What to See in Catalonia: Monasteries, Castles and Villages
What to see in Catalonia: from the Sagrada Família and Montserrat to the Romanesque of Taüll, Poblet, Cardona and villages like Cadaqués or Rupit.
Catalonia fits into a single sentence: from the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean in just a few hours' drive, with a thousand years of history piled up along the way. Here the purest Romanesque in Europe sits alongside monasteries that served as royal pantheons, fortresses that once guarded frontiers and villages perched on basalt cliffs. If you're planning a getaway and don't know where to start, this selection will help you map out your route.
Barcelona: from the medieval city to Gaudí
Almost every trip begins in Barcelona, and with good reason. The Sagrada Família, Antoni Gaudí's great project, is still growing more than a century after its first stone was laid and is probably the most recognisable church in Spain. It's worth giving it time: the façades tell stories, and the interior, with its columns branching out like a forest, changes colour depending on the time of day.
To understand the old city, head down to the Gothic Quarter, where Barcelona Cathedral raises its façade over the medieval heart. Close by, the Church of Sant Just i Pastor...
Closer still, the Church of Sant Cugat del Rec... ##
Places in this article
ChurchSagrada Família
Gaudí's unfinished masterpiece, a stone forest of a temple under construction since 1882 that is now the tallest church in the world and the crowning jewel of Catalan Modernisme.
MonasteryMontserrat Abbey
A Benedictine abbey perched 720 metres up on the mountain of Montserrat, a symbol of Catalonia, a destination for pilgrims and home to one of the oldest boys' choirs in Europe.
MonasteryPoblet Monastery
The archetypal Cistercian abbey and former burial place of the kings of Aragon, Poblet is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is still home to a community of monks in the heart of the Conca de Barberà.
ChurchChurch of Sant Climent (Taüll)
A Romanesque church with a perfect basilica plan in Taüll, the jewel of the Vall de Boí and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000, together with the valley's other Romanesque churches.
CastleCardona Castle
Set on a hill overlooking both the salt valley and the Cardener valley, Cardona Castle is probably the most important medieval fortress in Catalonia.
CathedralGirona Cathedral of Saint Mary
Crowning the highest point of Girona, the Cathedral of Saint Mary boasts the widest Gothic nave in the world and a 12th-century Romanesque cloister.
MonasteryMonastery of Sant Pere de Rodes
Clinging to the Serra de Verdera above the bay of Llançà, this great Benedictine monastery holds one of the most original Romanesque churches in Catalonia.
VillageCadaqués
A fishing village at the easternmost tip of the Alt Empordà, Dalí's retreat at Portlligat, with whitewashed streets crowned by the church of Santa Maria.
Article written with the help of artificial intelligence based on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) and our catalogue, and reviewed by the El Trotamundos Curioso team.
