SHORE EXCURSIONS

Begin your tour with the view from the top, as you head to Montjuic hill for a panoramic view of Barcelona. Drive along the elegant Passeig de Gracia with its wrought-iron street lamps and fine array of Modernist buildings, including Gaudi’s Casa Batllo, with a mosaic façade and undulating roof. View his controversial and towering masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia (The Holy Family) Church.

It is about an hour’s drive to Montserrat, an unusual multi-peak mountain topped by pinnacles that look like fingers reaching for the sky and offering stunning views of Catalunya. According to legend, villagers discovered a statue of the Madonna in a grotto a millennia ago. As a result, it became a pilgrimage site, and still draws many of the faithful to venerate the image, which now resides in a grand basilica.

Over the centuries the image has darkened by the smoke of millions of candles and she has come to be known as the Black Virgin. You’ll visit the basilica, and have free time to shop and have lunch on your own.