{"id":2211,"date":"2017-01-13T10:28:49","date_gmt":"2017-01-13T10:28:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bonplan_en.anakena.info\/?p=2211"},"modified":"2020-03-23T16:23:26","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T15:23:26","slug":"christmas-new-year-parties-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/christmas-new-year-parties-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas and New Years in Barcelona: our advice for the holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Barcelona is always a great holiday destination, even during the end of year holidays! If you&#8217;ve planned to come and stay at the end of December-beginning of January, here is everything you need to know.<\/p>\n<h2>Preparing for your end of year trip to Barcelona<\/h2>\n<h3>Book your plain, train or coach ticket<\/h3>\n<p>\nThe end of year holidays are low season in Barcelona. However we advise you to book your plane, train or coach ticket as early as possible as the prices always go up during school holiday time.<\/p>\n<p>Find all our advice and top tips for planes in the following article:\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"R&eacute;server un vol &agrave; destination de Barcelone\" href=\"\/book-a-flight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Book a flight to Barcelona<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\nPlanning to travel by car? Our tips for parking in cheap car parks are found <a title=\"Parkings pas chers &agrave; Barcelone o&ugrave; se garer sans gal&eacute;rer &agrave; prix cass&eacute;s\" href=\"\/cheap-parking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<h3>Book a cosy hotel<\/h3>\n<p>\nYour choice of hotel will be particularly important at this time of year, as it will be your little cocoon to return to and warm up after a day outside. Here are some places we recommend for the end of year holidays:<\/p>\n<p><strong>A friendly Bed &amp; Breakfast<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Bed &amp; Breakfast model is without a doubt very friendly and particularly adapted to the cold season. You will be welcomed by your host, who can tell you about their relationship to the city, and give you all their own top tips.<\/p>\n<p>We love&nbsp;<a title=\"Bed &amp; Breakfast La Casa Gran: ambiance familiale et d&eacute;co artistique\" href=\"\/casa-gracia-youth-hostel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">La Casa Gran<\/a>, opened by a Catalan fan of art and architecture.<\/p>\n<p>Also <a title=\"\" href=\"\/vrabac-bed-breakfast\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"broken_link\">Vrabac<\/a>, located just by the Ramblas in the Gothic district is absolutely magnificent. Although the welcome here can be a little less friendly, as it is more like a hotel, it is still a favourite for us!<\/p>\n<p><strong>A hotel at the last minute<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.awin1.com\/cread.php?awinmid=6989&amp;awinaffid=294845&amp;clickref=&amp;p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lastminute.com%2F\" class=\"broken_link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Booking a room at the last minute<\/a> can also be a good plan, as hotels lower the prices to fill the empty rooms.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cta5bec0e67dd963\" class=\"cta-banner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.awin1.com\/cread.php?awinmid=6989&amp;awinaffid=294845&amp;clickref=&amp;p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lastminute.com%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" class=\"cta-banner__link broken_link\"><span class=\"cta-banner__content\">  Book your room at the last minute  <\/span><span class=\"cta-banner__button\">Click here<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<p><strong>An elegant and welcoming hotel<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For even more refinement, book a stay at the&nbsp;<a title=\"H&ocirc;tel Ofelias: un charmant palais des glaces &agrave; Barcelone\" href=\"\/ofelias-hotel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hotel Ofelias<\/a>, a superb 4-star.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A family apartment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re bringing the family, an apartment where everyone can stay is the cheapest and friendliest solution. <span class=\"s1\">We recommend you <a href=\"\/renting-apartment-short-trip\/\">the real estate agency we describe in this article<\/a>.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<h3>Packing for Christmas in Barcelona<\/h3>\n<p>\nOnce you have booked your travel and accommodation, you might well wonder what you should put in your suitcase. It is Winter, but Barcelona is still a Mediterranean city with a mild climate.<\/p>\n<p>The days at the end of December-beginning of January are generally sunny with average temperatures between 13 and 15&ordm;. I remember one Christmas eve where I was wearing just a shirt outdoors! However, the sun heats up a lot during the day, so it can plummet at night and you should bring a few warm clothes.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"is-style-checklist\">\n<li>It&#8217;s good to dress in multiple light layers so you can add and remove them as needed throughout the day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Organising your tours and activities<\/h2>\n<h3>Depending on holidays<\/h3>\n<p>\nIn Barcelona the end of year holidays are the 25th and 26th of December and the 1st and 6th of January. Shops will be closed on this day and everything will work a little more slowly (including public transport).<\/p>\n<p>However the main tourist attractions remain open, although some have shorter opening hours.\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Parc G&uuml;ell<\/strong>: usual opening hours, 8:30am to 6:30pm (last entry 5:30pm)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Casa Batll&oacute;<\/strong>: usual opening hours, 9an to 9pm (last entry 8pm)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sagrada Familia<\/strong>: 9am to 2pm<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pedrera<\/strong>: closed the 25th of December 2018 and from 7th to 13th January 2019. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Special opening hours<\/span>: 1st January from 11am to 8:30pm,&nbsp;from 26th of December to 3rd of January from 9am to 8:30pm (last entry 8pm) and night visits from 9pm to 11pm.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Picasso museum<\/strong>: closed on the 25th of December and the 1st of January.&nbsp;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Special opening hours:<\/span>&nbsp;.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mir&oacute; Foundation<\/strong>: closed the 25th and 26th of December and 1st of January.&nbsp;December 27th to 30th from 10am to 7pm and December 31st, 5th and 6th January from 10am to 3pm.<\/li>\n<li><strong>MNAC<\/strong>: closed the 25th of December and 1st of January<\/li>\n<li><strong>Camp Nou<\/strong>: closed the 25th of December and 1st of January. