From Cadaqués you drive up to Sant Pere de Rodes via El Port de la Selva: the monastery road is taken at the La Selva de Mar crossroads. It opens Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 17:30 from October to April and until 19:00 from May to September; Sundays and public holidays, 10:00 to 15:00. During the works, general admission costs 5 euros.
From Cadaqués, you reach Sant Pere de Rodes by car via El Port de la Selva, or on foot along the GR-11 from that same village. The monastery opens Tuesday to Sunday, closes on Mondays that are not public holidays and, while restoration work is under way, general admission costs 5 euros. The rest —seasonal hours, free days, where to leave the car and what to see at the top— follows below, checked in October 2026.
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Opening hours, checked in October 2026
According to the Generalitat's heritage website, from Tuesday to Saturday it opens 10:00 to 17:30 from 1 October to 30 April, and 10:00 to 19:00 from 1 May to 30 September. On Sundays and public holidays, 10:00 to 15:00 all year round. The ticket office and entrance close 30 minutes earlier.
It is closed on Mondays that are not public holidays, on 25 and 26 December and on 1 and 6 January. Easter week is different: Friday to Sunday, 10:00 to 19:00, and Monday 10:00 to 15:00.
How much a ticket costs
The same website warns that, because of restoration and improvement work on the site, general admission costs 5 euros. Its price table still shows the standard rates: 7 euros general and 5 reduced, which applies to people over 65, pensioners, Carnet Jove holders, students with an international card and large or single-parent families. Tickets can be bought online.
Free entry applies to, among others, under-16s, unemployed people, accredited teachers and people with a disability certificate plus one companion. It is free for everyone on the last Tuesday of every month, on 18 April, on 11 September and on the three days of the European Heritage Days. Note: another page on the same website limits the free Tuesday to the months from October to June.
Inside there is a bar restaurant, which you can only enter with a ticket to the monument; it opens Fridays, weekends and public holidays from 12:30 to 16:00. Pets are not allowed and the website warns that the facilities are not adapted for people with reduced mobility.
Driving up from Cadaqués
The monastery lies in the municipality of El Port de la Selva, in the Verdera range, at around 520 metres. El Port de la Selva town council explains that you can get there by car or on foot, and that the local road up to the monastery is taken at the La Selva de Mar crossroads. From Cadaqués, then, you head towards El Port de la Selva and turn off at that junction. Distance and approximate time are already in the guide to day trips from Cadaqués.
There are two car parks at the top, according to the monument's own itineraries leaflet: one at the start of the footpath to the monastery, from where steps climb to the ruins of Santa Creu, and the large Pallera car park, five minutes' easy walk from Santa Creu, with a grove of trees beside it.
On foot: the GR-11 from El Port de la Selva
The official route starts at the Els Horts car park, next to the Ribera beach in El Port de la Selva. It heads to La Selva de Mar along the camí dels Dijous, also known as the Gatiens path, between abandoned terraces and dry-stone walls; it crosses the village, leaves the church of Sant Sebastià behind and climbs the range to the monastery. The council gives it as 10.9 kilometres there and back, about 4 h 15 min and 590 metres of climb, graded demanding.
There is a shorter version for anyone who drives to La Selva de Mar: the monument's leaflet describes a path from the coll del Bosc, next to the monastery, down to that village, taking an hour going down and an hour and a half coming up. The Cap de Creus Natural Park map also lists a circular walk through the Vall de Santa Creu of 6.6 kilometres, about 2 h 30 min, graded moderate.
What is up there besides the church
The first written record of the monastery dates from 878, when it was a small monks' cell, and by 945 it was a Benedictine abbey, according to El Port de la Selva town council. The church, built between the 10th and 11th centuries to receive pilgrims, stands out for its height, its pillars with paired columns and the almost lost doorway by the Master of Cabestany. In 1088 Pope Urban II authorised a jubilee here in every year when 3 May fell on a Friday, and pilgrims multiplied.
Next to it is the font dels Monjos, with an inscription from 1588 promising that whoever drinks its water will return. Further down lie the ruins of Santa Creu, a village that reached about 250 inhabitants and was abandoned in the mid-16th century, with its church of Santa Helena. And above, about 25 minutes up a steep path, is the castle of Sant Salvador de Verdera, much of its wall from a rebuilding in 1283, with views over the whole Empordà plain. The leaflet asks for great care near the cliffs on windy days.
Checked
Opening hours, prices, free days, restaurant and accessibility: the Sant Pere de Rodes monumental complex page on the Generalitat's Patrimoni Cultural website, consulted on 16 October 2026. Road access, altitude and the dates 878 and 945: El Port de la Selva town council's tourism website. GR-11 route: the same council website. Car parks, short paths, jubilee, fountain, Santa Creu and castle: the leaflet on itineraries around the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes, linked from the official website. Vall de Santa Creu walk: Cap de Creus Natural Park map, June 2025.
Quick questions
How much is a ticket to Sant Pere de Rodes?
During the restoration work, general admission costs 5 euros; the standard published rate is 7 euros. Under-16s go in free.
Which days is Sant Pere de Rodes free?
The last Tuesday of every month, 18 April, 11 September and the European Heritage Days.
Can you walk up from El Port de la Selva?
Yes, on the GR-11 via La Selva de Mar: 10.9 kilometres there and back, about 4 h 15 min, graded demanding.