# A ski weekend in the Cerdanya, an hour and three quarters from Barcelona

Two nights in Puigcerdà to ski a day at Masella, stay on for the floodlit piste at night and spend Sunday at La Molina or snowshoeing through the Cerdanya forests. An hour and three quarters from Barcelona.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/cerdanya/itineraries/cerdanya-ski-weekend-from-barcelona · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Dónde: Cerdanya

The Cerdanya is Barcelona's weekend skiing: an hour and three quarters to Puigcerdà through the Cadí tunnel, two big resorts on the same mountain and a town with hotels, restaurants and a train. This plan splits two days between Masella, with its night piste, and La Molina, or swaps the second day of skiing for a snowshoe outing.

## Masella or La Molina?

ResortKmFor whom2026-27 adult lift pass

Masella74 km · 65 pistesBlues and reds; night skiing€53 online

La Molina71 km · 67 pistesBeginners, gondola, snowpark€49 online

Alp2500Both, via La TosaThose who want to cross over€57

## Where to sleep?

In Puigcerdà, which is 20 minutes from Masella and 25 from La Molina. The Hotel del Lago, beside the lake and a hundred metres from the centre, has a spa with an indoor pool, sauna and jacuzzi, and rooms with fireplaces from €123 according to its website. With children, the Hotel del Prado has a playground and a family duplex. If you prefer to ski out, the Hotel Adserà is at the foot of Pista Llarga, in La Molina.

## Without a car

The Rodalies R3 reaches La Molina and Puigcerdà. With the Skitren package, train and lift pass go together and La Molina's internal bus is free; for Masella you will need a taxi from Puigcerdà.

## El plan

### Friday · 20:00 · Arrival in Puigcerdà
From Barcelona, the C-16 and the Cadí tunnel; an hour and three quarters. Dinner at La Borda del Ceretà, on Camí de l'Antiga Farinera: broth with galets and pilota and tiró amb naps. Book by phone.

### Saturday · 09:00 · Masella
Twenty minutes to Pla de Masella. Online lift pass, €53, or with the night supplement, €13.50 more. Rental from €28. In the morning, the blues; in the afternoon, the reds from La Tosa.

### Saturday · 18:00 · Night skiing
If the resort's calendar allows, thirteen floodlit pistes down to La Pleta, 10 km. Then back to the hotel spa.

### Sunday · 09:00 · La Molina or snowshoes
At La Molina, €49 lift pass, lunch at the foot of Pista Llarga at El Tirol and a gondola up to La Tosa. If it is a Rutes Pirineus Sunday, snowshoeing to the Estany de l'Orri from the Lles Nordic centre, 8 km with a guide, from €47.90.

### Sunday · 16:30 · Drive back
Via the Cadí tunnel. Leave before five or after seven to dodge the queue.

## Un consejo más

Buy the lift passes online: at both resorts the ticket office charges €3 more per person.

## Cuándo no ir

The December long weekend and Easter if you want quiet pistes and easy parking.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How long does it take from Barcelona to Puigcerdà?
Around an hour and three quarters through the Cadí tunnel.

### How much does a ski weekend in the Cerdanya cost?
With two lift passes, rental, two shared hotel nights and meals, from €260 to €420 per person.

### Can I ski at night?
Yes, at Masella, with the night pass (€27) or the supplement on the day pass.

### What do I do if someone doesn't ski?
The gondola up to La Tosa, guided snowshoeing at Lles or Aransa and the Hotel del Lago spa.

## Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Hotel del Lago**, desde 123 € / night: A garden beside Puigcerdà lake
The Hotel del Lago is at Calle Doctor Piguillem, 7, next to Puigcerdà lake and about a hundred metres from the centre, where the shops and restaurants are. The building is surrounded by a garden, with corners for reading in the sun or having a drink in the afternoon, and in summer you have breakfast outside. From the door you walk to the lake, with its swans and its boats for hire. It is a base for skiing at Masella or La Molina and coming back to sleep in the town, not a slopeside hotel.
The spa is not paid for separately
The spa area has a heated indoor pool, sauna and jacuzzi, open all year and free for guests; it is not sold to outside visitors. Children under two cannot enter. Massages, therapeutic or relaxing, are paid for and booked at the hotel. In summer an outdoor pool in the garden also opens.
A fireplace in the room
The house has seven room types, and three have a fireplace:

