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Barcelona Dec 2026

Posted by (Solana Beach) on

I’m planning a trip to Barcelona for the first week of December 2026. I realize that the weekend is during the celebration of Constitution Day and am planning accordingly.
I’m booking a ticket for the Basílica Sagrada Família with Guide and visit to the Towers and I have the option for the Tower on the Passion façade or the Nativity façade. Any experience with this tour or suggestions to which Tower?

Also, I’d appreciate hotel recommendations. Google tells me that Eixample area is good for first time visitors. I'm a 60ish female traveling solo with budget < $300 / night. My requirements are quiet room with a comfortable bed – I’m like the princess and the pea when it comes to sleep. I don’t eat breakfast at the hotel so, that’s not important.

I have the RS guidebook, searched “Barcelona hotels” on this forum and checked out the usual recommendations on booking.com. I’d like to read any first hand experiences that anyone is willing to offer.
Thank you very much.

Posted by
4125 posts

Hi Jules

First, I suggest that you do a search because there are so many discussions on this forum about hotels in Barcelona. Go up to the top of this page and type in Barcelona Hotels or Hotels in Barcelona. You will get a lot of results and I mean a lot.

And I suggest booking.com to do research. I also book through booking but you can book direct if you prefer.

Finally, I am attaching my discussion when I was planning a a trip to Barcelona and asked forum for recommendations about hotels.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/hotel-location-in-barcelona

I ended up staying at Hotel Continental Barcelona based on recommendations from this forum. Very happy with the hotel but it might not be what you want.

Posted by
2426 posts

I recommend Hotel gran Via in the Eixample neighborhood. Lovely hotel in a very convenient location. We walked to so many sights. Close to Placa Catalunya. An area with beautiful architecture.

Posted by
3496 posts

Just a small point about (Spanish) Constitution Day: most Catalans don’t celebrate it -for obvious reasons. For most people here, December 6 is simply a public holiday and nothing more, so as a visitor it shouldn’t affect you much beyond the usual holiday opening hours. Also, December 8 is also a public religious holiday, so quite a few locals will take advantage of the long weekend and leave Barcelona from Friday the 4th until Tuesday the 8th. That may actually make the city a bit quieter in some areas.

Posted by
1678 posts

We went up the Nativity Tower, but it was a coin toss as to which is better. All I can remember is the long spiraling descent down the stairs.

We stayed 5 nights at the H10 Boutique hotel Plaza Catalunya. Our room had a view and a balcony facing the very busy Plaza, but had soundproof windows. We were not bothered by any noise, but YMMV. The hotel breakfast looked very extravagant, but we did not try it. There is another H10 about a block away from the plaza.

Posted by
186 posts

Enric, thank you for the clarification of the potential impact of Constitution Day.

bostonphil7, I’ll check out the Hotel Continental.

Kmkwoo, ekscruchy, Hotel Granvia looks lovely, thank you!

Mary, thank you for the recommendation. I’m not opposed to chain hotels. We have enjoyed Mecure properties in Lyon, Metz and Amiens.

Funpig, Thank you for your comments on the Towers and the hotel recommendation.
I appreciate all of the kind assistance.

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