Sant Sadurní d’Anoia (or Cavalandia, as we dubbed it on our last trip there) is a beautiful little town less than an hour by train from Barcelona. It’s full of wineries where they produce cava, the delicious Spanish sparkling wine made using the champagne method.
Sant Sadurní d’Anoia is one of our favorite Barcelona day trips because:
- It’s so easy to get to (no DD’s necessary) and involves a day of walking from winery to winery to restaurant to winery
- It’s very affordable (full disclosure: my palate is not refined enough to appreciate expensive champagne, and I am very happy with a 5-euro bottle of cava brut nature)
- It’s a lot of fun with a group, especially folks visiting from out of town
I recommend calling or emailing wineries a few days in advance to reserve places if you want to take a tour. Or go for the DIY approach and take over a winery’s garden for a barbecue. More details on both methods below.
How to Get to Sant Sadurní d’Anoia by Train
Take the RENFE suburban train (Rodalies) R4 toward Sant Vicenç de Calders. It stops in Barcelona Sants, Barcelona Plaça Catalunya, Barcelona La Sagrera-Meridiana and Barcelona Arc de Triomf, and you can buy tickets from the machines in the station (less than 9 euros round trip). The train goes directly to Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, no transfers, and the journey is about 45 minutes.
There are two trains an hour – but the times listed on the website and the real times trains actually arrive are often a few minutes off in either direction. Just to keep you on your toes. So arrive early to be safe.
You can also buy the Freixetren ticket from the machines at the station, which includes a round-trip train ticket and a tour of the Freixenet winery for 11 euros. If you’re interested in doing this, you still have to reserve a time for the tour on the Freixenet website.
Wineries to Visit in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia
Freixenet and Codorníu are the biggest wineries in the area, and they have a larger international footprint than some of the smaller cellars. Both have good English tours, though you don’t get the personalized experience you have at a smaller producer. Freixenet is definitely the easiest to reach; it’s right next to the train station. Codorníu is a gorgeous property with cool modernist architecture – but it’s not within walking distance, so you’ll have to spring for a cab ride (there are usually taxis in front of the station).
The other wineries that we’ve visited have all been stellar and within a 15-minute walk of the train station:
Gramona: Make a reservation for the historic cellar (they also have a newer facility in a different location). The staff is very nice and the tastings are excellent. (We’ve only done this tour in Spanish, and I’m not sure if they offer other languages.)
Solà Raventós: I love, love, love this place. It’s a one-man operation, and the proprietor is so nice and generous with his time (and cava) – showing you the caves, explaining each step of the process and letting you taste a wide selection of cava. We’ve visited twice and will go back again. (Tours in Spanish and Catalan.)
This weekend in the land of cava. More specifically, Solà Raventós.
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Recaredo: We had such a good experience here. We took Brian’s parents when they came to visit, and our guide took tons of time to show us around and let us enjoy a few glasses. (We did this tour in English.)
Where to Eat
Ticus is in the town center, and it has a great menu del día that never disappoints (plus lots of local cavas and wines to try).
DIY BBQ at Cava Jaume Giró i Giró
Cava Giró i Giró is a 12-minute walk from the train station, and it has a big shaded garden surrounded by long wooden tables and barbecues.
Beautiful Sunday for drinking cava and BBQing
A photo posted by travelingtotaste (@travelingtotaste) on
If you call a few days in advance (or perhaps even the day before; they were very patient with the million changes we made to our reservation – and we came with a group of nearly 20), you can reserve space to relax and grill for the day… all while drinking the winery’s chilled cava on demand. The winery provides glasses and wood for the barbecues, but you have to bring everything else you need to cook and eat.
Cava BBQ in the cava region ??????
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It’s one of the best ways to spend a sunny day – and you’ll leave with bellies full of cava and food for around 10 euros a person.
Open every day, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
2.50 euros per person for the space
6.40 euros per bottle of brut nature reserva cava (and a glass each to use)
A photo posted by travelingtotaste (@travelingtotaste) on
We also saw that the winery across from Cava Giró i Giró – Cava Blancher – has a similar barbecue setup, with interior and exterior tables available on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Guess it’s almost time for another trip out to Cavalandia…
What a beautiful setting! One day we’ll make the trip to visit you, and we can do this awesome itinerary together.
I would LOVE to make this happen sooner rather than later!
Your article didn’t mention if/how you may take a train from Barcelona’s Franca station, is that possible? We’ll be staying right by that station and it’s not clear if that’s an viable option.
Hey Matt, unfortunately the R4 train line doesn’t go through Franca; here’s a map of the stops: http://www.renfe.com/viajeros/cercanias/planos/barcelona.html But Arc de Triomf is pretty close to where you’ll be staying (it’s a 15-minute walk straight through Parc de la Ciutadella from Franca). Hope that helps!