Suite 50, of 50 m², with a 25 m² sitting room, terrace, coffee machine and wood-burning fireplace. It is on the first floor, with no lift.
Suite 30, of 30 m², with a sitting room, two bathrooms and a gas fireplace.
Superior double with fireplace, of 24 m², gas fireplace.
Comfort double, of 24 m², with a double bed or two beds, and standard double, of 15 m².
Family triple, of 24 m², with three beds, and interconnecting family room, two doubles joined inside for four. These two are booked by phone.

All have air conditioning, soundproof windows, minibar, flat-screen television, hairdryer and wifi. Breakfast is a buffet with local produce. There is a 24-hour reception, a lounge with a fireplace and a lift in the main building.
Price and booking
The website advertises its best rate from €123 and a getaway in a superior double with fireplace from €153, with no dates: the price for the day comes up in its booking. Telephone, 972 88 10 00; email, info@hotellago.com.
Getting there and parking
From Barcelona you go up the C-16 and the Cadí tunnel and then the N-260 to Puigcerdà. The hotel has two car parks of its own. Without a car, the Rodalies R3 reaches Puigcerdà station, in the lower part of the town; from there you walk up or take a taxi. For dinner nearby, La Borda del Ceretà is in Puigcerdà itself.
Pets are not accepted.
- **Hotel del Prado**: On the way out of Puigcerdà towards Llívia
Leaving Puigcerdà towards Llívia, at number 1 on that road and five minutes from the centre of the Cerdanya's capital, you come to the Hotel del Prado, with the French border next door. The building is surrounded by a large garden with tables, a playground, a sauna, the pool and a tennis court for guests. It has ample free outdoor parking, a 24-hour reception and adapted access. For skiing it suits both Masella and La Molina and the resorts on the French side.
From the attic room to the duplex
There are rooms for almost any group:

Single, with a 1.10 m bed.
Mountain Double, attic-style and wood-clad, with a double bed or two beds; Comfort Double, some with a whirlpool bath; and View Double with Balcony, with a terrace and valley views.
Triple, of 16 m², and interconnecting family room or quadruple, of 17 m², with extra beds on request in the superior one.
La Tosa Suite, with a 1.80 m bed, sitting room, terrace and whirlpool bath, and Executive Suite, with two rooms.
Family duplex, with three bedrooms for at least four people, kitchen, dining room, terrace and garden.

