One enters the enclosure through the Door of Prades, which presents an arch of average point with great voussoirs in its outer part and a pointed arch in the interior. Above the door is a niche that houses an image of the Virgin Mary, the patron saint of the monastery, accompanied by the escutcheon of Abbot Fernando de Lerín (1531-1545), the jar decorated with lilies or lilies-symbols of purity-and the initials PO, which refer to Poblet.

In this first enclosure were located the rooms destined to farmers, workers, laymen and other members of the "family" of the monastery. During the mandate of Abbot Guimerá (1564-1583), a well, a trough and various water pipes were built, and his mandate is recorded by the imprinting of his coat of arms in stone, which shows two red bands on a gold field. In addition, the monk's porter's house, built in the time of Abbot Fernando Lerín, is still preserved and also displays his coat of arms.

After crossing an alameda, the access door to the second enclosure is reached, called the Golden Door in allusion to the bronze plated plates that covered it and that were gilded by order of Felipe II in 1564, during the Holy Week in this monastery. This door, built under the priories of the abbots Delgado and Juan Payo Coello (1480-1499), is a clear example of military architecture. On the façade are the shields of these abbots along with other larger ones with the insignia of the Crown of Aragon, Sicily and Castile, referring to the kings John II and Ferdinand the Catholic. The door must have been finished in 1493 to receive the Catholic Monarchs, who visited the monastery that same year accompanied by their children, the infant John and the infantas Juana, Isabel and Catalina, who became queens of Spain, Portugal and England, respectively.

In front of this door, the welcoming ceremony for the visiting kings of Poblet took place. Elegant kneelers were prepared and, once kneeling, the abbot invited them to kiss the Lignum Crucis. The monarchs then left in procession under a canopy, singing the Te Deum and being escorted by their retinue and the monks of the community. After entering the second enclosure through the Golden Gate, they stopped to pray in the chapel of Santa Catalina before entering the cloistered area.

Next to the Golden Gate is the Chapel of St. George, built by Alfonso V of Aragon the Magnanimous in thanksgiving for the victory in the conquest of Naples in 1442, during the mandate of Abbot Conill. Although it is known as the chapel of St. George, it is actually consecrated to the Virgin of the Rosary, St. Michael the Archangel and St. George, since it was considered that the three protected the king in the conquest. The sculptural representations of these protectors were found in the chapel's missing altarpiece. With a square floor plan, the chapel of San Jorge has a Gothic door flanked by columns ending in pinnacles. Its façade shows the royal coats of arms of Alfonso V of Aragon and Naples, next to the escutcheon of Abbot Conill, represented with a carved rabbit as a symbol of his name, all supported by two tenants, and has a star-shaped ribbed vault.

Crossing the Golden Gate leads to the second enclosure.