Stand on the plaça Vella and the layers of Terrassa stack up around you: the Torre del Palau at one edge, the arcades of the old centre behind it, and the streets of the Font Vella district running off toward Modernist facades. Walk fifteen minutes in the other direction and you are at the churches of Sant Pere, where the Visigothic and Romanesque past of the old Ègara diocese still stands in stone.
Terrassa suits travellers who are already comfortable in Catalonia and want a city with a working industrial and cultural life rather than a resort. It rewards an interest in Romanesque architecture, the industrial revolution and Modernisme, and it works well as a day trip from Barcelona or as a base for the natural reserve of Sant Llorenç del Munt above the city.
This guide covers the sights in and around the centre, the museums that explain the city's textile and industrial story, and how to string the best of them together if you have only one day.
Top things to do in Terrassa
1. The churches of Sant Pere (Conjunt Monumental de les Esglésies de Sant Pere)
These three churches were built close to the site of old Ègara to serve as the seat of the Ègara Diocese, founded around 450 CE and in existence until the 8th century. The episcopal complex follows the Byzantine model of antiquity, with two churches, Sant Pere and Santa Maria, and a mausoleum, Sant Miquel, finished in Romanesque style around the 11th and 12th centuries on the site of earlier Visigothic buildings.
Santa Maria holds outstanding works of art, murals from the Romanesque to the Gothic period, an altar stone dating from the 10th century, and medieval and Romanesque tombstones, one of which documents the name of the Roman town of Egara. In the transept there are three Gothic altarpieces: Santa Maria, the old cathedral; Sant Pere; and Sant Miquel. Set aside proper time here rather than treating it as a quick stop, and read the tombstones closely, since the Egara inscription is the detail that ties the whole site back to the Roman town.
2. National Museum of Science and Industry of Catalonia (mNACTEC)
This branch of mNACTEC specialises in textiles, and its aim is to give a comprehensive overview of the history of knowledge and technology in Catalonia and the process of industrialisation. The displays begin with the Neolithic revolution and go on to power generation techniques, including waterwheels, electricity, turbine drives and solar technology.
Because the museum sits in the former Vapor Aymerich, Amat i Jover textile mill of 1907, the building itself is part of what you are looking at. It pairs naturally with the Textile Museum if you want the full picture of the city's woollen industry, and it is the logical first stop for understanding why Terrassa looks the way it does.
3. Cartoixa de Vallparadís castle (Castell Cartoixa de Vallparadís)
The castle of Vallparadís stands in the Parc de Vallparadís. Between 1344 and 1413 it served as a Carthusian monastery, and today it is a municipal museum.
Combine it with a walk through the park itself, which follows the torrent of Vallparadís where the Roman town of Egara was founded. The park is also where a prehistoric site was found in 2005 during railway tunnel construction, with stone tools and fossils of hunted animals dating back 800,000 to 1,000,000 years.
4. Textile Museum (Centre de Documentació i Museu Tèxtil)
The Textile Museum holds an extensive collection of over 20,000 representative pieces of textile history from around the world, presented through temporary monographic exhibitions. These run for ten to twelve months in the Modernisme area on the first floor, and for two to three years on the second floor.
Check what is showing before you go, since the displays rotate rather than staying fixed. It is on carrer Salmerón, and it makes most sense as a companion to mNACTEC rather than on its own.
5. Casa Alegre de Sagrera
This Modernist house on carrer de la Font Vella dates from 1911 and is now a house museum. It is one of the notable Modernista buildings that came out of the city's importance during the 19th-century industrial revolution, when Terrassa specialised in woollen fabrics.
It sits in the Font Vella area, so pair it with a walk through the surrounding streets of the old centre rather than visiting it in isolation.
6. Tower of the Palau (Torre del Palau)
On plaça Vella, this tower is the only vestige of the castle-palace of the count-kings of Catalonia in Terrassa. It is a quick stop but an important one, since it anchors the medieval story of the city in the square where you will likely begin your visit.
You can see it as part of the same wander as the Centre d'interpretació de la vila medieval de Terrassa, which explains the medieval town around it.
7. Convent of Sant Francesc
The Convent of Sant Francesc has a cloister decorated with polychromed ceramics dating from 1671 to 1673. The ceramic work is the reason to come, and it is a quieter stop than the main museums.
It fits neatly into a walk around the centre, and works well as a contrast to the Modernist and industrial sights elsewhere in the city.
8. Centre d'interpretació de la vila medieval de Terrassa
This interpretation centre explains the medieval town of Terrassa. It is the natural companion to the Tower of the Palau on plaça Vella, giving context to the surviving fragment of the castle-palace and to the medieval street pattern around it.
Visit it before or after the tower rather than separately, since the two together tell one story.
9. Parc de Vallparadís
The park follows the torrent of Vallparadís, the watercourse alongside which the Roman town of Egara was founded during the time of the emperor Vespasian. It is an urban park today, and it is where the prehistoric remains were found in 2005.
Use it as the connective tissue of a day in Terrassa: the Cartoixa de Vallparadís castle sits within it, and it gives you a green route between sights rather than a series of separate stops.
If you only have one day
Morning. Start on plaça Vella with the Tower of the Palau and the Centre d'interpretació de la vila medieval de Terrassa, then walk to the churches of Sant Pere and give the complex the bulk of your morning. The three churches, the murals, the altar stone and the tombstones reward slow looking.
Afternoon. Head to the National Museum of Science and Industry of Catalonia for the textile and industrial story, then continue to the Textile Museum if exhibitions are running. If you would rather stay outdoors, take the Parc de Vallparadís instead and visit the Cartoixa de Vallparadís castle within it.
Evening. Return to the centre via carrer de la Font Vella for Casa Alegre de Sagrera, and finish around plaça Vella. If time allows, the Convent of Sant Francesc and its polychromed ceramic cloister make a calm last stop.
Frequently asked questions
What is Terrassa known for?
Terrassa is known for its industrial past and present, its lively cultural scene, its industrial modernist architecture, and its status as a City of Film. It is also the site of Roman Egara, a former Visigothic bishopric.
How do I get to Terrassa from Barcelona?
Terrassa lies 20 kilometres from Barcelona and 18 kilometres from Montserrat, in the Catalan Prelitoral depression at the feet of the Prelitoral mountain range. Its position as the most inland city in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region is why it is sometimes called the entrance to Central Catalonia.
Which sights are close enough to combine?
The Tower of the Palau and the Centre d'interpretació de la vila medieval de Terrassa are both on plaça Vella. The Cartoixa de Vallparadís castle sits in the Parc de Vallparadís, and Casa Alegre de Sagrera is on carrer de la Font Vella. The National Museum of Science and Industry of Catalonia and the Textile Museum work well as a pair.
Is Terrassa worth visiting for its architecture?
Yes. The city has a major Modernista legacy from its 19th-century importance in woollen fabrics, including Casa Alegre de Sagrera, and it is a partner city of the Art nouveau network. The churches of Sant Pere add a Romanesque and Visigothic layer on the same visit.
Decide which of these you want most, check the current exhibitions at the Textile Museum and mNACTEC, and you have enough to plan the trip.