One of Barcelona’s key attractions is undoubtedly the vast Montjuïc hill, which stretches along the southern side of the city, just above the port of Barcelona.

It is hard to believe that such an oasis of peace and greenery is situated so close to a bustling metropolis. The vast area offers a wealth of cultural attractions, botanical gardens and places to relax.

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The hill, rising to a height of 213 metres, provides the ideal spot to relax in the shade of mature trees, with magnificent views of Barcelona and the open sea, as well as many interesting buildings to visit.

What to see on Montjuïc

You can easily spend a whole day on this hill, or at least a few hours for sure. As well as the views and walks, it offers plenty of other attractions. On your trip to Montjuïc, you shouldn’t miss these places:

• 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 Olympic complex for the 1992 Summer Olympics, dominated by a stadium with a capacity of 55,000 spectators
• Telecommunications Tower– one of the finest examples of modern architecture in Barcelona, designed by the renowned Santiago Calatrava
• Botanical Gardens– you’ll find no fewer than three botanical gardens on the hill
  • Barcelona’s main botanical garden – admission: 3,50 eur; free entry on the first Sunday of every month and every Sunday after 3 pm; see the official website
  • Jardins de Mossèn Costa i Llobera – a cactus garden with free entry
• Montjuïc Cemetery– on the southern slopes lies a vast, magnificent cemetery covering 56 hectares, home to many famous figures and featuring, in places, truly incredible architectural designs for tombs and columbariums

You can also visit several museums or even an open-air museum in the Montjuïc area:

• Poble Espanyol– an open-air museum modelled on a traditional Spanish village, showcasing architecture and way of life throughout Spanish history, and an exceptionally popular attraction
• Fundació Joan Miró– a museum of modern art with over 10,000 exhibits; see official information
• The National Art Museum of Catalonia– one of Barcelona’s most important museums, which boasts, in particular, an extensive collection of art from the Romanesque period, ranked amongst the largest in the world. It is housed in the magnificent Neo-Renaissance Palau Nacional
• Ethnographic Museum –official website
• Catalan Archaeological Museum –official website

How to get to Montjuïc

There are several transport options to the park.

On foot

There are plenty of walking routes up the hill. The main footpath leads fromPlaça d’Espanyathrough the Barcelona Exhibition Centre and past Montjuïc’s most famous museums along winding paths all the way to the top. In total, the route from the square to the top of the hill is roughly 3 km.

You can also easily reach the summit from the Poble-Sec neighbourhood or from Paral-Lel metro station.

By funicular

However, perhaps the most attractive route is viathe cable car systemfrom the Paral-Lel metro station (lines L2 and L3).

From the Paral-lel metro station, you first take the underground funicular – on which the standard Barcelona public transport fare applies (see the ‘Transport’ section for details) – to Parc de Montjuïc station, roughly a third of the way up the hill.

This funicular runs every 10 minutes on weekdays from 7.30 am to 10.00 pm (in summer) or until 8.00 pm (in winter). At weekends, services do not start until 9.00. Current and official timetables are available on the tmb.cat website.

From there, you’ll continue to the summit on a traditional cable car, which offers beautiful views in its own right. A separate price list applies here:

	One-way	Return
Adults aged 12 and over	11 eur	17 eur 15,30 eur online
Children aged 4–12	9 eur	12 eur 10,80 eur online

The gondola lift operates daily from 10.00; the last ride varies depending on the season – see the official website:telefericdemontjuic.cat/teleferic-timetables-seasons

By bus

The least attractive option, but comfortable and cheap, is to travel by public bus, for which standard fares apply all the way to the top.

FromPlaça d’Espanya, bus number 150 runs all the way to the top of Montjuïc (every 10–15 minutes). You can also change onto this bus from the underground cable car, which runs from the Paral·Lel metro station, if you’d rather not pay for the aerial cable car.

The Aeri de Port cable car

The historic Aeri de Port sightseeing funicular, which operates on its own fare system, runs from Barceloneta beach to the lower slopes of Montjuïc.

We provide detailed information on this page.

Hotels on Montjuïc

Montjuïc Hill is one of the quietest places in Barcelona and also boasts a high concentration of tourist attractions. It may therefore be a suitable place to stay.

• Hotel Miramar Barcelona GL ***** – a luxury hotel near the top station of the Aeri del Port cable car, offering beautiful views of Barcelona
• Hotel Brummell **** – a highly rated hotel on the edge of the park in the residential neighbourhood of Poble-Sec

Map of places of interest on Montjuïc

What to see around

Discover all the places to see in Barcelona.