MONTSERRAT, A WINERY PICNIC, TAPAS (AGAIN😂), AND FLAMENCO — MAY 15, 2026

We were up early — very early — on Friday because we needed to leave to by about 7:15 for our tour. Fortunately breakfast in the hotel starts early so we were able to grab a quick bite to eat before we left.

Our “Montserrat & Cava Winery Tour — Day Trip from Barcelona with Lunch” left from near the Gothic Quarter and the waterfront at 7:50. We were in a comfortable touring van, and as far as I remember there were 12 of us plus our driver and our guide Ariana.

Ariana was great! Whenever you book space on a tour in a small group instead of a private tour with a specific guide you’re risking getting a bad guide, but other than the robot from our tour in Provence we had great guides on this trip. The tour was booked through Walks/Devour Tours, the same company we used for our tapas and history tour Thursday evening, and it was excellent. Monserrat and Winery Tour.

The day didn’t start out too well in the weather department. The skies were gray with flat light, it was windy, and it was spitting rain off and on. It was also cold up at the higher altitude where the Montserrat monastery is located. I had on a sweatshirt and a long sleeved t-shirt, and if I could have bought another layer while we were at Montserrat I would have!

The monastery of Montserrat has been in operation for over 1,000 years. You can read about the monastery’s history and evolution here: Montserrat.

The monastery is set in a strikingly beautiful setting high in the Montserrat Mountains northwest of Barcelona. It is secluded and difficult to get to on steep, winding mountain roads.

Nevertheless, thousands of visitors daily make the trip to see both the monastery itself as well as the majestic surroundings. The scenery was beautiful despite the gray skies and threatening clouds, and I think it would have been breathtaking on a clear day.

The “main attraction” at the monastery is the Basilica of Montserrat in the center of the complex. The basilica is accessed through a large atrium. While the most famous feature of the basilica is the statue of The Black Madonna, the structure itself and the finishes are beautiful and definitely worth visiting.

Ariana explained the history and culture of the monastery, and then we had free time to explore. Guides are not permitted to provide tour services inside the basilica, so we walked through the basilica and then toured the grounds on our own. There is a funicular that takes guests to a scenic overlook above the monastery, but we didn’t think it would be worth going up there given the weather conditions.

We had a little time in the gift shop for required souvenirs (and snacks) before we headed to the food and wine part of the day.

I really enjoyed the scenery on the way down the mountain. The cloud cover was lifting a bit and the skies were brighter than they had been earlier in the day.

To the best of my recollection the drive to the Joan Segura Pujadas Winery was about 45 minutes. Joan Segura Pujadas

We were greeted by Alba, our outstanding winery hostess and guide. She led the tasting, the cellar tour, and the picnic in the vineyards.

We had a pretty extensive tour of the cellars after our tasting, but to be honest, the stairs were STEEP and it was very dark so I was concentrating more on staying upright than on taking pictures!😂

The winery part of the tour ended with a bottling demonstration, and one lady in our group had the opportunity to “bottle” her own wine with a label she created and take it with her! Since it was her birthday I thought it was a great keepsake of the day!

The highlight of the day was, for me, our trip out to the vineyards for a picnic lunch. After all, what’s not to like about good food and wine in a beautiful setting?

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, so we headed back to the winery and then boarded our van for the drive back to Barcelona.

We were thankful to have a little down time back at the hotel before our evening tour. We had booked a Tapas and Flamenco tour with Liv Tours: Tapas and Flamenco. There were five of us on the tour, and we tasted MANY tapas at two different restaurants in the Gothic Quarter.

Everything was very good, but if I’m being completely honest it was way too much food. Lunch in the vineyards had been substantial, and the tapas on the tour just kept coming!

We saw the flamenco show at Tarantos after the food part of our tour. It wasn’t what I expected, but it was enjoyable and different. I was afraid it would be very touristy, but it really wasn’t. The venue is small and “cozy” and the performance was part show and part guys sitting around talking and playing guitars!🤷‍♀️

We took a cab back to the hotel after the show. Thank goodness it was a set rate, because the less than 2 mile trip took 45 minutes!

While we were walking to the meeting point for our taxi we passed one of the hundreds of tacky souvenir shops that litter the landscape in Barcelona. I couldn’t decide which magnet or bottle opener was tackiest, so I just took a picture of the whole display. Unfortunately when I looked closely I realized I can’t share that picture here — it’s extremely vulgar. Here’s a crop of the only item on the whole display that’s remotely acceptable for my blog!

Just like that, we only had one day left!😢 We spent our last full day taking a road trip to Costa Brava and Girona. I can’t wait to share my pictures…Costa Brava is gorgeous!