Find a holiday apartment for New Year 2017 in Barcelona.
At OK Apartment we offer a full range of apartments for New Year's eve in Barcelona, as well as Christmas, but we also want to give you useful advice and ideas to make the most of your time in the city during this period. On this page we'll give you advice on how to celebrate the holiday season, some activities for Christmas and New Year and a list with practical tips.
Christmas in Barcelona
The Christmas holidays in Catalonia are very special, owing to many unique traditions typical of the region. You'll want to get to know them all, but a good starting point is the Fira de Santa Llúcia - the most famous Christmas market in Barcelona. It's set each year in the Plaça de la Catedral (Cathedral square) and it's here you'll find the traditional figurines belonging to the Catalan nativity scenes, including the Caganer ("pooer") - quite literally a man defecating. You will also see logs with faces called Cagatió (Pooing log).
Practically all of Barcelona's streets get adorned with Christmas decorations and lights, making a walk through the city a fantastic activity unto itself for couples and families. If you want to go shopping, there are plenty of artesanal shops around the Born and Gothic Quarter neighbourhoods, or you can visit the shopping centres around Plaça de Catalunya.
Most of the Christmas events are found in the city centre, so it's recommend to stay in an apartment in the city centre of Barcelona. You can find some lovely apartments around Las Ramblas, a part of the city which incorporates the Christmas spirit to the fullest. Another option is staying in the Born neighbourhood which is slightly more calm. However, if you prefer to move around lesser-known neighbourhoods, you could stay uptown Barcelona, especially the Gràcia district. Accommodation in the residential parts of the city are generally bigger than in the centre.
One of the other highlights of Christmas in Catalonia is the typical food like Carn d'Olla or Cannelloni that reunite families year on year. You will find these dishes in many of the restaurants around the city, but make sure you reserve in advance!
If you'd like to learn more about how Christmas is celebrated in Barcelona, take a look at this article from our blog.
New Year in Barcelona
Let's talk about the last hours of the year. The restaurants are open and offers special New Year's Eve menus, which includes the cava toast, the traditional 12 grapes and the cotillon - a goodie bag full of party objects ideal for children to celebrate the New Year in a big way. If you want to dine at a restaurant for Old Year's Night, look no further and book in advance!
In Spain, according to tradition it brings good luck to eat 12 grapes when the clock strikes midnight and we enter New Year. One grape for each sound of the bell! You can wash it down with a sparkling glass of Cava afterwards, of course.
New Year's Eve is a special celebration in any city in the world, and Barcelona is no exception. For a while now, there has been a celebration with fireworks and a big show to mark the coming of the new year. Generally, it's Plaça d'Espanya that's the official setting for this.
In Barcelona, the party goes on way past midnight across the city's various nightclubs. The coolest? Elephant or Razzmatazz. Also take note of the blowout that'll be taking place on New Year's Eve at the magical setting of Poble Espanyol.
Fireworks at Plaça d'Espanya? A quiet dinner in uptown Barcelona? Party in the city centre? Depending what you're looking for you'll need an accommodation that suits you. Below on this page you have a full list of accommodation for Christmas and New Year, but in our blog we've made a hand-picked selection of the best apartments for New Year in the best neighbourhoods to celebrate. Fantastic!
Practical advice
- Public Holidays: The Christmas period in Barcelona includes public holidays that are only celebrated in Catalonia and, therefore, there will be many shops and even tourist attractions that will be closed. Remember to check opening hours if you plan on doing things on 25 and 26 December (Christmas and Boxing Day), 1 and 6 January (New Year and Three Kings Day). You should also know that 28 December is Spain's "April Fools' Day". Be careful not to get pranked!
- Booking flights and accommodation as early as you can because prices are usually cheaper in advance. As the Christmas season approaches, prices go up rather than down. Have a look at our selection below and save with us!
- Reserve Christmas and New Year dinner in advance because finding a place to dine can become a nightmare if you do not have anything booked. Many places to eat will be full, apart from self-service locales like FresCo, OVNI, Lactuca or fast-food restaurants. We recommend searching online and looking for a bit of inspiration. Many restaurants offer a fixed menu for Christmas or New Year's dinners, so find one you like, book in advance, and (of course) find out about the payment conditions.
- Also note: in Barcelona during the Christmas period the temperature ranges from 5° (minimum) to 14° (maximum). So, don't forget a decent coat for walking around the city.
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From €43More detailsperson/nightPrice based on booking for 7 nights and 2 people, including a 30% discount -
From €27More detailsperson/nightPrice based on booking for 7 nights and 8 people, including a 5% discount
