Montserrat is a mountain near Barcelona, in Catalonia, in Spain. It is the site of a Benedictine abbey, Santa María de Montserrat, which hosts the Virgin of Montserrat sanctuary and which is identified by some [1] with the location of the Holy Grail in Arthurian myth.

“Montserrat” literally means “jagged (serrated) mountain” in Catalan. It describes the peculiar aspect of the rock formation, which is visible from a great distance. The mountain is composed of strikingly pink conglomerate, a form of sedimentary rock, popular with climbers.

The Virgin of Montserrat is a statue of the Virgin Mary and infant Christ venerated at the Santa María de Montserrat monastery in the Montserrat mountain in Catalonia. It is one of the black Madonnas of Europe, hence its familiar Catalan name, la Moreneta (”The little dark-skinned one”). Believed by some to have been carved in Jerusalem in the early days of the church, it is a Romanesque sculpture in wood from the late 12th century.

Legend has it that the Benedictine monks could not move the statue to construct their monastery, choosing to instead build around it. The statue’s sanctuary is located at the rear of the chapel, where an altar of gold surrounds the icon, and is now a site of pilgrimage.

If you wish to go on your own you can take the train, the FGC, leaving from Metro Espanya every hour from 8:36 - 5:36. Buy a “Trans Montserrat” ticket, which includes the metro to Plaça Espanya, the train to Montserrat-Aeri, cable car up to the top, Sant Joan Funicular and Santa Cova Funicular. You can pick up this ticket for 18,63€ at any FGC station in the city, or better still, at the FGC shop in El Triangle, the huge shopping center to the west at Plaça Catalunya. You’ll get off the FGC cogwheel train at Aeri de Montserrat where you’ll catch the heart-stopping Aeri cable car up to the top of the mountain. The cable car leaves every 15 minutes.