Study spanish in Barcelona

Mountains you can easily visit when you study Spanish in Barcelona

If you come to study Spanish in Barcelona over several weeks, you can take advantage of the weekends to spend the day away visiting the natural beauty spots to be found in the countryside and mountains around the city. For all students, getting out of town for a day or two is the favourite way to get a break from the rigours of their intensive Spanish language programs.

One of the most impressive natural beauty spots is also very close to the town: the Mountain of Montserrat is about fifty kilometres or thirty miles form the centre of town. Rising steeply above the surrounding plane to a height of one thousand two hundred meters, this mountain range has several sharp teeth which give it a jagged and serrated profile, and hence its name: Montserrat or serrated mountain. People who come to study Spanish in Barcelona will discover that the name is very popular for girls born here.

The mountain attracted monks seeking solitude for reflection and prayer, and as early as the ninth century there were a total of thirteen hermitages in the folds under its peaks. In the tenth century one of these was converted into a monastery which over time welded great influence, reaching its zenith in the fifteenth century. Inside the church the Virgin of Montserrat is displayed. People attending intensive Spanish courses in Barcelona will know that she is the patron of Catalonia. Within the monastery one of the world’s oldest boy’s choirs still sings. Founded in the twelfth century, the Escolania still sings every day, at one o’clock and at seven ten in the evening. It is very easy for students who study Spanish in Barcelona to reach the mountain. You just need to catch the train from Plaza de España, and get off at Monistrol de Montserrat. Here, a brand new rack railway will carry you over five kilometres to the foot of the monastery, rising five hundred and fifty meters in the process.




Study spanish in Barcelona

The Nuria valley, surrounded by an imposing circus of mountain peaks of just under three thousand meters, is another great place for a day visit for those who study Spanish in Barcelona. Catch the Ribes de Fresser train from Barcelona Sants station with a journey time of two hours and a quarter. In Ribes de Fresser you then catch Catalonia’s other rack railway which over a distance of twelve kilometres takes you up over one thousand meters. The view of the Nuria valley when arriving by train, whether in winter or summer is simply spectacular.

Those ski fanatics who come to study Spanish in Barcelona will doubtlessly know that the Nuria valley is also a ski resort. Ideal for beginners, the highest ski slope starts at two thousand two hundred meters, and there is a total of seven kilometres of runs. Also within the valley is the sanctuary, built in the nineteenth century on the site of an ancient hermitage, and which houses the Virgen of Nuria. Students who study Spanish in Barcelona will also recognise that Nuria is another common name for girls in the town. Students of intensive Spanish courses in Spain who enjoy hiking will be pleased to know that one of the highest peaks on the eastern side of the Pyrenees, the Puigmal, with an altitude of just over two thousand nine hundred meters is accessible from this valley.


Study spanish in Barcelona
Mountains you can easily visit when you study Spanish in Barcelona......

Spanish courses in Barcelona
Shopping in Barcelona and intensive Spanish courses......