The Císter Route is a tour around three beautiful monasteries, where the monks of the Císter Order were settled: Poblet, Santes Creus and Vallbona de les Monges, the last one located in the Lleida province. The route begins in the Santes Creus monastery, founded in 1150, the only one that nowadays does not have monastic life. In Santes Creus you can also visit the Vila-rodona columbarium, the grave of King Pere The Great or the Romanesque church of Pla de Santa Maria. The monastery’s ensemble was declared National Historic-Artistic Monument in 1951. The central point of the route is the monastery of Poblet, declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1991. It was one of the crucial centers of the Crown of Aragon, in which now rest the bodies of distinguished kings. Poblet was built in the same year than Santes Creus and it is home to a monastic community that maintains a strict spiritual routine and takes care of its facilities. You can visit the maundy, the town hall, the professions or the royal graves. In addition, the monastery has two complementary museums: the Palau del Rei Martí and the Restauració. If you travel from the Costa Dorada, you cannot miss the Montblanc and the Espluga de Francolí visits.
For further information about the Císter Route:
Touristic Information Office (Oficina de información turística)
Císter Route
www.larutadelcister.info