All have a bathroom with bath or shower, hairdryer, safe, television and free wifi. Air conditioning is only in some.
The restaurant's Catalan cooking
The restaurant holds the Generalitat's Hotel Gastronòmic distinction and serves traditional Catalan cooking with local produce, local designations of origin and grilled meats. It offers a daily menu, a gastronomic menu, an à la carte menu, a children's menu and dishes for coeliacs, and a long wine list. Hours: buffet breakfast from 7:30 to 10:30, lunch from 13:00 to 15:30 and dinner from 20:00 to 22:30; the café serves a quick menu from 19:30 to 22:00.
Water and massages
The heated pool opens from June to October, with a sun terrace. All year round there is a sauna and a massage menu with aromatherapy: hot stones, bamboo, three lavenders or reflexology, among others.
Getaways at a fixed price
The website sells packages for two or for a family: the romantic one from €135, the mountain-bike one for €160, the Cerdanya flavours one, with a gastronomic menu dinner, for €165, the relaxation one for €185 and the family on-ice one, with entry to the skating rink and skate hire for two adults and two children, for €220. At Christmas, in August and at Easter they carry €15 more per person. Booking on the website gives a 10% discount.
The hotel accepts quiet dogs and cats for a supplement, and leaves a small welcome kit in the room. For walks with them, Puigcerdà lake is in the centre of the town.
- **Hotel Adserà**: From a hikers' chalet to a family hotel
Pere Adserà arrived in La Molina in December 1925 to run the chalet of the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya, when up there there was no electricity, telephone or passable road. In 1934 he built the first part of the building that is today the Hotel Adserà, and since then it has grown without leaving the family: his descendants run it. It is a traditional high-mountain hotel, with views of the Cerdanya valley and gardens that look onto 500 hectares of forest and meadow.
Where it stands in relation to the slopes
The hotel has its own car park next to the building and another private one at the foot of the slopes, on Pista Llarga, where its bar-restaurant El Tirol is also located. That way you leave the car in the beginners' and ticket-office area of that sector and eat there without moving. If you arrive by train, the R3 stops at La Molina station and the resort's internal bus climbs to Pista Llarga.
Forty rooms, almost all doubles
There are 40, with parquet and rustic decor. All have a bathroom with bath, hairdryer, flat-screen television, desk, telephone, safe, heating and free wifi. Most are doubles and take an extra bed for a child; there are also singles, economy doubles, triples and quadruples, and some with two rooms, bunk beds or interconnecting for families. Ten have a balcony with valley views.
Prices include breakfast, a buffet from 8:00 to 10:00 with products for coeliacs; if it is not included, it costs €14 for adults and €9 for children. The website does not publish room rates: ask for a quote at hotel@hoteladsera.com or on 972 892 001.
Evenings inside the hotel
For coming back from the snow there are lounges with fireplaces, a television room, a games room with chess and cards, table tennis and table football, and a kids' club open every afternoon from 17:00 to 23:00, with drawing, board games and crafts. Outside there is a playground in the garden, and in summer, an outdoor pool with a diving board and slide, and volleyball. The gym and sauna are only for over-16s. There is ski storage.
La Molina without skiing
In summer or without skis, the gondola to the Tosa d'Alp is close at hand from here; in winter, the runs of the La Molina resort reach Pista Llarga, where the hotel has its car park.
The website does not say whether animals are accepted: ask when booking.

## Dónde dormir without a car
- **Hotel del Lago**, desde 123 € / night: A garden beside Puigcerdà lake
The Hotel del Lago is at Calle Doctor Piguillem, 7, next to Puigcerdà lake and about a hundred metres from the centre, where the shops and restaurants are. The building is surrounded by a garden, with corners for reading in the sun or having a drink in the afternoon, and in summer you have breakfast outside. From the door you walk to the lake, with its swans and its boats for hire. It is a base for skiing at Masella or La Molina and coming back to sleep in the town, not a slopeside hotel.
The spa is not paid for separately
The spa area has a heated indoor pool, sauna and jacuzzi, open all year and free for guests; it is not sold to outside visitors. Children under two cannot enter. Massages, therapeutic or relaxing, are paid for and booked at the hotel. In summer an outdoor pool in the garden also opens.
A fireplace in the room
The house has seven room types, and three have a fireplace:

Suite 50, of 50 m², with a 25 m² sitting room, terrace, coffee machine and wood-burning fireplace. It is on the first floor, with no lift.
Suite 30, of 30 m², with a sitting room, two bathrooms and a gas fireplace.
Superior double with fireplace, of 24 m², gas fireplace.
Comfort double, of 24 m², with a double bed or two beds, and standard double, of 15 m².
Family triple, of 24 m², with three beds, and interconnecting family room, two doubles joined inside for four. These two are booked by phone.

All have air conditioning, soundproof windows, minibar, flat-screen television, hairdryer and wifi. Breakfast is a buffet with local produce. There is a 24-hour reception, a lounge with a fireplace and a lift in the main building.
Price and booking
The website advertises its best rate from €123 and a getaway in a superior double with fireplace from €153, with no dates: the price for the day comes up in its booking. Telephone, 972 88 10 00; email, info@hotellago.com.
Getting there and parking
From Barcelona you go up the C-16 and the Cadí tunnel and then the N-260 to Puigcerdà. The hotel has two car parks of its own. Without a car, the Rodalies R3 reaches Puigcerdà station, in the lower part of the town; from there you walk up or take a taxi. For dinner nearby, La Borda del Ceretà is in Puigcerdà itself.
Pets are not accepted.
- **Hotel del Prado**: On the way out of Puigcerdà towards Llívia
Leaving Puigcerdà towards Llívia, at number 1 on that road and five minutes from the centre of the Cerdanya's capital, you come to the Hotel del Prado, with the French border next door. The building is surrounded by a large garden with tables, a playground, a sauna, the pool and a tennis court for guests. It has ample free outdoor parking, a 24-hour reception and adapted access. For skiing it suits both Masella and La Molina and the resorts on the French side.
From the attic room to the duplex
There are rooms for almost any group:

