Best Monasteries in Spain Like Montserrat & Beyond (2026)

There is a specific quality to the air in a Spanish monastery that I haven’t found anywhere else on earth. It’s not just the silence—though the silence is profound, heavy with centuries of prayer and contemplation. It’s a coolness, a scent of stone dust, beeswax, and sometimes, the faint, sweet tang of medicinal herbs growing in a cloister garden.

I remember my first time driving up the winding road to Montserrat. The mountain rises like a jagged saw blade from the Catalan earth, defying gravity, and nestled within its embrace is the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Maria de Montserrat. It was 2014, a Tuesday in late October. The mist was so thick that morning that the monastery seemed to materialize out of a dream. I parked the rental car in the lower lot, the engine ticking as it cooled, and joined a stream of pilgrims and tourists funicularing upward.

Montserrat is the benchmark. It is the "spiritual mountain," the home of the Black Madonna, and the starting point for anyone looking to explore the monastic heart of Spain. But Spain is a country woven with a tapestry of religious orders, from the stark Cistercian abbeys of the north to the mudéjar gems of the south. If you have fallen in love with Montserrat, or if you are simply looking for a spiritual retreat that goes beyond the crowds, 2026 is the year to dig deeper.

Here is my curated guide to the best monasteries in Spain, starting from the shadow of Montserrat and journeying beyond to the quiet corners of the peninsula.

1. Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey: The Proving Ground

Address: Plaça Santa Maria, 1, 08199 Montserrat, Barcelona, Spain.
Hours: The Basilica is open daily from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM (8:30 PM on Sundays and holidays). The Escolania choir sings at 1:00 PM (check the website for rehearsal times, as they do not sing on weekends or holidays).

You cannot talk about Spanish monasteries without paying homage to the giant. Montserrat is often the best day trip monasteries near Barcelona like Montserrat, simply because of its accessibility, but it demands respect. It is a massive complex, almost a small village suspended in the sky.

When you step into the Basilica, your eyes immediately adjust to the dim light filtering through the stained glass. You join the line to embrace the Black Virgin, La Moreneta. There is a ritual to it: you wait, you climb the steps, you kiss the orb she holds, and you descend. It feels crowded, often chaotic, but if you step back and look at the faces around you—the elderly woman clutching her rosary, the young man with a tattoo sleeve looking for something he can't name—you realize you are part of something ancient.

But the true magic of Montserrat lies in its trails. This is why it ranks high for the best monasteries in spain like montserrat for hiking. After paying your respects, take the Sant Joan funicular up to the highest point. From there, hike down toward the Creu de Sant Miquel. The path is rocky and smells of pine and damp earth. Looking back, the monastery sits in the palm of the mountain like a stone jewel. If you have the stamina, the hike to Sant Jeroni offers the highest view, where you can see the Pyrenees on a clear day. In 2026, the monastery continues to offer spiritual retreats and guided meditation sessions, making it a living center of worship, not just a museum.

2. Poblet Monastery: The Fortress of Faith

Address: Carretera TV-7007, s/n, 43448 Vimbodí, Tarragona, Spain.
Hours: Summer (April – October) 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM (weekdays) and 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM (weekends). Winter (November – March) 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Leaving the bustle of Catalonia’s coast, you head inland toward the Conca de Barberà region. Poblet Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it feels entirely different from Montserrat. While Montserrat is organic and growing out of the rock, Poblet is a statement of power, a fortress of order built to withstand time.

I visited Poblet in the blistering heat of August. The silence here is different; it is enclosed by massive ramparts. As you walk through the gate, the complex unfolds: the royal palace, the church, and the living quarters of the Cistercian monks who still reside here.

The church is a masterpiece of Cistercian architecture—massive, cylindrical pillars, ribbed vaults, and an apse that feels like the hull of a stone ship. But the part of Poblet that stayed with me was the cloister. I sat on a stone bench in the shade, watching a monk tend to a rose garden. He didn't speak; he just moved with a rhythmic precision, snipping dead leaves. It was the definition of contemplative work. Poblet is essential for anyone looking for top spanish monasteries for architecture and history. The contrast between the austere exterior and the delicate, restored frescoes inside is striking. It is a place that reminds you that history is written by those who endure.

3. Santuario de la Virgen del Camino: The Modern Pilgrim’s Haven

Address: Av. Virgen del Camino, 20, 24009 León, Spain.
Hours: The Sanctuary is open daily from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The adjacent museum has more restricted hours.

If you head north, toward the damp, green hills of Castile and León, you find a monastery that represents the quiet monasteries in northern spain beyond Catalonia. The Santuario de la Virgen del Camino sits just outside León. It is a modern construction, completed in the late 20th century, designed by the architect Javier de la Hoz.

This might seem counterintuitive—why visit a modern monastery? Because it captures the soul of the Camino de Santiago. I arrived here on a rainy afternoon, my boots caked in mud from walking the final kilometers of the French Way. The sanctuary is shaped like an inverted ship hull, covered in dark slate that blends with the sky.

Inside, the light is filtered through alabaster windows, creating a soft, glowing atmosphere that feels like being inside a lantern. It is a place of arrival and departure. I watched a group of pilgrims resting in the chapel, their packs stacked in a corner, their faces a mixture of exhaustion and euphoria. The monastery houses the image of the Virgin of the Way, a modern interpretation of the Black Madonna. This site is perfect for those seeking spiritual sites in spain similar to montserrat abbey but with a quieter, more contemporary soul. It is less about the "museum" feel and more about the active life of the pilgrim.

