Best Day Trips From Barcelona

By Joan. I have lived here for 16 years and I still leave the city whenever it gets loud, which in August is often.

Quick answer: if you only have a half day, go to Montserrat. It is the one that looks like nowhere else, it sits about an hour northwest, and it is reached by train and cable car or by tour bus. If you would rather have an old town than a mountain, Girona is about 40 minutes by fast train and easier to do on your own.

If you have a half day to spare, Catalonia is full of easy escapes. These trips pair big scenery or history with a short ride out of the city, and most of them are simpler with a tour that handles the transport for you. I have ordered them by what I would choose first, not by what is nearest.

Montserrat

A serrated mountain and a Benedictine monastery about an hour northwest, reached by train and cable car or by tour bus. Known for the views, the Black Madonna and the boys' choir. Half-day and full-day trips often add a tapas and wine tasting at a nearby winery. This is my own first pick, because the shape of the rock does something to people the first time they see it.

Girona and the Costa Brava

Girona's walled old town, colourful riverfront and cathedral steps are about 40 minutes by fast train. Combine it with the coves and cliffs of the Costa Brava on a guided day trip if you want history and coastline in the same day. Of everything on this page, Girona is the one I would do without a tour, because the train is quick and the old town is small enough to walk. The full comparison against Montserrat and Sitges, and whether the coast fits in 48 hours at all, is in my Costa Brava day trip guide.

Sitges

A seaside town about 40 minutes south by train, with beaches, a whitewashed old quarter and a slower pace. An easy half day if what you actually want is sun and a change of rhythm rather than another monument.

Tarragona

A Roman city on the coast with a hilltop amphitheatre, an aqueduct and walls, about an hour south. It is often paired with Sitges on a single tour, which makes it a good choice if someone in your group wants ruins and someone else wants a beach.

How to choose

Want mountains and a monastery, go to Montserrat. Want a charming old town, go to Girona. Want a quick beach escape, go to Sitges. Want Roman ruins, go to Tarragona. A guided tour with hotel pick-up turns any of them into a half day you do not have to think about.

My advice by traveller

If you are travelling with children, Sitges wins, because a train and a beach beat a cable car and a queue. If the budget is tight, take the train to Girona or Sitges and skip the guided option. If you only have two days in total, honestly, I would not leave the city at all on a first visit. Save the trip for the time you come back.

Before you go

• Check the return time before you leave, not after lunch. That is the part that goes wrong.
• Montserrat is high and open, so it is colder up there than in the city even in summer.
• Prices change, so check the current one before you book anything.

None of these is a duty. If your two days feel full already, skip the whole page without guilt and go and sit somewhere in Gracia instead.