Montblanc is the kind of small walled town that Catalonia does so well, and the story it tells about itself is the legend of Saint George, Sant Jordi, who is said to have killed the dragon here before rescuing the princess. Every Catalan knows the tale, and on 23 April, when people exchange roses and books, Montblanc is the place where the legend is celebrated with most conviction. Its medieval walls, with thirty-odd towers, still circle the old centre, and the town sits in the Conca de Barberà, a basin of vineyards between the coast and the hills of Prades. The Abric de la Baridana II lies eight kilometres away in the broken country of the Serra de Prades.
The shelter is one of the Catalan group of Levantine paintings, a family of rock art which UNESCO listed in 1998, and whose figures turn up in the dry mountain country that runs from the Ebro delta to the Pyrenean foothills. Its neighbours on the route, the Barranc de Sant Jaume and Esquarterades, are in the same area. The ravines that run down toward the Francolí river are steep and wooded, with holm oak, pine and juniper, and Mediterranean birds are numerous.
A short ride east brings you to Poblet, the great Cistercian monastery near Vimbodí, founded in the twelfth century and for a long time the burial place of the kings of Aragon. Its walls, cloisters and church, now a World Heritage site, are among the finest monastic buildings in Europe, and the monks who live there still welcome visitors. The road from Montblanc toward Poblet is easy and pleasant, with gentle bends through vineyards and almond orchards, and the rise toward the Prades mountains offers a more demanding ride of tighter bends and short climbs.
Montblanc has about six and a half thousand people, with fuel stations on its edges, a good number of bars and restaurants and a lively medieval quarter. Alcover, ten kilometres away, is another useful stop. Local wines from the Conca de Barberà, notably those from the trepat grape, make a fine accompaniment to a lunch of grilled meat and vegetables. The best seasons are spring and autumn, and the Prades hills can be very cold in winter.