Barcelona, Iberia, Spain

Montjuic Castle: Barcelona from above

February 13, 2019

Ready to get the perfect panoramic shot of Barcelona? This is the first post of our #barcelonafromabove series. We’ll show you the best places where you can see and capture Barcelona from above! So get ready for a beautiful hike to Montjuic Castle, our first stop! Here’s all you need to know…

View of Barcelona from Montjuic Castle / journeyplane.com
View of Barcelona from Montjuic Castle

About Montjuic

Montjuic is the birthplace of the city of Barcelona. Today, it houses a variety of attractions, such as Palau Nacional (the National Art Museum of Catalunya), the Olympic Stadium, the Joan Miro Foundation (the Modern Art Museum), the Botanical Garden and finally, the Montjuic Castle.

View of Montjuic Magic Fountain and Palau Nacional / journeyplane.com
View of Montjuic Magic Fountain and Palau Nacional

At the foot of the hill lies the spectacular Magic Fountain of Montjuic. The dancing fountain is a wonder to watch in the warm evenings, on the steps leading to Palau Nacional. Its colorful light show is delightful, and so is the music and the enchanted audience that gather all around, to watch the magic unfold.

Read more about the schedule and how to get to the Magic Fountain of Montjuic here.

Montjuic Castle: best view of the sea and Barcelona

At the top of Montjuic Mountain lies the picturesque Montjuic Castle, with its fortifications, sunny gardens and orange trees.

Orange tree in December at Montjuic Castle / journeyplane.com
Orange tree in December at Montjuic Castle

The views are stunning from up there, as the sea and port are on one side, and the city can be seen from the other.

Explore a more industrial side of Barcelona and of the seafront. Ships, containers and the big blue dissolving into the horizon. Seagulls and pigeons waiting to be fed. Flowers in bloom all year round. Sounds like an interesting mix, right?

On the other side of the hill, lies the jam-packed Barcelona, with its eternal summer vibe. You can see Sagrada Familia from up here, and the city unfolding all the way up to Tibidabo.

Teleferico de Montjuic and the View of Barcelona / journeyplane.com
Teleferic de Montjuic / View of Barcelona

So wait no more. Get your adventure boots on and hop on the journey!

How to get there & Cable cars info

There are many ways to get to Montjuic Castle. The best one, we think, is to do the hike.

Montjuic is a hill, not really a mountain. In 30 minutes you can easily get to the top. Keep in mind that the weather in Barcelona is always warm enough for a hike. And if you’re not the best climber, it’s totally fine (nor am I). This is an easy route, with beautiful views all along the way, so you can stop as many times as you need and enjoy a stunning view of the city and its refreshing green areas.

Gardens of Montjuic Castle / journeyplane.com
Gardens of Montjuic Castle

Some other alternatives are bus line 150 that leaves from Placa Espanya, which will take you all the way up to the castle, or the cable cars. There are two types of cable cars: Teleferic de Montjuic and the Port cable car (or Teleferic de Barcelona).

Teleferic de Montjuic runs up and down Montjuic Mountain and is the one you can see in the picture above.

The Port cable car runs between Barceloneta Beach and Montjuic. If you take the latter, you still have some hiking to do in order to get to the castle.

We tried the Port cable car and the view was breathtaking (see the pictures above). We highly recommend this if you are in Barcelona in the low season, and you can get the chance to stand by the window, enjoy the view and get great shots of the seaside from above. You can read more about the cable car trip here.

Ticket prices

View from Montjuic / journeyplane.com
View of the port from Montjuic Castle

The ticket to Montjuic Castle is 5 euros. But you can enjoy all of these views for free, just as well, from outside the grounds of the castle.

You may not get to see the orange trees, or the cannons, but the views over the city and port are still there. Enjoy the Montjuic Mountain your own way!

Ready to hop on the journey plane? Follow us on Instagram! We’ll keep you up to date with our posts and latest tips and discoveries!

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