Montserrat and Canfranc, the Francoist train station in the Pyrenees, New York Times destinations of 2025

For yet another year, The New York Times has published its prestigious “52 Places to Go” list, a selection of global destinations it considers essential for travelers.

After 20 years recommending 914 destinations in more than 145 countries, this year the list has returned to focus on Spain, highlighting two points that are a stone’s throw from Barcelona, Montserrat and Canfranc.

Canfranc: a Francoist train station on the Pyrenean border

Canfranc is one of those incomprehensible secrets. A majestic train station abandoned for years that once served as a hinge between Franco’s dictatorship and free Europe, and has now become a hotel “Hidden in the Pyrenees, the Spanish town of Canfranc is located on the border of the two most visited countries in the world, but it seems a well-kept secret,” writes journalist Michael Harmon. The U.S. newspaper also highlights the area’s opportunities for skiing, mountain biking, hiking and walking the Aragonese route of the Camino de Santiago.

The jewel of Canfranc is undoubtedly its majestic international station, a building that evokes a golden age of the railroad. Today, this historic space houses the Canfranc Estación, a Royal Hideaway Hotel, a five-star luxury hotel that transports guests to the 1920s. The hall, converted into a lobby, the Michelin-starred restaurant located in an old train carriage and its design are reminiscent of Wes Anderson’s cinematic universe. The list recalls the imminent reopening of the Zaragoza-Canfranc train line, which will allow access to the town in an even more special way.

How to get there from Barcelona?

There is no public transport to get to Canfranc (Huesca). By car it takes about three and a half hours following the A-2 and A-22. You can see the directions here.

Montserrat, the undervalued jewel of Barcelona

That said, undervalued: we have Montserrat so close that sometimes we forget the magic of having such an extravagant mountainous set (it was formed thousands of years ago with the sediments of the water that created a sea in the Ebro basin) and such a wonderful and ancient monumental complex as the monastery (it has been placed in that impossible position for more than a thousand years) is a treasure that we take little into account.

The New York Times explains that “the towering peaks of the Montserrat mountain range, an hour northwest of Barcelona, reach toward the sky like fingers inviting pilgrims from around the world” and invites you to celebrate the thousandth anniversary of the sanctuary of the Virgin of Montserrat. The celebrations include a music festival, performances by the Escolania de Montserrat children’s choir and an exhibition on the history of the monastery.

How to get there from Barcelona?