4. Monastery of Yuso and Suso: The Cradle of the Spanish Language

Address: Plaza de la Independencia, 1, 09259 San Millán de la Cogolla, La Rioja, Spain.
Hours: 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM (Winter) or 7:00 PM (Summer).

In the heart of La Rioja wine country, tucked into a valley that feels forgotten by time, are the monasteries of Yuso and Suso. Suso is the older, carved directly into the rock face, dating back to the 6th century. It is where the first written words in a language recognizable as early Spanish (Castilian) were penned in the Glosas Emilianenses.

Visiting San Millán de la Cogolla is a pilgrimage for language lovers. I took a guided tour of Yuso (the "new" monastery, built in the 16th century) and stood in the library. The guide, a woman with a fiery passion for history, opened a glass case to show us a replica of the manuscript. She spoke about how the monks here fought to keep the language alive against the dominance of Latin.

The architecture of Yuso is a riot of Moorish influence—wooden artesonado ceilings and intricate tile work that looks more like the Alhambra than a northern monastery. It is a hidden monastery in spain off the beaten path for most international tourists, but it is a UNESCO site for a reason. After the tour, I bought a bottle of local wine and sat by the river, thinking about how a quiet monk in a dark room centuries ago gave birth to the language I was currently speaking. It was a humbling, heavy thought.

5. Cartuja de Valldemossa: The Romantic Retreat

Address: Carrer de la Cartuja, 2, 07170 Valldemossa, Illes Balears, Spain.
Hours: 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM daily.

Sometimes, a monastery is defined not by the monks who lived there, but by the ghosts of those who passed through. In the mountains above Palma de Mallorca sits the Royal Carthusian Monastery of Valldemossa. This is a place of stone, lemon trees, and heavy perfume of jasmine.

Valldemossa is famous for the winter Frédéric Chopin and George Sand spent there in 1838-39. I walked through the "Cartuja" (Carthusian monastery) and saw the cell they rented. It is preserved with a strange mix of reverence and tourism. You can see Chopin’s piano and the manuscript of his Preludes.

But beyond the literary fame, Valldemossa offers a specific kind of meditation and peace. The Carthusian order demanded extreme silence and isolation. Walking the corridors where these monks lived in total solitude, you feel a palpable sense of isolation. The views from the monastery windows over the terraced hillsides are spectacularly green. It is a place for top spiritual retreats in catalonia similar to Montserrat, though Mallorca is technically the Balearic Islands, it shares that Catalan cultural heritage. It is a romantic, slightly melancholic spot that appeals to the artist in all of us.

6. Monastery of San Juan de la Peña: The Spiritual Heart of Aragon

Address: 22730 Santa Cruz de la Serós, Huesca, Spain.
Hours: 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM (Summer); 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM (Winter).

Deep in the Aragonese Pyrenees, San Juan de la Peña is a monastery that feels like it was hewn from the very soul of the mountain. The name means "Saint John of the Rock," and it is literal. The older monastery is built under a massive natural rock overhang, a geological wonder that sheltered the monks for centuries.

This is the best day trip monasteries near Barcelona like Montserrat if you are willing to drive a bit further (or take a high-speed train to Huesca and a taxi). The drive itself, winding through the valley of the Gallego River, is stunning.

Inside the rock church, the air is cool and smells of wet stone. There is a famous fresco of the "Dance of Death," a medieval reminder of mortality. But the newer monastery, built in the 17th century right next to the rock, is where you find the cloister. I sat there watching lizards skitter across the warm stones. The silence of the Pyrenees is different from the silence of the coast; it is sharp, crisp, and filled with the sound of wind in the pine trees. This is a medieval monastery in Spain with mountain views that rivals anything in the Alps. It is also the traditional burial place of the Kings of Aragon, adding a layer of royal history to the spiritual weight of the place.

7. La Rábida Monastery: The Gateway to the New World

Address: Av. de la Rábida, s/n, 21004 Huelva, Spain.
Hours: 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM and 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM (Summer); 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM (Winter).

Traveling south to the coast of Huelva, where the Tinto and Odiel rivers meet the Atlantic, you find the Monastery of La Rábida. It is a small, whitewashed fortress of Franciscan simplicity. Its significance is global. This is where Christopher Columbus sought refuge and advice before his first voyage to the Americas.

The monastery is not grand, but it is intensely evocative. The walls of the cloister are covered in tiles depicting scenes from the discovery of the Americas. I stood in the courtyard looking at the river, imagining the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria bobbing in the distance.

It is a spiritual site in Spain similar to Montserrat Abbey in that it represents a journey—a physical journey that changed the world, much like Montserrat represents a spiritual journey. The views from the monastery over the marshlands and the Atlantic Ocean are expansive and wild. It is a place of departure, of hope and fear. For the traveler interested in the intersection of history, religion, and exploration, La Rábida is non-negotiable.

The Human Element

As I write this, I recall a moment at the monastery of Poblet. I was standing near the royal tombs in the church. A caretaker was polishing the brass nameplates. He was an older man, wearing a simple work jacket. He caught my eye and nodded, then pointed to the tomb of King James I of Aragon. He whispered, "He built this. But the monks kept it." Then he went back to polishing.

That interaction captured the essence of these places. They are built by kings and conquerors, but they are kept by the quiet, persistent rhythm of daily life—the polishing of brass, the tending of roses, the chanting of psalms. They are monuments to the human need for silence and meaning.

In 2026, as the world gets louder and faster, these stone sanctuaries offer a necessary counterpoint. Whether you are looking for the top spiritual retreats in catalonia similar to Montserrat or the quiet monasteries in northern spain beyond catalonia, the peninsula is waiting. Pack your walking shoes, leave your itinerary open, and go find the silence.