One of Barcelona's key landmarks is undoubtedly the vast Montjuic hill, which stretches on the south side of the city just above Barcelona's harbour.
It's hard to believe that such an oasis of peace and greenery can be found close to a bustling city. The vast area offers a wealth of cultural monuments, botanical gardens and places to relax.
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The hill rising to 213 metres provides the perfect space to relax in the shade of mature trees, with spectacular views of Barcelona and the open sea, as well as many interesting buildings to visit.
What to see in Montjuïc
You can easily spend a whole day on this hill, or at least a few hours for sure. In fact, besides the views and walks, it offers many other attractions. The following places should not be missed on your way to Montjuïc:
- Castell de Montjuïc - an old military fortress at the top of the hill whose history dates back to 1640.
- Olympic Stadium - the entire western side of the hill is occupied by the 1992 Olympic venue for the Olympic Games, dominated by a 55,000-seat stadium
- The Telecommunications Tower - one of the highlights of modern architecture in Barcelona, its architect was the famous Santiago Calatrava
- Botanical Gardens - you will find 3 botanical gardens on the hill
- Barcelona's main botanical garden - entry 3,50 eur, free on the first Sunday of every month and free every Sunday after 3pm, see the official website
- Jardins de Mossèn Costa i Llobera - cactus garden with free entry
- Montjuïc Cemetery - on the southern slopes of the hillside, a huge and spectacular cemetery covers 56 hectares with many famous people and, in places, incredible cemetery architecture of tombs and columbariums
Furthermore, you can visit several museums or even an open-air museum in the Montjuïc area:
- Poble Espanyol - an open-air museum in the style of a Spanish village, showcasing architecture and life throughout Spanish history and an extremely popular attraction
- Fundació Joan Miró - a modern art museum with over 10,000 exhibits, see official information
- National Art Museum of Catalonia - one of Barcelona's most important museums, boasting in particular an extensive collection of art objects from the Romanesque period that ranks among the largest in the world. It is housed in the magnificent Neo-Renaissance palace Palau Nacional
- Ethnographic Museum - official website
- Catalan Archaeological Museum - official website
How to get to Montjuïc
There are several options for getting to the park.
On foot
There are many ways to get up the hill on foot. The main pedestrian route takes you through Plaça d'Espanya, through the Barcelona Exhibition Centre and past Montjuïc's most famous museums along winding paths to the top. In total, the route from the square to the hill is about 3 km long.
You can also easily reach the top from the Poble-Sec district or Paral-Lel metro station.
By cable car
Perhaps the most attractive route, however, is by cable car from the Paral-lel metro station (lines L2 and L3).
From the Paral-lel metro, you first take the underground funicular, on which the normal Barcelona public transport fare applies (see the Transport chapter for details), to the Parc de Montjuïc station about a third of the way up the hill.
This cable car runs every 10 minutes on weekdays from 07:30 to 22:00 (summer) or until 20:00 (winter). On weekends, it runs from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm. Current and official timetables on the tmb.cat website.
You will continue to the top via the classic cable car, which in itself provides beautiful views. Here, the actual price list applies:
| One-way | Return | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults over 12 years old | 11 eur | 17 eur 15,30 eur Online |
| Children 4-12 years | 9 eur | 12 eur 10,80 eur online |
The cable car runs daily from 10:00 am, the last ride varies according to the season, see the official website: telefericdemontjuic.cat/teleferic-timetables-seasons
By bus
The least attractive, but comfortable and inexpensive, way to get there is by public transport bus, for which regular fares apply all the way up.
From Plaça d'Espanya, line 150 runs to the top of Montjuïc (frequency 10-15 minutes). You can also transfer to this bus from the underground cable car that runs from the Paral-Lel metro if you don't want to pay for the suspended cable car.
Aeri de Port cable car
The historic Aeri de Port scenic cable car, with its own tariffs, runs from Barceloneta beach to the lower reaches of Montjuïc.
Details are described on this page.
Hotels in Montjuïc
Montjuïc hill is one of the most peaceful places in Barcelona and has a very high concentration of tourist attractions. It can therefore be a good place to stay.
- Hotel Miramar Barcelona GL ***** - A luxury hotel at the top station of the Aeri del Port cable car with beautiful views of Barcelona
- Hotel Brummell **** - well rated hotel on the edge of a park in the residential area of Poble-Sec
Map of Montjuïc attractions
What to see around
Discover all the places to see in Barcelona.
