2 weeks in Barcelona

They are some Barcelona experts on this forum who will hopefully give you lots of useful information.

My one tip: Since you like Art Deco and Art Nouveau art and architecture (and assume Modernisme), don't overlook the works of Montaner. Saint Pau is about a 10 minute walk from Sagrada Familia and is well worth your time. Montaner also designed the Palace of Catalan Music, which is also spectacular.

https://www.santpaubarcelona.org/en/visits

https://www.palaumusica.cat/en

Some of Barcelona's modernista buildings are listed here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ListofModernistabuildingsin_Barcelona

The Ruta del Modernisme folks used to publish a guidebook (Barcelona-centric, though not limited to that city) and sell it along with a discount card and annotated map. The discounts at the most popular sights weren't really useful, because you had to claim them at the ticket office, which required standing in an interminable ticket line. But the discounts at the less-visited sights would have covered the cost of the book/map. However, I think the organization may have switched to an app; I don't know whether there are still discounts or whether the book is still available. It was awfully heavy to carry around with you; I didn't do that.

The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya used to have an interesting modernism collection focusing on furniture, decorative art and jewelry. I assumed it was displayed all the time, but I don't see a reference to it on the MNAC website, so I'm not sure it's on show at the moment. The MNAC, in any case, is a very good museum and worth a long visit. Another special part of its collection is a group of medieval frescoes rescued from churches in the Pyrenees.

There's also a separate modernism museum in the Eixample. It's perhaps a bit pricey given its small size, but I enjoyed it. At the time of my 2016 visit, a brief stop there was included in the modernism tour offered by the tourist office. I think you could get a good look at the entire museum in 30 to 60 minutes.

One possible day-trip for you (not mentioned in many, if any, guidebooks) is Reus. There's both rail and bus service between Barcelona and Reus. Gaudi was born in Reus. There's a Gaudi center (which I went to but don't remember at all) but no buildings designed by him, as far as I know. However, there are two lovely buildings designed by other architects whose interiors you can visit, plus many building exteriors to see. The two places I was able to go inside were the Pere Mata Institute (local bus required unless you want to take a taxi) and Casa Navas (right in the center of town). The latter permits photos only in the lobby, unfortunately, and doesn't sell a guidebook containing photos.

For non-modernista options:

Girona is a great day-trip, though there's enough there to justify spending a couple of nights. The historic core is medieval; part of the wall remains and is walkable. There are two old churches and a nice, not-huge art museum.

The Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres is fun and the ticket covers the nearby jewelry museum, which is drool-worthy. There's rail service from Barcelona. Figueres is beyond Girona (another reason to spend some nights in Girona), so if traveling from Barcelona you'd want to take the fast train, the AVE. The AVE station in Figueres is Figueres-Vilafant, which is a healthy walk from the center of town and the Dali Museum. There's a city bus that departs the station shortly after the train is due to arrive. If the train is late, the bus (in my experience) doesn't wait and you're on your own. If that happens to you, don't dawdle inside the station; head right out while there's still a possibility you'll find a taxi hanging around. Otherwise, you'll need to walk; the distance may be about a mile.

The small town of Besalu has a medieval center and a fortified bridge. I visited by bus from Girona (which is closer), but I understand there's bus service from Barcelona as well. Another option for seeing Besalu--though I don't know whether it would be available as off-season as you are thinking about traveling--is a one-day bus tour recommended by someone else on the forum. It's called something like "Medieval Catalunya"; I'm sure you can find it online.

Zaragoza is as little as 1-1/2 hours from Barcelona by AVE. In addition to an attractive historic district, it has an old Moorish palace that has been restored for use as a government building. There's a good audioguide available. The palace is roughly mid-way between the non-central train station (Zaragoza Delicias) and the historic center. I saw a lot of buses outside the train station, so I think service is pretty frequent, though I don't know about Sundays and holidays. Since you're not going to southern Spain on this trip, I think you would enjoy seeing that palace.

AVE tickets (as I have suggested for Zaragoza and Figueres, and which are also an option to Girona) can be quite expensive if bought at the last minute. You have a choice: Save quite a lot by buying them early without having a clue what the weather will be like on the day you choose, or you can wait and make a later decision when you have access to a weather forecast. Buses are usually quite a lot cheaper than AVE tickets, but of course buses are much slower over longer distances. I can't recommend the bus to Zaragoza, because it takes at least 3-1/2 hours each way.

