Beach Travel Wine Podcast · Leanne McCabe

120. Montserrat and Barcelona - discover little known places in Barcelona

·44 min·2 clips

The Black Madonna sits behind glass, and visitors kiss or touch her hand after lining up.

1. Beach Travel Wine Podcast episode 120 focuses on Barcelona’s Parc de la Ciutadella, the Gothic Quarter cathedral, and Montserrat. 2. Leonita and Lyle guide the travel details as hosts, and Carlos is the Montserrat guide who gives route advice and mountain history. 3. The episode asks what Barcelona looks like when you skip the usual sights and go to places the hosts had not seen on four visits. 4. They begin with the H10 Montcada Boutique Hotel in the Gothic Quarter, which they describe as modern, clean, and well placed. 5. They note the rooftop bar’s views of Barcelona Cathedral, the free pastries, the champagne on arrival, and the €3 glass of wine. 6. The hosts then describe the airport taxi queue, where they saw about a hundred people and an organized system moving cabs through efficiently. 7. A bottle of water at Barcelona airport cost €1.20, and the card payment surprised them after weeks in Croatia. 8. Their walk from the hotel led them to the Parc de la Ciutadella, the Castle of the Three Dragons, and the Arc de Triomf. 9. They say the whole exhibition area was built in 1887 and 1888 for the Universal Exhibition of Barcelona. 10. The park includes the zoo, the Catalan Parliament, the Geological Museum, the lake, and the Cascada waterfall with wind dragons and gilded horses. 11. The hosts emphasize that the waterfall was dry because of a drought, but they still found the staircase, lake, and ornate details worth seeing. 12. They describe the greenhouse as a domed structure with timber slats and tropical jungle plants growing inside. 13. The Gothic Quarter cathedral gets its own stop, with the hosts noting its 15th-century origins, 93-metre length, and 54-metre bell towers. 14. They explain that the crypt of St. Eulalia and the audio guide made the cathedral visit straightforward and inexpensive. 15. The episode then shifts to Montserrat, which they describe as about 60 kilometres from Barcelona and famous for its serrated pink rock formations. 16. Carlos explains the different ways to reach Montserrat, including car, bus, train, cable car, rack railway, and a steep seven-kilometre hike. 17. The basilica, atrium, hanging candles, and the Black Madonna are presented as the core religious highlights of the complex. 18. The hosts describe the Black Madonna’s silver doors, Venetian mosaic throne, nine silver lamps, and the tradition of kissing or touching her hand. 19. The tone is practical and tour-focused, with repeated references to photos, prices, routes, and what they chose to do on the day. 20. Listeners who want Barcelona day-trip ideas and monastery logistics will find this useful, while readers wanting nightlife or food deep-dives may skip it.

As heard by us

A relaxed Barcelona episode that mixes useful trip details with a few worthwhile detours.

Barcelona gets a steadier, more lived in treatment here. The episode moves from Arc de Triomf and the park beside it to the Montserrat Monastery Complex outside the city, with the funicular ride carrying most of the visual weight.

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Why you'd press play

For the Barcelona corners you had not found yet and the mountain views worth the funicular.

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