The top 3 ski resorts near Barcelona

Spain is Europes second most mountainous country, and there are plenty of excellent ski resorts where you can enjoy a winter break. Several of them are very close to Barcelona, which makes it possible for you to go for a day trip or weekend, as a holiday inside your Barcelona holiday. Whether you are into snowboarding, skiing, or sledging, here’s an introduction to a few of the most popular resorts near Barcelona.

La Molina

This is one of the oldest ski resorts in Spain, and is also close to Barcelona. La Molina is divided into four ski areas, and it has a total of 53 runs which cover all different levels. If you want to see how fast you can go on the slopes, try the self-timing kilometre speed run, and if youre a boarder you can check out the Snow Park which includes a 100m super-pipe. There are other activities available such as husky rides, alpine skiing and circuit sledging.

The train company RENFE offers a package day trip for 41, which includes the train ticket from Barcelona-Sants station to La Molina, the bus to the slopes, a day ski pass, plus insurance. The bus company Sagales also run a package day trip every Wednesday for 34. This includes a ski pass, return bus trip and insurance.

Vall de Nria

Vall de Nria is located in the province of Girona and is part of the Catalan Pyrenees. It is close enough to Barcelona to be perfect for a day trip. There are 11 alpine ski slopes to enjoy: three very easy green runs, three easy blue runs, two medium red runs and two black runs for experienced skiers.

The facilities for families and beginners are great and include a ski school, equipment hire, and snowboarding snow parks. A group lesson for ski or snowboarding costs 22 for a two hour group class with up to six people, or a private class that lasts one hour which costs 35. If you dont ski you can participate in activities like sledging and cross country skiing.

To get there, take the train from Barcelona-Sants station to Ribes de Freser, then the cremallera rack rail to Vall de Nria. Train tickets and a day ski pass costs 29 and a train ticket plus weekend ski pass costs 49,30.

Ski in Andorra: Grandvalira

If youre prepared to travel slightly further, it’s worth going Andorra. This is located in the eastern Pyrenees, on the border with France and Spain. Over 10.2 million tourists visit Andorra every year.

The largest and most famous resort is Grandvalira. It has beautiful landscapes and impressive views. There are 110 ski runs totalling over 193km of downhill slopes, and its definitely worth going for at least a weekend.

Grandvalira consists of six resorts, including Gran Roig, El Tarter, Pas de la Casa and Soldeu. You can get a ski pass for just one resort or for the whole area. It is not difficult to get there. Grandvalira is on the road that leads towards France, on the Valira dOrient river valley.

Several coach companies organise trips from Barcelona to the Grandvalira ski resort, such as Andorra by Bus, and Autocars Nadal. A day ski pass for the entire ski area costs 45 and a half-day ski pass after 1pm costs 35. A beginner ski pass for people who will only use the designated beginners areas costs just 26. There is also freestyle pass which is for people who only use the freestyle slopes, and this costs 35.