Montserrat Full Day by Cogwheel Train with Monks' Liquor Tasting and Bages Castle Winery

A full day that pairs the mountain and its monastery with a Catalan lunch at a winery. The group leaves Barcelona for Montserrat, a National Park and a pilgrimage site for over a thousand years, and rides the cogwheel train (cremallera) up to the monastery. At the top a guide leads a 45-minute tour of the Benedictine monastery, founded in the 11th century. It houses the Black Virgin (La Moreneta), patroness of Catalonia. The visit ends with a tasting of liquors made by the monks: ratafía and Aromes de Montserrat. The second half of the day is at a historic Catalan castle-winery with views over its vineyards. Lunch is a traditional Catalan tapas spread with dessert. A guide then walks the vineyards and the old estate, and the group tastes three signature DO Pla de Bages wines from a producer committed to sustainable production.