Hi Sandy, the Christmas season in Spain is usually a very magical time, especially in Barcelona! In Spain our holiday season extends into January, with the main celebration being Dia de los Reyes Magos (three kings day) on January 6th. Know that on the night of Jan 5th most cities in Spain have a big parade of the Three Kings (Cabalgata De Los Reyes Magos), it will be a great festive experience in our local culture. There are really big Three Kings parades in Barcelona and Madrid.

Also, be sure not to miss our Christmas markets in Spain! Our Christmas market tradition is a little know part of our culture (It's not just the Germans lol). Since we mainly celebrate the Three Kings Day (Jan 6), you will find most of our Christmas Markets are still up into early Jan. My favourite Christmas market In Barcelona is by far is the Feria de Santa Lucia, a lot of good memories there. It's oldest one in Barcelona from the 1700s, it's held from November 30 to December 23, and comprises of around 100 stands. The market is set up in front of the Cathedral of Barcelona, in the Gothic Quarter, so it also has a unique setting.

The biggest draws are the nativity scenes/figures (typical across Spain) and the Tio de Nadal figures (very Catalan tradition), those happy faced Christmas logs you may have seen. Children take good care of the log, keeping it warm with a blanket and feeding it, so that on Christmas Day, it defecates small candies and presents. One actually bashes this poor log with sticks, at the accompaniment of traditional songs, so that it poops out better presents or candies. One of our many quirky Catalan traditions lol!

Another local Christmas treat is what we have is called Turron – a nougat-like sweet usually mixed in with toasted almonds or even chocolate. I would be on the look out to try some. For sure, you can find a great selection of different turrones at El Corte Ingles. If it gets a tad too cold, nothing brings back the warmth like a cup of typical Spanish Hot Chocolate, one can find many hot chocolate establishments around Barcelona. Valor Barcelona is a pretty good chain.

Regarding December weather, Barcelona has usually quite the mild and comfortable temps compared interior of Spain, due it it's proximity to the humid Mediterranean, I would say around 12-14 c is typical.

Lastly, most restaurants will be closed on Christmas Eve (24) in Spain. Christmas Eve is a very familiar time for us, spent in one's house with the family. Even in big cities, it is almost impossible to find Spanish restaurants open on Christmas Eve. Try different cuisines, for example a Chinese restaurant or a Turkish restaurant. You will have a higher probability of finding those kinds of restaurants open on the 24th. Definitely reserve a table in advance for Christmas Eve and Day as well.

This is so exactly the information I wanted. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. Sure looks like what we would like to do. Sandy

December 15 - sunrise at 8.10, sunset at 5.22. That means short days for day trips out of the city.

The train to Figueres goes through Girona but in winter you can't do both in one day. I found both worth a day trip. I did another day trip to Tarragona for the Roman ruins (meh) but the center was worth it, especially the cathedral cloisters (and the local vermut!). The train ride had a lot of seashore views, very scenic.

I also have the Modernisme (Catalan art nouveau) book that acraven mentioned. It's excellent (and heavy). I took the TI's modernisme guided tour which was excellent and opened my eyes to many small things I'd overlooked before. I'm not a fan of Gaudi, but I haven't seen anything that Domènech i Montaner designed that I didn't love.

Another good city for modernisme is Valencia, too far for a day trip but well worth 3-4 nights.

I'm not sure if Xmastime is low season. I've been once in February and twice in March when days are longer. That really is low season, both for crowds and for lodging prices.

We are considering leaving December 25, arriving in Barcelona the 26th and back to the states January 8.

A question is about crowds. Obviously the celebrations will be crowded. I was wondering about museum lines and other sites. Is it considered a high tourist season?
Sandy

It has been stated on this forum that Barcelona doesn't have a low season. The weather is comparatively mild in the winter, and people still go there. The period around Christmas is a popular time for Americans to take short trips to Europe because so many of us have holidays at that time of year.

I'd expect to have to buy tickets in advance for any of these Barcelona sights I wanted to see. They are quite capable of selling out on any given day, and if there are still capacity controls in place, it will make tickets even scarcer (though the experience of visiting will be nicer once you score a ticket).

La Sagrada Familia
Casa Mila (La Pedrera)
Casa Batllo
Picasso Museum (utterly packed when I visited in 2016)
Parc Guell (no tickets sold at the park; must buy in advance)
Palau de la Musica Catalana (maybe)

There are many other things to see in Barcelona, but those are the ones on many tourists' lists. Whether any of the other sights would be problematic with capacity controls I do not know.

During the Christmas time in Barcelona I saw more of an influx of local tourists from other parts of Catalonia or Spain, there were certainly less foreign tourists during the winter time then summer/spring, that's for sure.