Maybe it’s my New Zealand heritage and our dearth of palaces and stately homes, but I always love visiting castles in Europe. I like to wander their walls, imagining the changing countryside they would have looked upon, or stroll their corridors and muse on the intrigues and family feuds that would have been housed inside. For many, their position on a hill-top or cliff is the best thing about them, providing panoramas over their surroundings. This is definitely the case with Castell de Montjuïc which has relatively little inside its walls, but provides stunning views over Barcelona.
You can walk up through the park to the castle, but given the heat of our early-September weekend, we opted to take the Telefèric cable-car up to the top. We did have a bit of a confused wander to find the station, but if you point yourself to the corner of Avenue Miramar and Carrer dels Tarongers you’ll be fine!
Admiring the views over the city
Rather than being your standard royal family mansion, Castell de Montjuïc was built in 1640 as a military fortress. It played a key role in the War of the Spanish Succession in the early eighteenth century, and was occupied by Napoleon’s French troops in 1808. The castle later served as a prison for anarchists and other military prisoners, until it was given to the city in 1960. This martial history is one reason why the interiors of the castle are now comparatively bare, with hulking walls, cannons and little else.
I was fascinated by the little details of the castle, from the beautiful gardens that now grow there, to the little doors, turrets and curving paths of its walls.
Even though they were hazy, the views across Barcelona were still fantastic – you may even be able to make out Sagrada Familia towards the left of the above photo.
Archery anyone?
Looking over the port towards Barceloneta
As you can tell, although it was the height of summer there were very few tourists visiting the castle – they were all crowding La Rambla or queuing for Sagrada Familia below us. Strolling around without the throngs was a welcome relief!
These stalls included a natural fruit ice-block stand that was one of the best I’ve tasted – for more on the food I tried and recommend in Barcelona, click here!
Information on the Telefèric to Montjuïc
Information on the Castell de Montjuïc
Where are the best city panoramas you’ve seen? Was it easy to get to?
