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Barcelona in late December

Posted by (Atlanta, GA) on

My family of 4 will be in Barcelona for the last six days in December. This is our first time in Spain. We’re planning to hit all the tourist attractions: Sagrada Familia, La Rambla, La Boqueria, Park Guell, etc. We’re also hoping to train to Madrid for a day trip, maybe two days.

  1. Any other must do attractions in Barcelona during late December?
  2. Will it be crowded? Should I make reservations?
  3. Is going to Madrid for a day feasible/advisable? Maybe we will extend it to 2 days.
  4. For my mobile phone service, I’m planning to use an eSIM from Airalo. It seems simple enough. Does anyone have experience with it? All I need is data to use apps. I won’t need SMS or phone call service.
  5. I purchased a power converter/adapter for all our devices. Hoping that all works.

Any other suggestions are welcome.

Posted by
5802 posts

Though it is a fast train, instead of heading all the way to Madrid, which you are very likely to fly into on future trips to Spain, I would look at options for closer day trips, like Girona, Zaragoza, etc.
I would make reservations for anything that takes them that is important to you--I would assume this to be a somewhat busy time.

Posted by
986 posts

Absolutely definitely make reservations for La Sagrada Familia.

I’d go somewhere closer for a day trip. I know Madrid well - I have family there - but it’s not my favourite Spanish city by a long margin. At nearly three hours each way I think it’s too far for a day trip. Given how short a time you have available I’d stay in Barcelona and maybe day trip to Girona.

Posted by
574 posts

I just got back from my third trip to Barcelona a week ago. It was fairly crowded and I would definitely make reservations for Sagrada Familia & Park Guell asap.

I would not go to Madrid for a day trip. I actually like Madrid and especially like the day trip options from Madrid (Toledo & Segovia). If you decide to go to Madrid, I would go for two days but honestly, there is enough to keep you busy in Barcelona for six days. If you are looking for a day trip from Barcelona, you might consider Figueres. Montserrat is also an amazing day trip but will probably be quite cold in late December.

For something a little different, my husband and I went to the Maritime Museum in Barcelona last week and really enjoyed it. There is a full sized replica of a Spanish Galley ship there that was very detailed and like nothing we had ever seen before. The museum is located very close to the Christopher Columbus statue at the end of Las Ramblas.

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