Hello,
I am planning a trip to Barcelona for 3 or 4 days. I could either do it last week of August or first week of September. Does either of these two weeks make any difference? if I suppose weather would be about the same but better than July/early August? Also, are there any holidays/festivals I should be aware during that time?
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40 helpful votes Your weeks miss the two biggest festivals by a few days. You don't indicate whether this would be a good thing or a bad one. The Festa Major de Sants takes place pretty much in the last week in august and features many of the important aspects of Catalan culture (correfoc, castellers, folk dances etc. plus some splendid decorated streets.
Not sure what you mean by 'better' weather, but yes, in general, the weather one week is likely to be similar to that of the previous week.
pandachris2,
I would like to avoid festival but if it is happening in just a couple of street off a beaten track then it doesnt matter. I was in Ghent and the entire city center was taken over last July by Ghent Feesten festival which was a big distraction.
As per my current travel plans I will be Barcelona in last week of August. I am hearing August is not the best time to visit due to crowd. However I was in Paris and Rome last week of July/first week of August a couple of years ago as well as in Amsterdam last year in mid July and the crowd didnt bother me.
Contributor
18,668 posts
22 reviews
40 helpful votes I don't know where you're hearing that August is not the best time to visit because of the crowds, because the city is popular all year round. The humidity is perhaps more of an issue. It's a shame that you have such a downer on the festival. I don't think that the Festa Major de Sants will be much like Gentse Festeen but many people agree that attending a casteller event or a correfoc are absolute highlights of their trip. However, for most visitors to the city there is not much reason to go to the Sants district. The festival is far more than a few streets but it is off your beaten track.
Thanks pandachris2
Yeah I am fine with crowd. It makes the place livelier. It seems temperature hovers around 28 Celsius that time which doesn't sound too bad. For me, that's bearable. I would take a hot, sunny day anytime over rainy/windy day.
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58 helpful votes It's the humidity which is the downer, not the temperature per se.
Barcelona is full of tourists in August, whereas a lot of locals will have "escaped", but head back towards the end of the month.
You might like to compare hotel rates for your two potential dates as prices in Barcelona are already high, and they spike with special events. Sants, being less central, is also usually slightly cheaper.