Single, with a 1.10 m bed.
Mountain Double, attic-style and wood-clad, with a double bed or two beds; Comfort Double, some with a whirlpool bath; and View Double with Balcony, with a terrace and valley views.
Triple, of 16 m², and interconnecting family room or quadruple, of 17 m², with extra beds on request in the superior one.
La Tosa Suite, with a 1.80 m bed, sitting room, terrace and whirlpool bath, and Executive Suite, with two rooms.
Family duplex, with three bedrooms for at least four people, kitchen, dining room, terrace and garden.

All have a bathroom with bath or shower, hairdryer, safe, television and free wifi. Air conditioning is only in some.
The restaurant's Catalan cooking
The restaurant holds the Generalitat's Hotel Gastronòmic distinction and serves traditional Catalan cooking with local produce, local designations of origin and grilled meats. It offers a daily menu, a gastronomic menu, an à la carte menu, a children's menu and dishes for coeliacs, and a long wine list. Hours: buffet breakfast from 7:30 to 10:30, lunch from 13:00 to 15:30 and dinner from 20:00 to 22:30; the café serves a quick menu from 19:30 to 22:00.
Water and massages
The heated pool opens from June to October, with a sun terrace. All year round there is a sauna and a massage menu with aromatherapy: hot stones, bamboo, three lavenders or reflexology, among others.
Getaways at a fixed price
The website sells packages for two or for a family: the romantic one from €135, the mountain-bike one for €160, the Cerdanya flavours one, with a gastronomic menu dinner, for €165, the relaxation one for €185 and the family on-ice one, with entry to the skating rink and skate hire for two adults and two children, for €220. At Christmas, in August and at Easter they carry €15 more per person. Booking on the website gives a 10% discount.
The hotel accepts quiet dogs and cats for a supplement, and leaves a small welcome kit in the room. For walks with them, Puigcerdà lake is in the centre of the town.
- **Hotel Adserà**: From a hikers' chalet to a family hotel
Pere Adserà arrived in La Molina in December 1925 to run the chalet of the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya, when up there there was no electricity, telephone or passable road. In 1934 he built the first part of the building that is today the Hotel Adserà, and since then it has grown without leaving the family: his descendants run it. It is a traditional high-mountain hotel, with views of the Cerdanya valley and gardens that look onto 500 hectares of forest and meadow.
Where it stands in relation to the slopes
The hotel has its own car park next to the building and another private one at the foot of the slopes, on Pista Llarga, where its bar-restaurant El Tirol is also located. That way you leave the car in the beginners' and ticket-office area of that sector and eat there without moving. If you arrive by train, the R3 stops at La Molina station and the resort's internal bus climbs to Pista Llarga.
Forty rooms, almost all doubles
There are 40, with parquet and rustic decor. All have a bathroom with bath, hairdryer, flat-screen television, desk, telephone, safe, heating and free wifi. Most are doubles and take an extra bed for a child; there are also singles, economy doubles, triples and quadruples, and some with two rooms, bunk beds or interconnecting for families. Ten have a balcony with valley views.
Prices include breakfast, a buffet from 8:00 to 10:00 with products for coeliacs; if it is not included, it costs €14 for adults and €9 for children. The website does not publish room rates: ask for a quote at hotel@hoteladsera.com or on 972 892 001.
Evenings inside the hotel
For coming back from the snow there are lounges with fireplaces, a television room, a games room with chess and cards, table tennis and table football, and a kids' club open every afternoon from 17:00 to 23:00, with drawing, board games and crafts. Outside there is a playground in the garden, and in summer, an outdoor pool with a diving board and slide, and volleyball. The gym and sauna are only for over-16s. There is ski storage.
La Molina without skiing
In summer or without skis, the gondola to the Tosa d'Alp is close at hand from here; in winter, the runs of the La Molina resort reach Pista Llarga, where the hotel has its car park.
The website does not say whether animals are accepted: ask when booking.