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Special opening hours<\/span>: from December 17th to January 6th from 9.30am to 7.30pm.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\nAnd of course you always have the option to&nbsp;<a title=\"Promenade d&eacute;contract&eacute;e en bord de mer &agrave; Barcelone\" href=\"\/walk-seafront\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stroll along the seafront<\/a> or among the&nbsp;<a href=\"\/shopping-weekend\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">shopping streets<\/a> of Barcelona to admire the Christmas lights.\n<\/p>\n<h3>Depending on the weather<\/h3>\n<p>\nAlthough the weather is generally mild in Winter with cool temperatures but sunny days, it does sometimes rain. But don&#8217;t panic! We have devised a warming programme that will make you love the bad weather, which you can find <a title=\"Que faire &agrave; Barcelone quand il pleut? 8 activit&eacute;s pour petits et grands\" href=\"\/rain-barcelona-what-to-do\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>!\n<\/p>\n<h2>Warm up with a tasty treat<\/h2>\n<p>\nTourism can be very tiring! If you need to put your feet up somewhere warm, we have a few suggestions:\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Salon de th&eacute; Caelum: go&ucirc;ter raffin&eacute; et charme magique en plein quartier gothique\" href=\"\/tea-caelum\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Caelum<\/a>: this tearoom is particularly pleasant in Winter. Head downstairs and you enter the site of the city&#8217;s old Jewish baths, a place full of charm and stone vaults. Settle down and order a hot drink accompanied by a slice of pie or a cake (it&#8217;s important to spoil yourself at Christmas).<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Granja Viader: voyager dans le pass&eacute; le temps d&rsquo;un chocolat chaud\" href=\"\/granja-viader-hot-chocolate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Viader<\/a>: if you feel like a Barcelona-style hot chocolate, then get yourself to Viader, a hundred-year old caf&eacute; with an established reputation, and order a <em>su&iacute;s<\/em> accompanied by <em>melindros<\/em>, the local sponge finger biscuits.<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"La Nena de Gr&agrave;cia: authentique, accueillante et gourmande\" href=\"\/nena-gracia-cafe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">La Nena<\/a>: you can also enjoy very good hot chocolate with <em>churros<\/em> at la Nena, in the Gr&agrave;cia neghbourhood. It&#8217;s a great place for kids!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Enjoy the end of year celebrations Barcelona-style<\/h2>\n<p>\nIf you&#8217;re in Barcelona on Christmas eve, you can celebrate Christmas in style, discover the <a href=\"\/christmas-markets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Catalan traditions and Christmas markets<\/a> as well as <a href=\"\/christmas-menu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the special Christmas eve menu in our dedicated Christmas food article<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, remember that the party doesn&#8217;t end at New Year&#8217;s in Spain. In fact the 6th of January (epiphany or Kings&#8217; day) is more important than Christmas. On this occasion, children also receive gifts. Barcelona becomes an immense playground from the evening of the 5th of January when the three kings arrive at the port by boat and throw sweets at the thousands of children who have come to see their parade. Find out more <a title=\"F&ecirc;tes et jours f&eacute;ri&eacute;s &agrave; Barcelone: tout savoir pour bien planifier son s&eacute;jour\" href=\"\/holidays-plan-trip\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Happy holidays!<\/p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Barcelona is always a great holiday destination, even during the end of year holidays! If you&#8217;ve planned to come and stay at the end of December-beginning of January, here is&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,21],"tags":[1252,1558,777],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":30,"label":"November, December, January"},{"value":21,"label":"Visits"}],"post_tag":[{"value":1252,"label":"festival"},{"value":1558,"label":"holiday"},{"value":777,"label":"winter"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/01\/deco-noel-post.jpg",628,426,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Pauline","author_link":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/author\/paulinelerolland\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":30,"name":"November, December, January","slug":"november-december-january","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":30,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":21,"count":6,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":30,"category_count":6,"category_description":"","cat_name":"November, December, January","category_nicename":"november-december-january","category_parent":21},{"term_id":21,"name":"Visits","slug":"visits","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":21,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":148,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":21,"category_count":148,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Visits","category_nicename":"visits","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":1252,"name":"festival","slug":"festival","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1252,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":13,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":1558,"name":"holiday","slug":"holiday","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1558,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":777,"name":"winter","slug":"winter","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":777,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/01\/deco-noel-post.jpg",628,426,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/01\/deco-noel-post-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/01\/deco-noel-post-300x204.jpg",300,204,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/01\/deco-noel-post.jpg",628,426,false],"large":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/01\/deco-noel-post.jpg",628,426,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/01\/deco-noel-post.jpg",628,426,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/01\/deco-noel-post.jpg",628,426,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Pauline","author_link":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/author\/paulinelerolland\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Barcelona is always a great holiday destination, even during the end of year holidays! If you&#8217;ve planned to come and stay at the end of December-beginning of January, here is...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2211"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2211"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15226,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2211\/revisions\/15226"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}