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7 ideas, picked for these days
Montserrat: cable car and Sant Jeroni
On 6 and 8 December the Escolania sings at the eleven o'clock conventual Mass, and the aeri runs on holidays from 9:40 to 18:15, every quarter of an hour, all winter. Go up early, hear the choir and leave Sant Jeroni for afterwards.
Vic: square, cured meats and inn
Vic holds the Medieval Market on the Immaculate Conception long weekend, and the plan's main square becomes its centre. From Manresa it is under forty minutes: go early, park outside the old town and eat before one, when the taverns fill.
Caldes de Montbui: Roman baths and a thermal soak
On the December long weekend Caldes holds its Mercat de Nadal, with broth and carn d'olla made from thermal water served at midday in the square. The guided visit to the Roman baths is suspended on those days; the El Safareig bath continues, by time slot.
A weekend in the Ripollès: Romanesque monasteries and the Núria rack railway
The long weekend coincides with the start of the season in Núria, which opens the rack railway and pistes depending on the snow: check its opening status before buying. The Ripoll monastery opens in winter on Sundays and some holidays only from 10:00 to 14:00.
Cerdanya: the Tosa by gondola and the Puigcerdà lake
The La Molina cable car to the Tosa d'Alp depends on the resort having opened, and in early December that is decided by the snow. Check the opening status the night before; if it does not run, there is Puigcerdà lake.
Ski weekend at Grandvalira, two and a half hours from Lleida
Grandvalira usually starts its season in early December and sells weekend packages for the long weekend; check the opening date on its website. Buy the lift pass online and bring your passport or ID card: Andorra has a customs post.
A getaway to Besalú and the volcanic Garrotxa, with a balloon flight
In early December Olot, twenty minutes from Besalú, holds the Fira del Pessebre, with a Christmas market and nativity figures in the centre. Its dates change with the calendar; with a single free day, Besalú and Castellfollit are enough, without a night.