Day Trip to Poblet, Spain

This is close to Montserrat and Montblanc, so it is possible to have a combined trip among the three places. Poblet is also known as Monasterio de Poblet


Reasons to go:

• Michelin gives Poblet 3 out of 3 stars (highly recommended), and Montserrat and Montblanc get 2 out of 3 stars.
• Frommers gives Poblet 3 out of 3 stars, a must see.  "One of the most intriguing monasteries in Spain...Its most exciting features are the oddly designed tombs of the old kings of Aragon and Catalonia." (Monday there is no guide service available).
• One of the largest and most complete Cistercian Abbeys in the world.  
• It gets 4 out of 5 on TripAdvisor
• Fodors gives Poblet an orange star, which represents the very best in the area covered by the entire book.
• Fodors also writes that it is one of the great masterpieces of Spanish monastic architecture. 

The Michelin  guide, Fromers, and Time Out note that Poblet has the most famous Cistercian monastery in all of Spain.  The unique sites that Poblet complex contains:

• A 14th century Gothic royal Palace;

• A 15th century chapel of Sant Jordi;

• The main church, which houses the tombs of most of the Counts and Kings of Barcelona; it was the royal pantheon of the kings of the Crown of Aragon since James I of Aragon (Wikipedia).

This monastery was the first of three sister monasteries, known as the Cistercian triangle, that helped consolidate power in Catalonia in the 12th century. The other two are Vallbona de les Monges and Santes Creus.  (Wikipedia). 

Poblet is a stunning combination of lightness and size. 


Quote from The Guardian: "One medieval complex in particular fired Gaudí's imagination as a teenager. It was the monastery of Santa Maria de Poblet, some way inland from Barcelona, not far from Reus. This once mighty Cistercian foundation had begun in the mid-12th century. Its historical and patriotic import was immense, since from the time of his death all the kings of Aragon and Catalonia had been buried there. It was therefore the national pantheon. As architecture, it was the grandest Cistercian building in Catalonia, strong, severe and plain. But when Gaudí was a boy, Poblet was a ruin and he conceived the mad, devout idea of restoring it to at least a memory of its former glories. To him it was the arch-symbol of Catholic supremacy and Catalan identity - and the liberals had ruined it in the name of "freedom" and "rights."


Note: The monastery is still active, and it can only be viewed by a guided tour given by a monk.

Summer (15 June - 14 September)
working days
10:00 - 12:40 / 15:00 - 17:55
Sundays and Feast days
10:00 - 12:25 / 15:00 - 17:25

TOUR PRICES

Single ticket
6,00 €

Special ticket
OAPS
ages between 7 and 18
students with student's card
large families with family card
3,50 €

Adult Groups including more than 25 members
5 €

School groups and summer colonies, from Monday to Friday
1,50 € per pupil

The Cistercian Route combined ticket
Poblet, Santes Creus and Vallbona
9,00 €

Useful Links:

Official page for the monastery: http://www.poblet.cat/Prehome/index.php
Article from The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/feb/10/architecture.spain
Pictures from here: http://www.paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/Spain/Navarre_Aragon_Catalonia/Catalonia/Poblet/Poblet.htm