That said, Barcelona is not exactly the city where Santa’s toy workshop is hidden. After one of the hottest and longest summers in history, with high temperatures that have reached almost until December, the cold has finally appeared, allowing us to say that, now yes, Christmas is coming.
And there is no Christmas without an ice rink (even a synthetic one). So, after the icy rinks have come and gone over the years in the city, this year Barcelona will enjoy several points where you can use the skates and glide across the ice with the grace of a swan.
Tibidabo’s ice rink for skating on the heights.
Is there anything nicer than ice skating while enjoying Barcelona at your feet? We can think of few better plans, and that’s why we are happy to explain that this year Tibidabo premieres an ice rink that will allow us to feel like we are gliding over the sky of the city.
The amusement park rink will be installed in the Plaça del Somnis from November 26 until January 5 and will be open to all citizens because, although access will be included in the park entrance, if someone wants to use the ice rink without visiting the rest of the park can do so for a price of 5 euros for a 15-minute pass.
The rink, with capacity for 40 people, by the way, is not exactly made of ice, but of a synthetic material that imitates it, more sustainable, since it does not require energy consumption because it does not need water or electrical maintenance. So now you know, if this year you want to skate on the sky you know where to go.
📍Parc d’Atraccions del Tibidabo (Pl. del Tibidabo, 3)
The modernist ice rink of Llums de Sant Pau
The Sant Pau Christmas light show has already put on sale its tickets to visit it. Until January 14, 2024, the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site will host this Christmas event with tickets on sale from 10 euros.
General admission prices start at 12 euros for this edition 2023-2024, although on Fridays, weekends and holiday eves will rise to 15 euros per person. Below, we detail the full price of tickets to see the Llums de Sant Pau 2023.
Among the novelties of Els Llums de Sant Pau 2023 is the installation of an indoor ice rink. Access to this attraction has an additional cost of 5 € for a 20-minute skating session, and it will be the only ice rink located inside a modernist building in Barcelona.
📍Recinte Modernista Sant Pau (C/ de St. Antoni Maria Claret, 167)
The classic rink in the upper area of l’Illa Diagonal
The upper rink has the feel of a New York ice rink, in the middle of a shopping mall, surrounded by lights that give a Christmas feel to holiday shopping. A traditional ice rink, but also with synthetic ice, designed for families, where the little ones will also have penguins to help them take their first steps on the ice.
The rink will be open from November 24 until January 7, and the entrance fee of 5 will give access to 25 minutes of skating (artistic or not, that’s up to everyone) on the rink. The space will be open on weekends and holidays from 11 am to 9 pm, and on weekdays from 5 pm to 9 pm.
📍L’Illa Diagonal(Av. Diagonal, 557, 08029 Barcelona)
Skating on the sea at the Nadal al Port gel rink.
If skating on the heights, skating on the sea is also a little golden dream. Gliding over the water with sharp skates like an elegant sailboat is not yet possible, but the ice rink of the Port of Barcelona will allow to reach a similar sensation.
The rink will be a novelty this year and one of the main attractions of the Port Vell Christmas Fair. Like the one at Tibidabo, it will be made of recycled material, and will be 400 m2. In addition to the rink, there will be a little train, traditional attractions, a 65-meter high Ferris wheel ….. In short, skating on the ice (or on the sea) is just the beginning of the fun for those who come to Port Vell this Christmas.
The rink will be open from December 5 to January 6, from 11 am to 10 pm, except on December 25 and December 21, when it will only be open from 4 pm to 11 pm.
Bonus track: FC Barcelona ice rink.
It is not Christmas, because it is there all year round, but the holidays can be a good excuse to approach the oldest and most emblematic ice rinks in the city. Next to Camp Nou, in Les Corts, FC Barcelona’s Pista del Gel is open to the general public when the Barça figure skating and ice hockey sections are not training.
For 15 euros for the general public and 7.5 euros for Barça members, at different times, any Barcelonian can spend the day skating where the best skaters in the city skate.