Help... All the guidebooks seem to be written for summertime traveling! I posted before about this but maybe my subject line was too specific....

We're going to Barcelona for 18 days in November. We want to spend about half of it in the city (including day trips like Montserrat) & the other half in the countryside, hanging out, enjoying the scenery & the food, maybe doing some light hiking. We do not require jam-packed itineraries full of momentous sights; we'd prefer to spend some relaxing time in beautiful landscape.

Another restriction we're working with is no car, so wherever we go has to be accessible by bus/train & also compact enough for walking once we get there.

Is this possible in November? Or should we just stay in Barcelona the whole time?

I understand Girona is worth 1 or 2 nights. Where else? What is Sitges like in November?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Hope someone who lives or has lived in Barcelona speaks up.
I found this: weather in november, 2004
http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/weather/weather-november.html
Sounds like layering + travel fold up raincoat.
Barcelona's metro+train system will prove quite useful.
And passes And buses.
That's all we had to get around. And wished we had
more time; it was all so easy and efficient.
All we had were 6 short days.
The tourist info at Plaza Cataluña was very helpful on
all kinds of transport tips, maps,approaches etc.
There are many interesting towns. Girona is lovely and doesn't depend on the beach scene to make it interesting.
I do wonder how cold those beach winds get come November.
There is,of course, the jaunt to Dali's Teatro Museo in Figueres and the charming Gaudi church in Colonial Guell. Tarragona.
Also we had so much to do that we didn't even come
close to taking advantage of all the theater + performance venues.Check events. concerts.
Have you checked for November
regional fiestas as well?
Festival Internacional de Jazz de Barcelona take place
in Nov.
There were outlying areas around Barcelona that sounded interesting but... we didn't have the time. I will be curious what you turn up. Happy hunting

Millions of things to do outside of BCN in November.
I lived 85 km north of BCN for 3 years and there is loads to do especially walking and visiting some fascinating places and all by train and bus.

Trains are extremely cheap, very clean and mostly run on time. Buses too run all over Spain from the couple of bus stations in the centre of BCN.

Many areas have signposted walks from village to waterfalls and hidden churches back to villages with lots of reasonable accomodation.

Try taking the train which runs from Sants to Puigcerda. This is on the border between France and Spain. The scenery is spectacular. All the small villages and mountain passes. Stop off on the way at Ribes de Freser where you can walk or catch the cog train up to the Vall de Nuria, a hermitage, santuary and ski resort. There is varied accomodation at the top including a youth hostel.

There are many other train services along the coast, north and south. Hundreds of timetables and info in Placa Catalunya station.

Other places to visit....Banyoles,Besalu Olot. All in beautiful inland Catalunya. On the Coast you have San Feliu de Guixols, Roses, Estartit, Calella de Palafrugell, Pals, La Franc. These last 2 are linked by beautiful coastal walks.

Obviously your trip will be goverened by the weather! November can be cold but it depends what your used to; how cold is cold! The ski season usually starts the last weekend in Nov and definately everthing is open for the three day traditional holiday about the 5th 6th DEc.

So high up it can get very cold at night but the coast could be beautiful, if a little windy.

Hope you have a good trip.

Thanks so much for the guidance. How cold is cold is definitely a question for us -- we're from coastal California (where it only snows about once every 15 yrs), so how much will we have to bundle up for the mountains? I'm kind of a cold-weather wimp...

I'm tempted to just book an apt. in Barcelona for the first week of our trip, & then leave the rest to improvisation as we learn more while in town, but is this wise for travellers on a (not terribly tight, but still limited) budget? I would never attempt such a thing in the high season but could we get away w/ such non-planning in November?

I imagine you'll be travelling quite light so I recommend at least a fleece and a waterproof jacket. Layers are good. Thermals are even better cos they pack down very small and are very light so a thermal vest and thermal longjohns under everything and you'll be cosy as toast!

As for booking in advance, like you say its not high season so you should have no worries just that November is when some hotelier might have their holidays after the summer rush and before the winter one, but hell you're not going to the back of beyond.

There are lots of nice clean ordinary hotels open all year round for business people so you should find no problems at all. Have a good trip.
I'm on holiday in Castille and Leon at the moment and being September I expected some sun and heat.It has been cold since we got here so I'm glad I packed a wooly jumper, which was originally for nights only, and a fleece.