Christmas on the Spanish Coast

Local departure by coach or Home Connect service, then to the Paris area for an overnight stay.

Travel south to arrive in our resort on the Costa del Maresme for a five-night stay.

Today we travel to the fascinating city of Barcelona, Spain’s second largest city and one of the Mediterranean’s busiest ports. The city has a delightfully relaxed atmosphere – particularly along Las Ramblas, where you can join the locals casually strolling along the tree-lined boulevard, perhaps stopping to enjoy the entertainment offered by the mime-artists and musicians. Barcelona boasts many amazing buildings designed during the artistic explosion of Modernism – be sure to see the extraordinary Sagrada Familia, a very unconventional cathedral, which is still under construction now.

Why not join our optional guided tour? Starting by coach, the tour takes you past many of the famous sights of the city. We finish the tour on foot at the bustling Las Ramblas, and from here you will be ideally situated to explore the ‘Barri Gotic’, or Gothic Quarter, where some of the buildings date back to medieval and Roman times.

Merry Christmas! Relax and celebrate Christmas in resort.

After a leisurely breakfast join our wonderful included excursion along the Costa Brava. Visit the typical Catalonian coastal town of Tossa de Mar, where you have free time to explore the narrow cobbled streets and medieval walls.

We continue to Lloret de Mar, the busiest and liveliest resort on the Costa Brava during the main season. Lloret was once a sea trading and ship building town, but is now popular with holidaymakers and has a wide choice of restaurants and plenty of shops.

Join us on our optional excursion to Montserrat, known locally as the ‘serrated mountain’. We travel through the mountains north of Barcelona to the site of the famous Benedictine monastery. In 1025 the Abbot of Ripoli and Bishop of Vic officially founded the Monastery of Montserrat, and today there are around one hundred monks who are based here. They follow the Order of St. Benedict and can be distinguished from other orders of Monks by their philosophy – “that there is an importance to everything that every person is”.

Montserrat Monastery means different things to different people and this is all reflected in its attractions. For many pilgrims it is an entirely spiritual experience. However, if you are not a religious person you will still find that there is a great deal of interest. The chapels, beautiful Basilica and often-turbulent history make it a fascinating place to visit.

We have an early start this morning as we leave Spain behind and make our way through Catalonia. Crossing the border into France, we arrive at our hotel on the outskirts of Paris for a two-night stay.