# Inland Catalonia: Montserrat to the Garrotxa volcanoes

> 4-day road trip of about 262 km (163 mi) with 9 stops, from Barcelona to Girona. About 3 h 37 min of driving in total.

Source: https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b3-catalonia-volcanoes/

**At a glance:** 4-day road trip of about 262 km (163 mi) with 9 stops, from Barcelona to Girona. About 3 h 37 min of driving in total. Montserrat’s monastery, a mountain of salt, the market square of Vic and a landscape of extinct volcanoes and basalt cliffs.

| | |
|---|---|
| Distance | 262 km (163 mi) |
| Driving | 3 h 37 min |
| Suggested days | 4 |
| Stops | 9 |
| Route | Barcelona → Girona |
| Countries | Spain |
| Updated | August 17, 2026 |

## Route description

Leave Barcelona on the A-2 and turn off to Montserrat, the jagged mountain with a Benedictine monastery and its Black Madonna. The road up is busy and parking is paid; the alternative is to leave the car at Monistrol and take the rack railway. Walk up to Sant Jeroni or the hermitages for the best views.

Continue north to Cardona, where a castle on one hill faces a mountain of salt on the other; guided tours take you into the old mine galleries. The C-25 then runs east across the Catalan interior to Vic, whose arcaded Plaça Major fills with a big market on Tuesday and Saturday mornings; try the local fuet sausage.

From Vic the C-37 tunnels through to Olot, the centre of the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone, with some forty extinct cones covered in beech and oak. Walk into the crater of Santa Margarida, with its tiny chapel, and the beech wood of La Fageda d’en Jordà nearby, then see Castellfollit de la Roca perched on its basalt cliff.

End via Besalú, a medieval town entered over a fortified bridge, and the C-66 to Girona. Spring and autumn are best, when the woods are green or turning; the Garrotxa is also cooler than the coast in summer. Montserrat at weekends is very crowded, so go on a weekday morning.

## Stop-by-stop itinerary

1. **Barcelona** (Spain)
2. **Montserrat** (Monistrol de Montserrat, Spain): A saw-toothed mountain of pink conglomerate with a Benedictine monastery and its Black Madonna. Arrive early, or leave the car below and take the rack railway or cable car; paths lead higher to the hermitages.
3. **Cardona** (Spain)
4. **Vic** (Spain)
5. **Olot** (Spain)
6. **Santa Margarida volcano** (Olot, Spain): An extinct, wooded crater in the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone with a small Romanesque chapel on the meadow at its bottom. It is an easy walk from the car parks near Santa Pau.
7. **Castellfollit de la Roca** (Castellfollit de la Roca, Spain): A village strung along the top of a basalt cliff about 50 metres high, formed by two lava flows. The classic photo is from the old road bridge and riverside below.
8. **Besalú** (Spain)
9. **Girona** (Spain)