My guide Suzie recommended visiting Monestir de Montserrat ("Serrated Mountain"). This was partly because I had told her of my love for choral singing. There is singing by a boys choir at 1 pm each day in the Cathedral. The highest peak is at 1,236 Meters (4,055 feet). It is Catalonia’s holiest place. The Monastry was founded in the 11th century but was destroyed in 1811 when the French attacked Catalonia in the War of Independence. It was rebuilt in 1844 and "was a beacon of Catalan culture during the Franco years". To-day Benedictine monks live there. It is just over an hour on the Metro from Barcelona and then you can ascend in a cable car to the Monastry. The church is magnificent and with about 1000 other people it was a pleasure to hear the boys choir sing their daily 15 minute performance. It was a very cold day (probably 6-8C) at the Monastry so without sufficient warm clothes I did not venture out on several walks from the top. However there is a museum with a display of many Catalan artists as well as work by Picasso, the Impressionists and Salvador Dali. There was a very helpful audio tour.
