Getaway to Moianès: Treasures above and below ground

Our suggested starting point for this getaway is Castellterçol, specifically on the outskirts of the town as you head toward Moià, where you'll find Mas La Ginebreda. This extensive farm cultivates cattle fodder and has over 250 Ripollès sheep, including lambs for visitors to pet. All the crops and the meat produced here are on their way to becoming organic.

You can also take a look at the Ice Wells, which date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. The four separate and very large wells are unique in the Mediterranean and demonstrate the importance of the ice industry in the pre–Industrial Age. Their proximity to Barcelona and the cold winters in this spot worked in their favour. One of the wells has recently been restored to make it suitable for visitors to enter its chilly depths.

A stone’s throw from Moià, and within its geographical boundaries, lies one of the most fantastical and frequently visited sites in the region: the Toll Caves. Explorations have led to the discovery that humans and wild prehistoric animals once lived here. Open to the public under supervised visits, the beautiful and unusual galleries stretch for over a kilometre. The guide explains many curious facts, including how the caves were rediscovered in modern times, what has been found here and what excavations are presently underway in this place where the sea once ran through long, long ago.

After lunch, head off to Moià, a town with approximately 6,000 inhabitants. We recommend starting in the Plaça de Sant Sebastià, named after the local patron saint, and walking down C/ del Forn, with its old, emblematic buildings, among which are Can Carner, home to the Consorci del Moianès and the Hotel d’Entitats, and the house at number 25. Built in 1683, this was the first Escola Pia (Pious School) in Catalonia.

Once you reach Plaça Major, you can feast your eyes on the wide range of architectural details on all sides: the 13th-century vaults; the Santa Maria Church, built between the 17th and 18th centuries; and the engravings on the vicarage. Just off the square, you'l find the Rafael Casanova House Museum (on the street of the same name), birthplace of the Chief Councillor of Barcelona and symbol of the Catalan resistance against the Bourbon troops in 1714. The same building also houses the Museum of Archaeology and Palaeontology, which is closely linked to the Toll Caves you visited this morning.

Leaving the church behind you brings you to the monument dedicated to Casanova himself. At one end of the square, where the statue is, a sequence of manor houses with modernista touches catches the eye. Note that you're on C/ de Richard Wagner and the façades of the houses are inscribed with the names of the composer’s operas. This unlikely homage is due to the fact that Francesc Viñas i Dordal – one of the best tenors to ever have performed works by the German composer – was born here. Your tour Moià comes to an end with a peaceful wander around the town’s delightful wooded park.

You'll spend the last day of your getaway thoroughly exploring L’Estany, one of the most interesting towns in the region for various reasons. There's a spectacular feat of 18th-century engineering which still performs the same function even now, drawing water from the plain. This is the source of the town’s name, which means 'pond'. Even though the landscape was probably more beautiful when the water was on the surface, it caused disease; plus, the monks at the local Augustine monastery needed the land in order to cultivate crops. The solution was to build a dry stone ‘mine’ extending to almost half a kilometre in length. If you want to visit this underground network of artificial channels, we recommend you head to the La Mina Visitors Centre to find out about the guided tours they offer.

The Visitors Centre is situated in part of the former outbuildings of the Santa Maria de L’Estany Monastery, a fine example of the Romanesque style. Of particular note are the tops of the columns in the cloister: 72 capitals decorated with sculpted biblical scenes, heraldic icons and plant motifs. Founded in 1080, the monastery also contains a truly Gothic image of Mary sculpted out of a single block of alabaster.

Rooted in history and set in stone, it's time to bid farewell to Moianès.