Barcelona

Last year we were in Barcelona in early May and it seemed like a good time. Popular places like Segrada Familia were still crowded. But it seems like the shoulder seasons - May and September would be better. My daughter used to live in Seville and she said that the locals left in the summer months because it was too hot, leaving only tourists and people working in the tourism industry. I would avoid the summer months if possible.

May to mid October is busy all the time.
December to mid March is winter and a little cool (but not for some).
Mid March til end of April, and mid October til end of November get my vote if you want to avoid crowds.
Always check for big fairs and conferences.

I've been twice, once in February then in March - low season, lower hotel rates, many fewer tourists, mild weather - wonderful. Look around for interesting festivals in or near Barcelona. For instance there's a unique festival in Valencia in mid-March.

If you are tied to summer, I doubt there's any difference between July and August.

We visited in early March a few years ago, and it was perfect. Weather was pleasant (maybe we were just lucky), crowds were not bad. BUT (huge important word) make sure you don't plan a trip for when the World Congress (tech of some sort) is scheduled, as it is my understanding it takes place in Barcelona every March. We arrived just as that convention was ending.

Enric hopefully sees this post and can give you the exact schedule, as he seems to be the local expert on Barcelona on this forum.

La Sagrada Familia was very busy (long lines), but we booked the first-in slot and were glad we did. The Gaudi sights were all brisk, but we were told that lines were 10 to 20 times longer during the more typical vacation times.

Barcelona seems to be very popular year-round, but you can definitely time it for a less-crowded period (but it will still be brisk).

If you must visit in high season be sure to pre-book your tickets to the top sights. The city will be crowded but at least you can help avoid some of the long waits by planning. Also book hotels sooner than later - they fill up. Avoid the days of the week that cruise ships arrive/depart - Barcelona is a busy cruise embarkation port so the city is even more crowded and hotels are busier the day before & of the ship docks.

To mention that for many years there haven't been any high or low seasons anymore in Barcelona -in the traditional sense that is. This city, much like some other big cities that are also important tourist destinations, receives visitors (tourists, business, etc) all year round. The city has 2 million residents (5 in the metropolitan area), and nearly 14 million people visited last year.

While indeed there's an important increase of visitors during the months of Jun-Sep, these days, what really governs the influx of external visitors to Barcelona are the events held during the year, be congresses, festivals, concerts, sports, exhibitions, etc. When big events -or the sum of several regular overlapping events, which is very common- take place, the hotels can quickly get fully booked regardless what time of the year it is and despite having a large offer of hotels (+400 just in Barcelona). A good example of this is February (winter!), when several international congresses are celebrated, among which the famous Mobile World Congress. The last two weeks of this month see a high demand for hotels, availability slumps and prices skyrocket. But there are other examples: Festes de Gràcia, Festes de la Mercè, a bunch of medical congresses, NYE, pop concerts, sports championships, etc. Cruise ships, which depart/arrive in the city along all seasons of the year, also make an important chunk of those visiting (3.7 million pax in 2015, incl. cruises and ferries).

Also to mention that, albeit it might seem otherwise, a large percentage of business visitors, especially foreign ones, do visit the city as any regular tourist at one point or another of his/her stay, so demand in the major attractions is also affected by these type of visitors.

This is all to say that when planning to visit Barcelona, it's always a good idea to Google around and see what's going on in the city on those dates. Sadly, there are far too many sources of different sorts for these events, so there's not one single website to check.

I would also add that some of those events, especially those related to our heritage, customes and traditions here in Catalonia -such as La Mercè above mentioned- are an excellent opportunity to get more out of your visit, in fact, these become the highlight of the trip for many visitors. Thus, I suggest you adapt around them -if you can (and want to, of course!). Yes, it'll be busier but the outcome is well worth it.

Thank you for all your adive! Barcelona today seems to always be busy. I did get hotel based on your referrals and will also plan out and pre purchase tickets - usually never do tours, but with such a short visit - 5 nights - will do this time to help though not alleviate the long lines. Thanks again.
diane diehl

I have been visiting BCN for the past one week. I bought tickets to all major attractions ahead of time and I didn't have to deal with huge crowds at all. The weather too has been quite good - mid 80s and not too much of humidity. Today we went to the Montjuic parks and it was a fantastic day!