Cardona Castle near Barcelona
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The Cardona Castle or ‘Castell de Cardona’ is a medieval place where you can stroll around the historic walls of the Castle and feel what it was like in medieval period in Barcelona. You will see the castle has Roman and Gothic architecture along with wooden shutters from the 11th and 12th centuries. As you walk around the fortress walls you will learn about the Spanish culture and how the community around the castle formed through the years. The Castle was built in 886 by Wilfred the Hairy it has underwent renovations and expansions over the centuries.
You will find the Cardona Castle located on a hill overlooking the town of Cardona, around 90km from Barcelona city. Nearby you will also see the magnificent Salt Mountains of Cardona. Take note that these are two different locations, Cardona Castle is 2km apart from the Salt Mountains.
Below you will find the address, nearest metro stations, bus stops, opening hours, contact telephone and entrance fee to Cardona Castle.
Cardona Castle
Lloc Parador Nacional Turisme, 506
08261 Barcelona, España.
Tel: +34 93 869 2798
Entrance ticket: €8.50
How to get to Cardona Castle
By train
There are no direct trains from Barcelona to Cardona. However you can take a train from Barcelona to the nearby town of Manresa which is 30km from Cardona. There you can ride a bus from Estación de Autobuses de Manresa to Cardona.
From Barcelona ride the R4 train taking you to Manresa. There are trains departing from Barcelona to Manresa every 30 minutes approximately. The train journey is 1 hour and 15 minutes approximately.
Then outside Manresa station you will see Estación de Autobuses de Manresa, ride the ALSA bus taking you to Cardona station.
There are ALSA buses from Manresa bus station to Cardona station every hour between 07:00 and 20:00. The bus journey is between 30 minutes and 1 hour depending on the bus itinerary.
You can check the ticket prices and bus schedules on the ALSA official website here.
To check the train schedule from Barcelona Placa Espanya to Manresa - Alta, see the official website Rodalies de Catalunya. Ensure to pick an earlier train schedule so you won’t miss the bus to Cardona.
From Cardona bus stop you will have to walk 10 minutes to the castle.
By bus
You can take a bus to Cardona at Barcelona Nord station. Look for the bus company ALSA that runs 4 buses daily from Barcelona Nord to Cardona station. Bus depart every 4 hours approximately between 06:30 and 18:15
A one way journey duration is 1 hour and 45 minutes approximately.
ALSA also runs 4 buses daily from Cardona station to Barcelona Nord between 06:35 and 17:15.
If you want to spend the day in Cardona, we recommend you take the first bus that departs from Barcelona at 06:30 to arrive in Cardona at 08:16, in time for breakfast and take back the bus that departs from Cardona at 17:15
If you’re not an early bird, you should now that the next bus is departing from Barcelona at 11:00 and arriving in Cardona at 13:04, which would only leave you a 3 hours to visit Cardona.
From Cardona bus stop you will have to walk 10 minutes to the salt mountain.
You can check the ticket prices and bus schedules on the ALSA official website here.
It will be a quicker to take the bus from Barcelona to Cardona (journey time: 1 hour and 45 minutes approximately) than to take the train from Barcelona to Manresa and then a bus from Manresa to Cardona (train journey time: 1 hour and 15 minutes + wait time for the bus + bus journey time: 30 minutes to 1 hour).
However, the advantage of taking the train to Manresa and then a bus is that you have much more choice in terms of departure times from Barcelona. With the bus from Barcelona to Cardona, the only departure time suitable for a day trip is at 06:30 in the morning.
Additionally you may be interested to book a full-day guided tour from Barcelona city centre to see Cardona and the Salt Mountains. With this tour everything has been arranged for you so you don’t have to worry about how to get there and how to transfer between Cardona Castle and Cardona Salt Mountain where the Salt Mines are located. The tour includes pick-up and drop-off via comfortable private car from/to your accommodation, a professional tour guide, a visit to Cardona Salt Mines and a memorable walking tour of the medieval town of Cardona.
Cardona Castle Opening hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday - Sunday: 10:00 - 17:30
Website: Cardona Castle