Monastery of Sant Cugat

Monastery of Sant Cugat tickets: which one to buy

The Monastery of Sant Cugat stands in the centre of Sant Cugat del Vallès, a town about twenty minutes from Barcelona by the FGC suburban train, and it houses a museum, the Museu de Sant Cugat, with a ticket covering the cloister and exhibitions; the church is free during service times. It was one of the most powerful Benedictine monasteries in Catalonia in the Middle Ages, and its Romanesque cloister is famous for its carved capitals.

Sant Cugat is a pleasant, prosperous town with shops and cafes, and visitors from Barcelona often combine the monastery with a walk in the Collserola natural park, which separates the town from the city. The monastery is a short walk from the Sant Cugat station. Guided tours are offered at weekends, and the museum has information in Catalan, Spanish and English. The FGC trains from Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona run every few minutes to Sant Cugat.

Visiting Monastery of Sant Cugat: what to see

According to tradition, the monastery was founded on the site where Saint Cucuphas, a North African martyr, was killed around 304, and a Benedictine community was established here in the ninth century. The present buildings date mainly from the twelfth to fourteenth centuries. The cloister, built in the twelfth century, has 144 carved capitals, created by the sculptor Arnau Cadell, showing biblical scenes, animals, plants and scenes of daily life; one capital includes a self-portrait of the sculptor at work. The church, built between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, combines Romanesque and Gothic styles, with a large rose window on the facade and a Romanesque bell tower. Inside, the church holds a Gothic altarpiece of All Saints.

The monastery was dissolved in 1835, and its buildings were used for different purposes before being restored as a museum. The cloister's capitals are arranged in pairs, with one side showing the Old Testament and the other the New Testament. The chapter house, off the cloister, holds tombs of abbots. The church's apse has three chapels with Romanesque windows. The monastery's walls and defensive towers show that it was fortified in the Middle Ages. The museum's exhibitions explain the history of the monastery and the town. The garden in the cloister has cypress and orange trees. The church's Gothic nave was built in the fourteenth century with a tall vault. The rose window is one of the largest in Catalonia. A medieval fresco of Saint Cucuphas survives in the church.

Monastery of Sant Cugat opening hours and the best time to go

The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, closed on Mondays. Sant Cugat is pleasant to visit all year, with a mild climate. The town holds a market on the square in front of the monastery on certain days, and Christmas brings a craft fair. Spring and autumn are ideal for walking in the Collserola park. Summer is warm, and the town is quieter in August. Allow about forty-five minutes for the cloister and museum, and combine the visit with lunch in the town or a walk in the park. The Collserola Tower, designed by Norman Foster, has an observation deck with views over Barcelona and is reached by road from Sant Cugat.