasa, and an hour from Barcelona, ​​you will find the Natural Park of Sant Llorenç del Munt i l'Obac, where the town of Mura.

Mura in the province of Barcelona

It is a town with stone houses dating back to the 10th century, which developed from the Romanesque church of St. Martin,

Now in the visit of the church inside you will see three ships, one of which is the pre-Romanesque of the original building of that century.

On your walk through the streets of the town watching the stone facades of their houses, you will see some beautiful corners of rural architecture.

Vilafranca del Penedés

You may not know that very close to Barcelona, ​​an hour to the southwest, you will find a very important wine area, where you can also visit the capital of the region,Vilafranca del Penedés.

Vineyards in Vilafranca del Penedés near Barcelona

With the nickname of the Wine Capital, among wide expanses of vineyards we find this historic town presided by its Basilica of Santa Maria and surrounded by streets with modernist buildings.

Do not forget to climb its bell tower from where you can see spectacular panoramic views of the area that on clear days reach up to the mountain of Montserrat.

In Vilafranca del Penedés You can also visit one of the wine museums oldest in Spain, where you can learn many curiosities about its production and characteristics of local wines.

Without forgetting the popular visits to wineries in Penedés, which on our trip went to one of the best known, Torres Wineries.

Houses of the Onyar river in Girona

Other excursions from Barcelona

Of course, you also have many other options to make a day trip from Barcelona to see corners of heritage interest.

Only as a reference can I point the Girona city, and also the Tarragona city, the old one Roman Tarraco. declared World Heritage.

Or some of the closest corners of the Costa Brava.

You can also know the medieval villages of the region of La Garrotxa, in the interior of the province of Girona; walled towns like Solsona in the province of Lleida or Montblanc near Tarragona; or Tortosa, also in Tarragona, with its great cathedral.

Or also the monasteries of the Cistercian Route, such as Poblet or Santes Creus in the province of Tarragona, or that of Vallbona de las Monjas, already in the province of Lleida.

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