Monestir de Pedralbes - Monastery of Pedralbes
One of the Nicest Examples of Catalan Gothic
The Monastery of Pedralbes or Monestir de Pedralbes is certainly one of the most beautiful gothic buildings in Barcelona. Built in the early 14th century, it shows the everyday life of the nuns, while the Museum of the Pedralbes Monastery exhibits objects of ecclesiastical art from the 14th to the 20th centuries. Especially beautiful are the three-story cloister and the gardens inside the monastery.
Convenient Offers for the Monastir de Pedralbes
- Free admission with the Barcelona Card
- Bus Turístic stop 100 m away from the monastery
Barcelona Card
- Free admission to 25 attractions, including Pedralbes Monastery
- Discounts at over 95 other museums, leisure activities, cultural venues, shops, pubs and restaurants
- Public transport for free: within the urban area (zone 1) metro, tram, city bus (TMB), FGC (Catalan railway), RENFE (Spanish railway)
- Free train, bus 46 and metro L9 from El Prat de Llobregat Airport to the city center and back
- Accompanying booklet with city map, metro plan and description of facilities with discounts
- The Barcelona Card is available for 3, 4 or 5 days (72, 96 and 120 hours from first use). For 2 days (48 hours) you can get the 2-day Barcelona Card Express
- Download for a detailed overview
Bus Turístic Ticket
- Bus ticket for one or two consecutive days
- Ticket valid on all three lines (two in winter)
- You can get on and off at 45 stops and change trains whenever you like
- Route plan with the stops
- Audio commentary in English and in 15 other languages
- Each guest receives their own earphones (on the bus)
- Free WiFi on board
- Small guide with lots of information (on the bus)
- Coupons with many discounts (on the bus)
- Lower deck is wheelchair accessible
Audio Guide in the Following Languages
- German, English, French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Norwegian, Turkish, Finnish, Arabic, Hebrew
Monastery of Pedralbes
- April 1 - September 30:
Tue-Fri: 10-17:00
Sat: 10-19:00
Sun: 10-20:00 - October 1 - March 31:
Tue-Sat: 10-14:00
Sat, Sun: 10-17:00 - Closed on: 1.1., Good Friday, 1 May, 24 June, 25 and 26.12.
Bus Turístic
The exact times can be found on the notice board on the buses. The buses run every 5-25 minutes, depending on the season and occupancy.
- Summer: 9:00 to 20:00, winter: 9:00 to 19:00
- Red and blue line all year, from Monday to Sunday
- Green line from 01.04. until 01.11.
- No operation on 1 January and 25 December (2-day tickets, which will be used for the first time on the 24 or 31 of December, will also be valid on the 26 of December and the 2 of January)
Cable Car Teleféric de Montjuïc
- January to February: 10:00-18:00
- March to May: 10:00 to 19:00
- June to September: 10:00 to 21:00
- October: 10:00 to 19:00
- November + December: 10:00-18: 00
- Closed on 25.12. and 1.1.
- The cable car can be taken out of service during storms or other bad weather
Booking Information
- Here you can purchase Barcelona Cards and tickets for a favourable online price
- It is very easy to book: select the product on the top right (Barcelona Card, Ticket Bus Turístic) and enter the desired number
- Select the shipping method (mail or voucher by e-mail)
- Then click on "Add to cart"
Free Time Selection and Validation of the Tickets
- Full Flexibility: You can decide yourself when you would like to use the tickets in the respective validity year. Our vouchers and tickets are valid for a full calendar year
- From the first use it is valid for one or two calendar days
Arrival to Telefèric de Montjuïc
- By Bus Turístic (red line) you reach the lower station of the Telefèric "Parc de Montjuïc" via the bus station "Telefèric de Montjuïc"
- Here you can download the map (pdf, ca. 2 MB)
Tickets for Pensioners or Persons with Disability
- Persons older than 65 years and persons with disability with a degree of disability of over 33% receive special rates
- A valid proof is necessary for the admission to the bus and showing it can be requested at any time
- Accompanying persons need to buy a regular ticket
Shipping
- Shipping via mail (4.90 € shipping costs): This allows you to get your tickets for the Bus Turístic and the Barcelona Cards before you trip. No waiting time to pick it up, no waiting at checkout. You are independent of the opening hours of the issuing offices.
- Sending by e-mail (free of charge): Immediately after booking, you will receive a voucher that will allow you to pick up your booked Barcelona Cards or Bus Turístic tickets directly from the bus, airport or several locations in the city area (see below). You can redeem the voucher for the Telefèric at the cash register, just show it.
Issuing Offices
If you receive a voucher by e-mail, you need to pick up the Barcelona Cards and the Bus Turístic tickets at the following pick-up points (tourist information) at the following opening times:
- In one of the buses (only Bus Turístic Ticket)
- Barcelona Airport "El Prat de Llobregat", Terminal T1 and T2 (daily from 9 to 20:30)
- Plaça Catalunya, basement opposite the department store El Cortes Inglés (daily from 08:30 to 20:30)
- Plaça Sant Jaume / Ciutat, 2 (Mon.-Fri 08:30-20:30, Sat. 9:00-19:00, Sun 9:00 to 14:00)
- Estació del Nord (buses leave from Girona at this bus station, open October-June 9:00 to 15:00, July-Sept 8:30 to 19:30, March to June and Oct. 09:00 to 15:00, closed November to February)
- Central Station Sants Estació (daily 08:00 to 20:00)
- Tourist information closed on 25.12. and 1.1.
