Winter is coming
Barcelona. [Photo by Tokyographer], Via Flicker
Winter in Barcelona is probably one of the best seasons! It’s cold, it’s true, but it doesn’t go below 5 degrees Celsius. While summer is full of tourists and autumn and spring are rainy, winter gives you dry blue skies. There are different things to do during this season, you will not have to share the city with too many other tourists and will enjoy the empty streets either on a bike or on our partner Barcelona private tour.
Or why not hop on a boat? Sailing around Barcelona in the winter isn’t like in the summer, instead of bikinis and swim shorts, we will be wrapped up, instead of cold beers we’ll drink hot tea but the views stay the same and for any sailing enthusiasts, it’s just great to be on the water.
Hot chocolate with churros is the best way to defeat the cold. Churros are traditional fried-dough pastries, finger food that you dip in hot chocolate sauce. You can either find them in nice small cafés or on the streets.
Chocolate con churros
Chocolate & churros con canela. [Photo by Dr Zito], Via Flicker
Another reason why Barcelona is great in the winter: the calçots. They come from Catalonia and you can enjoy them until the end of March. Is it a leek, is it an onion? Let’s say it is in between! You can savor them during a calçotada, typical meal where they are cooked, without cleaning them, directly on the fire, and serve on a newspaper. Just need to remove the burnt skin and dip them in their sauce made of red peppers.
Calçots
Who says winter says Christmas! There are many Christmas markets in Barcelona, shops are decorated for the occasion and even the streets put on a light show to make you feel the Christmas magic! A very good decision made by the city council a few years ago, the use of small L.E.D lights which store up solar energy in the day to power themselves at night.
Decorative Christmas lights
After the end of the year celebrations come a brand new year and with it, with the typical winter sales. Here, in Barcelona you will have to wait until the 7th of January to go crazy shopping. Families gathered on the 6th of January for “Los Reyes” (The Three Kings), the kids receive more presents on that day with big celebrations on the streets.
If you are around in February, another attraction you shouldn’t miss is the Carnival of Sitges from the 20th until the 26th of February 2020. With more than 100 years of history, the cute harbour city becomes a place for parades, festivities and eccentric costumes.