OK. I have a tall order. I am looking to spend a month in Spain in a small manageable town near Barcelona. I’m interested in an area where I can do day trips to the mountains or France. I’d like to be near an airport so that people can come visit me easily. Am a recently widowed 60 year-old woman who will be on her own so that’s why I want small town. I love the water and I’m active and like to hike. I love Exploring a town and really getting to know it. I’m open to another part of Spain that meets the criteria of being a small town near a large airport with opportunities for a day trips to mountains or hiking. Looking at April 2025. so any recommendations?
Posted by
Denver, CO USA
492 posts
Mataró ?
Posted by
Barcelona + Sweden
4180 posts
Difficult one, most small towns in Spain are not located near large airports, add the need to be close to mountains or France and I don't think there are any if at all. Best to give some flexibility to your criteria, maybe you don't need to be geographically close to a large airport or France or mountains, just have good connections?
Also sometimes Americans have a different concept of what a "small town" is compared to us Europeans, how small are we talking here, 100k, 50k, 5k population? or less?
Off the top of my head I'd suggest:
Cuenca (AVE connections to Madrid or Valencia Airports/close to mountains)
Besalú (close to Girona Airport/France/mountains)
You may want to rent a car during your stay as local public transportation might not be convenient enough to make day trips in the region. Also April is kinda still off season for some of the mountain towns that rely on tourism, so may not be as lively and weather might be iffy. Good luck!
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
419 posts
I assume since you're staying for a month that you intend to rent an apartment or house. I recommend doing a wide search on AirBnB (or whatever platform you prefer) for a property that suits your needs (extra bedrooms for visitors? or a nearby hotel?), and make a "wishlist" of properties that appear to be in areas of interest. Then take a closer look at those cities/towns for rail/bus connections, availability of car and bike rental, etc. This should narrow it down. Good luck to you. Sounds fabulous.