# Pilar long weekend from Manresa: getaways for 12 October, the National Day Three getaways with a night away and five day trips from Manresa for the Pilar, the Hispanidad long weekend: the Collsacabra cliffs, the Cité of Carcassonne, the volcanoes of Olot and the first autumn in the Berguedà and the Montseny. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/manresa/getaways/pilar-long-weekend · Revisado: 2026-11-13 Origen: Manresa - [A getaway to Rupit and the Collsacabra cliffs](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/rupit/itineraries/rupit-collsacabra-cliffs-one-night.md) (1 night, Rupit): The first autumn rains bring water back to the Salt de Sallent after summer, and the cliffs as far as Tavertet are walked in the cool. The route is one-way: arrange the return with the Rupit tourist office before setting out. - [A weekend in Carcassonne: the Cité, the Canal du Midi and a Cathar castle](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/occitanie/carcassonne/itineraries/weekend-cite-from-girona.md) (2 nights, Carcassonne): The Canal du Midi boat sails until the end of October, so the Pilar is one of the last long weekends to make the full trip. In France 12 October is an ordinary day: the Cité is open and has fewer people than in summer. - [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 October the Garrotxa forests begin to change colour and the balloon flight goes up in clean, cool air. Vol de Coloms flies all year and charges more at weekends: book the balloon before the bed. - [Berga: viewpoints and a mountain table](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/berga/itineraries/berga-easy-walk-and-lunch.md) (Day itinerary, Berga): Berga celebrates its mushroom festival in early October, with the mushroom-pickers' competition, and Berguedà menus fill with rovellones and ceps. Check the year's date on the Town Hall website: it sometimes falls on the same long weekend. - [Vic: square, cured meats and inn](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/vic/itineraries/vic-square-and-inn.md) (Day itinerary, Vic): From October, the Vic tourist office again runs its themed guided visit of the month at 11:30, and the Plaça Major recovers its sunny terraces. If it rains on the long weekend, the museum and Sert's cathedral are under cover. - [Penedès: cava and a table among the vines](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/penedes/itineraries/penedes-cava-and-vineyard-lunch.md) (Day itinerary, Penedès): In October the harvest is over, the vines begin to turn gold and the cellars return to calm. Almost all work by appointment and close on some holidays, so book the visit and the winery table before the long weekend. - [Prades: red town and Roca Foradada](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/prades/itineraries/prades-red-village-and-roca-foradada-from-tarragona.md) (Day itinerary, Prades): Prades's red stone lights up in October's low light, and the walk to the Roca Foradada is done without August's heat. The tourist office opens on holidays in the morning and lends you the key of the l'Abellera hermitage. - [Montseny: easy beech forest and grill](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/montseny/itineraries/montseny-beech-forest-and-grill.md) (Day itinerary, Montseny): At the Pilar the Santa Fe beech wood is still green with the first yellows, and the car park does not yet fill as it does at the end of the month. If you want the copper of the leaves, wait for November; if you want space, go now. ## The first autumn, an hour from the Bages 12 October, the day of the Pilar and Spain's National Day, is also a holiday in Catalonia. It is the Hispanidad long weekend or, quite simply, the October long weekend, and it arrives when the interior changes rhythm: the hot spells end, mushrooms return and mountain villages empty of summer visitors. From Manresa, that autumn is close whichever way you go, by the C-25 towards Vic and the Collsacabra, by the C-16 towards Berga or south towards Prades. ## How many nights can you fit? With three or four days, Carcassonne is the getaway that gives the most: three and a half hours by the AP-7 and La Jonquera, two nights inside or at the foot of the Cité and Sunday for the canal or Peyrepertuse. With two days, one night in Rupit or Besalú, an hour and twenty and an hour and a half away. If the holiday falls on its own, stay for a day: Berga and Vic are under forty minutes away, and the Penedès, fifty. ## Rovellones, ceps and fairs October is the mushroom month in the Berguedà. Berga celebrates its mushroom-pickers' festival early in the month, and other villages in the region have theirs through the autumn. If you go out to look for them on your own, remember that in Catalonia mushrooms belong to the owner of the forest: where there are signs, nothing is picked, and always with a basket, never a bag. And if you stay home, Manresa has its own date in October: the Fira Mediterrània fills the centre with music, dance and popular culture for four days. Its dates change each year, and some editions overlap with the long weekend. ## What fills up first The beds in Rupit and Besalú, which are few, and the hotels inside the Cité. Then the balloon: in the Garrotxa it flies all year, but weekend places go first. In Berga, if the mushroom festival falls on the long weekend, restaurants in the old town need booking. And in the Penedès, the cellar visit is almost always by appointment. ## Going with children The Cement Train, in La Pobla de Lillet, usually runs on 12 October even if it falls midweek, and it is among the last days of its season. Queralt, above Berga, has an almost flat path between viewpoints; Rupit, the suspension bridge and the climb to the bell tower; and at Santa Fe, the loop round the reservoir is two and a half kilometres without slopes. In Prades, the Roca Foradada is half an hour's walk from the village. ## Cold, light and roads In October it gets dark around seven, so long walks go in the morning. In the Collsacabra and Prades, at almost a thousand metres, it gets very cool as the afternoon ends: bring a layer. The return from the long weekend loads the AP-7 from Girona and the C-16 from the Cadí from mid-afternoon; from Carcassonne, leave before lunch or after dinner. ## What is not for these days The Santa Fe beech wood in its copper colour and the golden Fageda d'en Jordà are for the end of October and November: at the Pilar they are still green. The high Pyrenees, on the other hand, is no longer for swimming nor yet for snow. And at Montserrat, twenty minutes away, October holidays fill by mid-morning: if you go, make it first thing. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### Is 12 October a holiday in Catalonia? Yes. The Pilar, Spain's National Day, is a holiday in Catalonia every year; it makes a long weekend when it falls next to a weekend. ### Are there mushrooms on the Pilar long weekend? If it has rained at the end of September, yes. Berga holds its mushroom festival in early October: check the date on the Town Hall website. ### Does the Canal du Midi boat run in October? Yes, the season runs from April to October. Outside it, the getaway's Sunday is swapped for the Lastours castles. ### Which getaway works best without a car? Almost all need a car. The exception is the Penedès: the Rodalies R4 links Manresa and Sant Sadurní without a change, although it takes nearly two hours.