Barcelona offers a Mediterranean lifestyle, but for those who love the mountains, the Pyrenees are just two hours away. So if you love skiing in winter, trekking in summer, or just love the mountains, you are spoilt for choice.
Where to go:
In less than 3 hours you can drive to skifields in three countries – Spain, Andorra and France. On weekends thousands of people from Barcelona head up to Puigcerda and La Cerdanya.
The following skifields are all located in Catalonia.
La Molina – accessible by FGC train and one of the closest fields to Barcelona.
Vall de Núria – accessible by FGC train and a mountain zip train. There are options to stay on the mountain. A great destination in summer. The skifield is small but great for families.
Vallter 2000 – the most Eastern field in the Pyrenees.
Espot – on the edge of Aiguestortes National Park
Boí Taüll – the Boi Valley is a spectacular setting for this skifield,
Puigcerda is an important winter hub, with many people crossing into France where there are more skifields within 40 minutes.
Porte Puymorens – close to Andorra, this field is about a 30-minute drive from Puigcerda.
Font Romeu – a 35-minute drive from Puigcerda, this is a popular field for families.
Les Angles – a 45 minute drive from Puigcerda, there is a large open field offering some great skiing.
Lles / Aransa (Cross country) – there are some good accommodation options close to the field.
Andorra is also a popular choice, offering some of the best skiing in the area.
Grandvalira/Pas de la Casa – offering over 200 km of trails, this is the largest skifield in the Pyrenees. It includes the areas of Soldeu and Pas de la Casa.
Vallnord – Pal/Arinsal are also managed under Grandvalira
The largest fields offering the most consistent snow conditions are found further west in the Vall d’Aran and the province of Huesca, in Aragon.
Baquiera Beret – one of the largest skifields in Spain, located in the Val d’Aran. This is a beautiful valley and a popular resort. It’s further away, so plan on a 4-hour trip, but well worth it.
Cerler – the road up to the village of Benasque is spectacular. Many people stay here and drive up the mountain road to Cerler each day.
Formigal, Astun and Candanchu – there is a plan to link up the three stations in the next couple of years, which will create one of the largest ski areas in the Pyrenees. Astun and Candanchu are both accessed from CanFranc, whereas Formigal is in another valley, so quite some distance by car.
Getting there
To get to most stations you will need a car. There are weekend bus services available to some stations or to Andorra. The only stations accessible by Train are La Molina and Nuria, which is a small station.