# Diada long weekend from Tarragona: getaways for 11 September Three getaways with a night away and four day trips from Tarragona for 11 September, the Diada: the end of summer in the high mountains, from the Tristaina lakes to Añisclo and Núria, the Penedès harvest, Siurana kayaking, the Coll de la Creueta and Montserrat on horseback. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/tarragona/getaways/diada-long-weekend · Revisado: 2026-11-13 Origen: Tarragona - [Two summer nights in Andorra: Caldea, the Tristaina lakes and the villages of La Massana](https://www.geocalia.com/en/andorra/andorra-la-vella/itineraries/andorra-summer-baths-and-lakes.md) (2 nights, Andorra la Vella and Escaldes): September is the last month of the Tristaina lakes free of snow, and the 11th is not a holiday in Andorra, so Ordino is quiet. Bring your ID card, start the lake circuit early and leave Caldea for the afternoon. - [A weekend in Aínsa: Añisclo, a canyon descent and the square at dusk, an hour and a half from Huesca](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/aragon/ainsa-and-sobrarbe/itineraries/ainsa-anisclo-canyoning-weekend.md) (2 nights, Aínsa and the Sobrarbe): In September Añisclo returns to its good season, with fewer cars than in August, and the 11th is a working day in Aragon. It is three hours from Tarragona: two nights, and Sunday's canyon, booked before leaving. - [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): In September Núria has meadows still green and the Rack Railway still on summer hours. The Diada is celebrated in the Ripollès with sardanas in the morning; buy the train online, as the holiday fills. - [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): The Diada falls in the middle of the Penedès harvest, and on harvest holidays the wineries with tables fill. Book the visit and lunch with days to spare; from Tarragona you get there by train with a change at Sant Vicenç. - [Siurana: cliff, ledge and reservoir](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/siurana/itineraries/siurana-cliff-trona-path-and-reservoir-kayak.md) (Day itinerary, Siurana): In September the kayak on the Siurana reservoir is still open and the Trona begins to be done without August's sun, best first thing. Book lunch inside the village, which is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. - [Berguedà by motorbike: Coll de la Creueta and a mountain table](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/berga/itineraries/bergueda-motorbike-route.md) (Day itinerary, Berga): September is one of the best months for the Coll de la Creueta, at 1,921 metres, without August's traffic or spring's gravel. Fill the tank in Berga and come down before the afternoon storms. - [Montserrat: horse, table and rack railway](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/montserrat/itineraries/horse-riding-lunch-and-rack-railway.md) (Day itinerary, Montserrat): September opens the good season for the horse ride at the foot of Montserrat, without summer's heat. In the afternoon, at the sanctuary, the Escolania is back from its summer holidays. ## The last long weekend of summer in the mountains The Diada Nacional de Catalunya, 11 September, is a holiday across Catalonia and falls in the last good week of the high mountains. The Andorran lakes are still free of snow, Núria has green meadows and Añisclo recovers its calm after August. For someone living in Tarragona, three hours from the Pyrenees, it is the last chance of the year to go up without thinking about snow: twelve days later comes Santa Tecla, and with it the city does not move. When the 11th falls on a Friday or Monday, it is three days. Midweek, the single day is enough for Siurana, the Penedès or Montserrat. ## Andorra and Aragon work The Diada is a holiday in Catalonia, not across the border. In Andorra and Aragon it is a working day, and you notice in the crowds: the Tristaina lakes, in Ordino, and the Añisclo canyon, in the Sobrarbe, have on 11 September an almost empty day. In return, in Andorra some services have already moved to out-of-season hours: check those of Caldea and the mountain restaurants. ## Núria and the Ripollès, with sardanas In the Catalan Pyrenees, the 11th is a holiday and is celebrated: flower offerings and sardanas in many squares in the morning. With two nights in the Ripollès, Saturday is for the Núria valley on the Rack Railway and Sunday for the monasteries and the Ter greenway. ## Harvest without leaving home The Camp de Tarragona has the harvest at its door: in the Priorat and the Penedès grapes are cut these days. With a single day, the Penedès wineries with tables, fifty minutes away, or the reservoir and crag at Siurana, an hour away. The Priorat, closer still, is left for the Pilar long weekend, when its vines change colour. ## Beds in Aínsa and Ripoll, train online Rooms in Aínsa and Ripoll, few, weeks ahead. The Núria Rack Railway, online with a time. The Guara canyons, with days. In Andorra there are more beds, but hotels with thermal water fill on a Catalan holiday. In the Penedès, table and visit. ## A day in the Berguedà or at Montserrat If you only have the 11th, the nearest mountain with a high road is the Berguedà's: the motorbike route climbs from Berga to the Coll de la Creueta, at 1,921 metres, via La Pobla de Lillet and Castellar de n'Hug. Without a motorbike, Montserrat is an hour and a half away, with a horse ride in the morning and the sanctuary in the afternoon. ## Cool up high, hot down low In September, at 2,000 metres, mornings are already cold and afternoon storms still frequent. In the Camp de Tarragona it is hot at midday and the sea is at its warmest of the year. Bring clothes for both altitudes. ## A train to Núria and ponies at the foot of the mountain The first Tristaina lake is an easy forty minutes. Núria has a train, a lake and meadows without cars. The Siurana kayak admits children; the ledge, from age ten. The Montserrat horse ride has ponies for the little ones. ## Leaving Tarragona on the afternoon of the 10th On the afternoon before the Diada, the AP-7 northwards and the C-14 towards Ponts and La Seu d'Urgell get heavy. On the morning of the 11th, Barcelona closes streets for the events: if you are going to the Ripollès, go round it via Manresa and Vic. The return on the last day, with the traffic from late holidays: leave early. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### Is the Diada a holiday in Andorra and Aragon? No: only in Catalonia. That is why the Andorran lakes and Añisclo are quieter that day. ### Is the weather still good in the Pyrenees in September? Usually, with cold mornings and the odd afternoon storm. It is the last month with the lakes free of snow.