You will receive the tickets for the Teleféric de Montjuïc presenting the printed voucher at the ticket office.
- Booking without risk: unused Barcelona Cards, Bus Turístic tickets you received via mail and unredeemed vouchers for the Teleféric de Montjuïc can be returned until 15.01. of the following year, we will refund the full purchase price
- The booking for delivery by e-mail (voucher) can be canceled up to six weeks after booking, but no later than 15 January of the following year
- No cancellation fees
Why the Monastery is Worth Visiting
Content of this Page
The Pedralbes Monastery is just outside the city center, but is easily accessible with the hop-on hop-off bus. It is not as spectacular as the Sagrada Familia, Casa Milà or the cathedral, but the monastery is very beautiful and has a lovely well kept park. Especially in the summer, it is nice and cool and you can enjoy a peace that hardly exists in Barcelona.
With the Barcelona Card you have free admission to the monastery.
The Construction of the Monestir de Pedralbes
The monastery was founded by Queen Elisenda de Montcada. She was supported by her husband King James II (Jaume II), who dedicated the Monastery to Saint Mary. Since then, the monastery has been run by nuns of the Sisterhood of the Clares.
Construction of the monastic buildings began in March 1326. The location within the village of Sarrià, back then still far outside of the city walls of Barcelona, was chosen by Queen Elisenda. The foundation stone for the apse is a white stone. The name "Pedralbes" derives from the Latin Petras Albas (white stones). On May 3, 1327, the nuns moved into the monastery.
The result of the short construction period of just one year is a particularly consistent and harmonious example of Gothic architecture in Catalonia, no other architectural styles can be found at this building. It was not until the 15th century that the third and lowest floor of the cloister was added.
Visiting the Monastery Pedralbes Today
On the eastern side the single-nave church is located. On the right, next to a presbytery, a choir room reserved for the clergy, you will find the tomb of Queen Elisenda, which has a peculiarity: the sarcophagus is curiously divided into two parts. The part facing the cloister shows the queen as a mourning widow, the part lying in the church shows Elisenda as queen.
From the church there is no direct access to the interior of the monastery. The entrance is a few meters next to the church. From there you can enter the cloister. It makes sense to choose the tour that leads counterclockwise through the monastery.
The first sight is the small chapel of Sant Miquel on the right side of the church wall. Here the painter tells of Jesus' and Mary's life in his 1343 frescoes. The peculiarity is the plastic representation with which he emulated the Italian painter Giotto, who marks the beginning of modern painting.
In the next room of the cloister you can see the grave of Queen Elisenda described above. On this side other graves of superiors of the monastery are located. This is followed by several utility rooms and cells on the northern side of the cloister and the staircase to the second floor, which is half accessible. The third floor is not accessible.
Here you will also find the museum in the former dormitory of the monastery. In a tour it shows sacred art and everyday objects of the monastery of the 14.-20. century. In the middle cloister you will also find a number of tiny prayer cells.
When you go back down the stairs of the museum, you can continue the tour around the monastery in the lower cloister. On the western side are the utility rooms, such as the dining room, the kitchen and in the basement the storerooms of the monastery of Pedralbes.
In the basement there is a very remarkable diorama show that tells the life story of Jesus.
The Park of the Monestir de Pedralbes
The monastery would certainly not be so beautiful and impressive if the garden in the courtyard didn't exist. Here you will experience a silence that you will not find anywhere else in Barcelona. Apart from the chirping of birds and the lapping of the Renaissance fountain in the middle, you will not hear anything here.
Large palm trees and cypress trees provide pleasant shade. To the park you have access from the lower cloister several times.
Sisterhood of the Clares
Francis of Assisi took Clare of Assisi, a nun of noble lineage, in his community of Franciscans in 1212. It was the sisterhood of the Clares, later called the "Second Order" of the Franciscans. The monastery is still managed by the Clares nuns, but they are in a more modern outbuilding.
Book tickets for the Monastir Pedralbes here
- Barcelona Card: free admission to the Monastir
- Bus Turístic: station 100 metres away from the Cloister
Important information
Surroundings
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Address
Baixada del Monestir, 9
Phone: +34 932 563 434
Arrival
Metro: Reina Elisenda (FGC L6)
Bus Turístic: Monestir de Pedralbes
Parking nearby
Admission
Regular: €5.00, reduced: €3.50
Children until 15 years (an adult companion required): free admission
Disabled persons: €3.50
Free admission: 12 February (Santa Eulàlia), 18 May (International museum day), 24 September (Mare de Déu de la Mercè).
Tips for the visit of the Monastery of Pedralbes
If you are in Barcelona in summer, you can visit the Monastery of Pedralbes during the midday heat. In the church, the monastery and the garden it is pleasantly cool. For visiting you should plan about an hour.
You have free admission with the Barcelona Card and you can get directly to the monastery with the Bus Turístic.
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