I’m so happy I found your post! We’re going to Barca in 2 weeks for 8 days so we definitely have time for tastings. Question – any issues with bringing a 2 year old? We live near Napa now and wineries are very inviting of children. Just wondering if that’s the same in Spain? I mean who needs to drink more than the parents of a toddler?
I’m so glad you found the post helpful! It’s an excellent and easy day trip. Yes, wineries tend to be very welcoming of children here – you can check when you call/email to make a reservation, but I don’t think you’ll have any problems. I’m from Sonoma originally, and I have lots of love for your hometown as well. Have a great trip!
Gillian,
I just stumbled upon your post — so helpful!
Not sure if you’ll see this comment, but I am wondering about the hours of most places (cava producers and restaurants) in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia. I’ve read a few other things that suggest the town shuts down by 2pm. Is this true?
We’ll be there in late September. Thank you!
So glad you found the post helpful, Mark! Usually when we go out to Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, we end up scheduling a cava tour/tasting at a winery in the morning, then we go have lunch (generally in the 1 to 3 window is best), then we schedule another cava visit in the afternoon if we feel like it (often).
I recommend contacting wineries first and seeing what their availability is; they’ll likely suggest a morning or afternoon time that’s not within that lunch window (since many non-restaurant businesses will close until 4 or 5 in general here). But with advance planning, we haven’t had any problems making arrangements after 2 p.m.
Let me know how it goes. Hope you enjoy your visit here!
Love this post!
My friends and I are planning to go this week on Thursday. What are good recommendations for English speaking groups? How many vineyards do you recommend going to?
The two biggest wineries, Freixenet and Codorníu, have good English tours that are offered frequently (though Codorníu isn’t within walking distance of the train station, so you’ll have to take a taxi). Recaredo is one of our favorites; excellent English-speaking guides (call or email in advance to reserve a time), very personalized experience, great biodynamic cavas.
We often do two wineries in a day, with lunch in between. If you time them right, you could do three or more. Hope you have a good trip!
Thank you!
We booked two tours – @ freixenet and Recaredo
Just out of curiousity – what is the landscape like? Is it scenic around the area?
Great! The Penedès region is very pretty – lots of vineyards and small towns. I hope you have a good trip; let me know how it goes!
Thank you! And sorry to keep bothering you, but if we wanted to see codorniu – can a group of about 10-12 people just head over to drink and enjoy the scenery? Or do we need to make a tour reservation?
You’re the best!
Happy to help! Codorníu has a cava bar, so I imagine you can just pop in there for a drink without taking a tour: http://www.visitascodorniu.com/cava-bar-codorniu-3/ But I would call to confirm. It is a beautiful winery!
Hi Gill! So funny, I was just searching for a route to Sant S’adurni for a friend who wants to do Cava tasting and found your blog article on google. Damn girl you ranked #1 on my search – awesome SEA and super helpful article :)!
How funny! That’s awesome, so glad to hear that you found it via search – thanks for letting me know. I hope the cava tasting goes well. We still need to get out there all together for some more cava fun 🙂
Great post and so helpful! My husband and I are honeymooning in Barcelona in May and spending a day cava tasting (yay!) We’re staying near the Gothic Quarter and I was wondering if you had any tips on our closest train station? I know Sants has the R4 but I didn’t know if any others did. You’re awesome!
Congratulations! What a great way to spend your honeymoon. If you’re staying in the Gothic Quarter, you aren’t far by foot from Catalunya or Arc de Triomf stations. Catalunya is probably more convenient, and it’s one stop closer in the right direction. I think the easiest way to get to the Rodalies area is to enter at the northeast corner – Ronda de Sant Pere/Plaça de Catalunya, across from the Apple store and near El Corte Ingles.
Hope you have a lovely time. Let me know where you end up going, and thanks for your sweet comment!
Hi, thanks so much for all of your tips. Super helpful. 6 friends and I are going there next week and I was wondering if you think it’s easy enough to get cabs from one vineyard to the next for those that aren’t walkable?
Hello, I was planning a visit on 12 Oct which is a national holiday. Do you know if the trains will operate on a regular Saturday schedule? And will all the wineries also be operating with regular Saturday hours? Thank you for all the useful information here.
Hi Kirk, I’d definitely recommend contacting the wineries in advance because their schedules may change (without being noted online) due to the holiday. The Rodalies schedule is usually correct online when you search by day – so if there’s a holiday or strike, for example, the schedule should reflect that. But if you aren’t sure, you can always double-check times the day of/ day before by going to a train station and asking a person at the ticket window. Hope this helps and you have a good trip to cava country!
Hi, great tips! Do you have a recommended tour guide driver for wineries in this area that would pick up in Barcelona? We are going at the end of the month (yay!)
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