Offbeat Barcelona and Catalonia: 2 Days
Two Days Is Enough to Leave Barcelona Twice
Two days will not cover Catalonia properly, but it is enough for a mountain monastery and a paired medieval-town-plus-Dali-museum day, both on regional trains with a Barcelona-Sants bed both nights. This is the short version of a spine that runs up to 7 days; see the 4-day and 7-day itineraries for how it extends.
Book these before you go:
- A guided Montserrat day trip, if juggling the FGC and Cremallera schedules yourself sounds like effort: check tour options on GetYourGuide
- A combined Girona and Figueres day trip, one booking instead of two train changes: browse the combo tour on Viator
| Stop | Distance | Time from Barcelona-Sants |
|---|---|---|
| Montserrat | ~50km | ~1-1.5h (FGC train plus Cremallera) |
| Girona | ~100km | ~40 min (fast train) |
| Figueres | ~140km | ~55min-2h (paired with Girona) |
Day 1: Land, Base Near Sants, Montserrat
Fly into Barcelona-El Prat and take the Aerobus or the Rodalies R2 Nord into the city, both under forty minutes to Barcelona-Sants; skip the standalone airport metro ticket unless you already hold a Hola BCN card, since a bare T-casual does not cover the L9S airport leg. Check into a base near Barcelona-Sants or Placa Espanya, the station tomorrow’s trip starts from. Drop bags, then take the FGC R5 line from Placa Espanya to Monistrol de Montserrat, about an hour, and ride the Cremallera rack railway the last five kilometers up the mountain (fifteen minutes; combined train-plus-Cremallera ticket EUR 15.90 one-way, EUR 28.80 return, fact-checked July 2026). The Benedictine monastery holds the Black Madonna, La Moreneta, and the jagged massif behind it has hiking trails a lot more dramatic than a single afternoon usually implies.
Day 2: Girona and Figueres, One Rail Line, Then Departure
Girona is about forty minutes from Barcelona-Sants by fast train (EUR 9-17 one-way), and its medieval old town, the Onyar river’s stacked colorful houses, and El Call, one of Europe’s best-preserved Jewish quarters, easily fill a morning. Figueres sits further up the same rail corridor, fifty-five minutes to two hours depending on whether you catch the fast Avant to Figueres-Vilafant or the slower regional service into the closer-in station; the Dali Theatre-Museum charges EUR 18.50 online in low season, rising to EUR 22 in July and August (fact-checked July 2026), and booking online beats the desk rate every time. Head back to Barcelona-Sants for a flight out the next morning.
Is Two Days Really Enough to Skip a Whole City?
No, and this itinerary does not ask that of you. It assumes two Barcelona-area nights and two day trips, using the city purely as a bed between Montserrat and the Girona-Figueres corridor. Anyone wanting real time in Barcelona itself, Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, the Gothic Quarter, should treat this as the day-trip add-on to a longer city stay, not a replacement for one.
Should I Do Montserrat or Girona and Figueres First?
Montserrat first, generally, since it is the shorter overall day and easier to slot in straight off a flight without a tight morning train to catch. Girona and Figueres together need an earlier start to fit both comfortably, better suited to a day when you are not also managing an arrival.
For the city itself, see the Barcelona guide . For the full gateway roster, including Sitges, the Costa Brava, Tarragona, and Penedes, the guide to this whole family and the 3-day itinerary pick up where this one stops.