Hi, we will be in Barcelona the end of November. I am curious about the weather that time of year and the museums, shops and restaurants being open. We will be there on a Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Monday we have a tour to Montserrat so we are covered then. Not sure about Saturday and Sunday though.
Thanks!
Barcelona is a huge city. Things will not close in November, though some may not be open quite as late as they are in mid-summer. As a major tourist destination, Barcelona has a great many sights that are open seven days a week, so you should not have any problem filling your time.
If I had only three days in Barcelona, I would not spend one of them at Montserrat, but perhaps you are not particularly interested in the city's modernista architecture.
Is Saturday the day you arrive in Europe after an overnight flight from the US/Canada? If so, you may find that you can't accomplish much that day except walking around outdoors, trying to stay awake. That's the way it is for me, anyway.
Thanks for the input! I am a little worried about being tired Saturday. I was thinking we would do a short walking tour, siesta then hit the Gothic Quarter that night.
We may have to reconsider Montserrat :)
We'll be there in November too, on a Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. From my research, it seems the temperatures are between 40's-50's, and sunrise at 08, sunset at 6pm( which doesn't give us a lot of daylight hrs for sightseeing)
The one place that is closed on a Sunday is the Boqueria(the market).
Go to Montserrat if that is what you know you want to see. There is no right or wrong place to go on your time.
I would not worry about being tired either.
I see more encouraging weather averages for late November, though it's true that historical stats do not guarantee the future. Looking at the average-temperature table on the city's Wikipedia page, I'd expect the average high to be in the low 60s and the average low to be in the low 50s. It could well be down in the 40s on some nights. It's a bit worrisome that all those Wikipedia weather charts seem to cut off in 2010, and weather seems to be a lot more volatile now.
Montserrat is likely to be chillier than the city (maybe windier??), and it takes quite some time to get there. It's a trade-off between doing that and spending the time seeing places in the city that are easier to get to.
However, many of the top city sights pretty much require advance purchase of tickets, because you do not have time to stand in line. That applies to La Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, the Picasso Museum, Casa Batllo, Casa Mila and the Palau de la Musica Catalana. I am not saying those would be my top picks, much less that you have time to see all of them, just that you need to investigate the ticketing situation if any of them interest you.
Lots of great info, thanks!
