Getaway to Vallès Occidental: Sant Cugat in-depth

Our first recommendation is to travel to Sant Cugat by public transport. There are frequent trains, including the line known locally as 'the metro of the Vallès', and the places you'll be visiting on this trip are all within easy walking distance. You'll begin your visit in the old town, and here we'd like to make another recommendation: to see the town’s most interesting buildings and places and find out everything about its history, there’s nothing better than having a guide. You can find out about and book guided tours at the Tourist Information Office located in Plaça d’Octavià or by phone on 93 675 99 52. You’ll soon notice that Sant Cugat is a very pleasant place that still has a kind of village feel and that walking around the town centre is very enjoyable. You'll observe old farmhouses and elegant 19th-century mansions built by wealthy families from Barcelona as a second residence. The town’s shopping streets also have their own charm. One last recommendation (for now): leave your visit to the monastery for later and explore it at leisure.

Sant Cugat has no fewer than 13 urban parks. But the area’s largest and most popular open-air space is the Collserola Natural Park, which is one of the world’s biggest metropolitan parks. In fact, half of Sant Cugat’s municipal area is located within the park’s boundaries. As you can probably imagine, the park has a lot to offer, with signposted trails to follow on foot or by mountain bike, horse riding and plenty of other activities. So if the weather is nice, head for the park and experience it in the way that's best for you.

After spending the morning in the open air, you may feel like calling in at one of Sant Cugat’s museums in the afternoon. The one we're going to recommend now is not particularly well-known, since it only opened in 2015. We're talking about the Casa-Museu Cal Gerrer, which is set in an elegant building dating from 1851 that was once the Arpí family’s ceramics factory; in fact, one of the highlights of the museum’s permanent collection is the family’s ceramics collection. Another must-see exhibit, especially for fans of the silver screen, is the collection of photographs, documents and personal items of Marilyn Monroe. But there is a third permanent exhibition that you should see: the photographic and art works of the Cabanas Alibau brothers. The museum also has a space for temporary exhibitions, a conference room and an audiovisual display room. More than enough to fill an afternoon.

Start your last day in Sant Cugat at the greatest medieval monastery in the county of Barcelona. The enormous Gothic rose window of the Royal Monastery of Sant Cugat, which presides over the façade, gives a clue as to its importance, as do the walls and the towers which were built in the 14th century and remain standing today. The Benedictine Abbey has its origins in the ninth century, and both the church and the cloister, which is the jewel in the monastery’s crown with its Romanesque capitals, have been preserved in very good condition and deserve your careful attention. The cloister also hosts the headquarters of the Sant Cugat Museum, around which lie the chapter house and the old monastery buildings. The museum opened in 2003, and offers an exhibition on the monumental ensemble, Romanesque monasteries and medieval monks, as well as temporary exhibitions on art and local issues.

Having seen the town’s most important heritage site, you can now shift gears completely and head for Mercantic, at number 120 Avinguda de Rius i Taulet. There you’ll find a permanent market selling furniture, antiques and curiosities, as well as hosting plenty of activities, especially at weekends. If your visit is on a Sunday, at Sala El Siglo you’ll find a vermouth hour with live music and an extensive gastronomic selection by popular local restaurants, making Mercantic a great place to browse and to eat and drink. With lunch over, perhaps it’s the right time to leave Sant Cugat and head back home.