# December long weekend from Manresa: Escolania, markets and first snow between Constitution Day and the Immaculate Conception Seven getaways and plans from Manresa for Constitution Day and the Immaculate Conception: the Escolania on the 6th and 8th, the Vic and Caldes markets, nativity scenes in Olot, the Ripollès and snow in the Cerdanya and Andorra. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/manresa/getaways/december-long-weekend · Revisado: 2026-11-13 Origen: Manresa - [Montserrat: cable car and Sant Jeroni](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/montserrat/itineraries/montserrat-cable-car-and-sant-jeroni-from-manresa.md) (Day itinerary, Montserrat): 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](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/vic/itineraries/vic-square-and-inn.md) (Day itinerary, Vic): 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](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/caldes-de-montbui/itineraries/roman-baths-and-el-safareig-soak.md) (Day itinerary, Caldes de Montbui): 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](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/ripoll/itineraries/ripolles-romanesque-monasteries-and-nuria.md) (2 nights, Ripoll): 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](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/cerdanya/itineraries/snow-without-skis-and-gondola.md) (Day itinerary, Cerdanya): 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](https://www.geocalia.com/en/andorra/grandvalira/itineraries/grandvalira-ski-weekend-from-lleida.md) (2 nights, Grandvalira): 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](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/besalu/itineraries/besalu-garrotxa-one-night-balloon.md) (1 night, Besalú): 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. Manresa is in the middle of everything that moves over the December long weekend. Montserrat is half an hour away, Vic under forty minutes, Caldes de Montbui fifty and the Cerdanya an hour and a half through the Cadí tunnel. Between Constitution Day, the 6th, and the Immaculate Conception, the 8th, that lets you go home to sleep almost every day and save the night away for what really calls for it: snow or the Garrotxa. ## Single days and just one night In the Bages the long weekend is rarely four days in a row for the whole family. That is why half of what we suggest here are day plans. The two-night getaways, the Ripollès or Grandvalira, only pay off if you have three days. ## The home mountain, on the 6th and 8th Montserrat changes in these days. The Escolania sings at the eleven o'clock conventual Mass on the 6th and 8th, and in the afternoon at vespers; on the day in between, only the midday Salve and Virolai. At the end of November the sanctuary switches on the Christmas lights, and on the long weekend there are more people than on any autumn Sunday. To avoid the rack railway queues, the aeri from the Monistrol road leaves every quarter of an hour. Sant Jeroni with ice is another outing: boots with good soles and poles, and if it has snowed up high, stay at the viewpoint. ## Vic and Caldes, the same long weekend The two markets that open Christmas in central Catalonia take place at the same time. The Medieval Market in Vic has hundreds of stalls, taverns and street shows; the Mercat de Nadal in Caldes de Montbui is quieter, made of stalls, with a broth made from thermal water handed out. If you go to both, separate them: Vic in the morning of one day, Caldes another. Both towns fill with cars between eleven and two. ## Snow: Cerdanya or Andorra From Manresa there are two snow options in under three hours. The Cerdanya, an hour and a half via the Cadí, with La Molina and Masella; and Grandvalira, two and a half hours via La Seu d'Urgell. Grandvalira usually opens in early December; La Molina and Masella depend more on the snow that falls. If nobody skis, the La Molina cable car goes up to the Tosa d'Alp, at over 2,500 metres, but only when the resort has opened. For Andorra bring valid documents. There are checks at the border, and the return on the last day, towards La Seu, fills with cars in the afternoon: leave after lunch. ## Aeri, workshops and snow for the little ones With children, what works best is short. The Montserrat aeri lasts five minutes and they like it more than the rack railway. In Caldes, during the market there are workshops and children's shows in the Plaça Can Rius. In the snow, begin with the beginners' areas: early in the season there are fewer pistes and more people on each. ## What fills up first The rural houses in Besalú and the Ripollès are few and fill early. On the snow, the long-weekend hotel and lift pass packages sell out weeks ahead, and the lift pass bought online is usually cheaper than at the ticket office. In Vic, what is missing is parking: leave the car outside the old town and walk in. ## The Berguedà and the Montseny, another month The Cement Train and the Cercs mines, in the Berguedà, are for spring to early November. The Montseny beech wood has its moment in October. And the living nativity in Rupit is held at Christmas, not on the long weekend.