Description
Montserrat & Saint Ignatius of Loyola cave tour. This is one of our most successful tours among Jesuit visitors and visitors who have studied at a Jesuit college or university.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
- 6 HOURS.
WHAT IS INCLUDED
- A private licensed guide only for your party.
- Transportation at the Chauffered tour.
- Priority access at all the sights
WHAT IT IS NOT INCLUDED
- Entrance fees to sites (you can pay them the day of the tour).
- Lunch
- Taxis and transportation at the walking tour.
Montserrat & Saint Ignatius of Loyola Cave
Montserrat is undoubtedly the most popular day trip from Barcelona. The Abbey of Montserrat is a monastery located at the top of the Montserrat mountain that has a rich history and is deeply linked to the life of San Ignacio de Loyola or Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Before his spiritual conversion, St. Ignatius was, in fact, a Spanish knight. He fought many battles and was wounded at the Battle of Pamplona in 1521. During his recovery, he underwent a spiritual conversion that would take him to the Holy Land. On the way, he arrived at Montserrat, were he left his sword, gave away all his fine clothes, and dressed in rough clothes and sandals. He walked down the mountain and arrived at Manresa, where he stayed for 11 months. Learn more about him and Manresa Cave HERE
What will the visit to Montserrat and Manresa entail?
- Departure around 9 am for Manresa to make sure we arrive when the church opens.
- In Manresa we’ll visit the Church of St. Ignatius and the Cave where he prayed and underwent an intense spiritual experience that gave him the inspiration to write “The Book of Spiritual Exercises,” a guide for living one’s life according to God and the basis of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).
- The Cave is a place of pilgrimage and worship visited by Jesuits and students from Loyola universities around the world who are interested in visiting all the important places in the life of St. Ignatius.
- Drive to Montserrat after visiting the Cave, enjoying some exceptional views of the mountain on the way and visiting the Monastery that held so much importance for Saint Ignatius.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT MONTSERRAT
If time allows, we’ll listen to La Escolania, the Boys’ Choir, to hear their beautiful voices sing out the Salve Regina and El Virolai, the hymn dedicated to Our Lady of Montserrat.
We’ll then have a snack before heading back to Barcelona; one option is to try some local cheese and honey, referred to as “Mató amb mel.” Montserrat has several places to get food.
Manresa is the town where St. Ignatius of Loyola chose to settle for a period in 1522, remaining for 11 months. He was fascinated by its beauty, its location by the Cardener river, and the kindness of its inhabitants, who took care of that poor pilgrim who had walked down Montserrat without any proper shoes.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR SOLO TRAVELERS OR TRAVELERS THAT PREFER PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.
If you would like to visit the Cave of St. Ignatius in Manresa but the price of the chauffeured tour exceeds your budget, we can organize a tour using public transport, a more sustainable way of traveling we want to encourage as part of our Biosphere commitment. It will take you a little longer, but we can take advantage of the journey to talk about Barcelona, Catalonia, Montserrat, and, of course, St. Ignatius. We encourage you to book the tour and specify that you would like to go by public transport and we’ll send you the budget and more accurate details for the tour.
TOUR NOT AVAILABLE ON SUNDAY & MONDAY
- How do I pay for the tour?
- We use Paypal and SumUp ( you do not need to have an account, you can pay with any credit card). You can pay for the tickets on the same day as the tour.
- Do I have to buy the tickets?
- No, we will take care of buying the tickets for you.
- Where do we meet?
- The guide and the driver will pick you up at your hotel or apartment.
- Additional fees.
- 16 euros Montserrat price per person
- 50 euros for the Saint Ignatius cave (not per person)
- Is it kids friendly?
- Montserrat is very kids-friendly, and many families related to the Jesuits schools and exercises have booked the tour as a family experience.
- Do we have Priority access?
- Yes, we have priority access to both places.
- I have some mobility issues.
- The access to the Cave has just four steps; we walk a bit more at Montserrat.
Go small you won’t regret it
Carolina was our guide to Montserrat and under her exceptionally pleasant guidance, we walked to the top and took the funicular railway down. It was quite a nice hike up that apparently few undertake, preferring to take the rail up and walk down as an option. The solitude, vistas, and plant life were beautiful
Begoña took us to Montserrat and Manresa from Barcelona. We highly recommend her as a guide. She met us at our hotel and was well-prepared for our day. Begoña had purchased all our transportation tickets and passes to tours once in our destinations. She is extremely knowledgeable and very pleasant to be with. Worth every penny we paid! Don’t hesitate to use Skip the Line Barcelona
Finding Heaven on Earth with Montserrat and Manresa Day Trip Tour
I booked Skip the Line Barcelona for the day trip to Montserrat and Manresa tour while on honeymoon with my wife. Begoña was our tour guide and she was phenomenal. She met my wife and I at our hotel and guided us all the way to these cities, which were about an hour outside of where we were. She also walked us through the holy sites of St. Ignatius, which was of utmost interest to us. My wife and I met while studying at a Jesuit university, so we were delighted to find this wonderful tour and visit these historical sites. We would strongly recommend Skip the Line for any tour you are hoping to take, and we also highly recommend Begoña as a talented, knowledgeable, and friendly guide!
