Ice skating in Barcelona

Most of us can bring to mind the famous ice rink at Rockefeller Centre even if we've never skated across it, since we've seen it in so many films and TV series. If you head to the rink at L'Illa Diagonal shopping centre, you'll feel like you've been transported straight to New York. Though smaller than some of the other ice rinks in town, this one has plenty of charm, and it’s ideal for kids. You'll find it in the middle of the shopping centre, near the outdoor terraces, livening up the holiday season in the Les Corts neighbourhood.

Dates: Dec 5, 2018 – Jan 5, 2019
Times: The timetables change depending on the day
Prices: €5 for 25 minutes on the ice

Jump on the metro and head out to L'Hospitalet for a day at the annual ice rink in activity centre La Farga, which hosts Kaliu Park, a Christmas fun space divided into three zones: Ice, Creativity and Fun. In the first you'll find a 4,000m² ice rink with room for 350 skaters and a giant 50m ice slide. There's also a 200m² rink for kids equipped with trained helpers. In the Creativity zone, you'll find circus and percussion workshops, dance activities, or kids' concerts. And in the Fun zone try your hand at 3x3 basketball, table tennis, the 'world of games', bouncy intallations, and a play area for the littlest ones. What else could any kid (big or small) ask for?

Dates: Dec 21, 2018 – Jan 7, 2019
Times: Daily 11am-9pm (Dec 25: 11am-2pm, 5pm-9pm; Jan 31: 11am-7pm)
Prices: 1/2 hour skate: €7, 1 hour skate: €10; 3 goes on the slide: €5; glove rental: €2; crampons (adults can accompany kids on the ice): €3

This indoor year-round rink is a sure thing for having a great time on blades. Any day of the year you can try out your fresh moves for about €16, skates included. Be sure to check their website for discounts and deals for solo skating or for you and three of your friends. And if you have kids, it's a great place to throw a birthday party for them.

Dates: Year round
Times: Mon-Fri 10.30am-2pm, 4.30pm-8.30pm; Sat 10.30am-2pm, 4.30pm-9pm; Sun, holidays 10.30am-2pm, 4.30pm-8.30pm
Prices: €15.80 (€12.80 with your own skates)

You've likely heard of this place before... The Barça ice rink is one of the most emblematic in the city, where a blue-and-red heart beats. Near Camp Nou and the Palau Blaugrana, the FC Barcelona ice rink hosts training sessions and competitions of figure skating and hockey, and the rink is open to the public every day of the week. With prices similar to Skating Club (above), you get skates and turns on the ice for €14 (Barça members get a discount). Note that gloves are obligatory, as are helmets for under-12s.

Dates: Year round
Times: Mon-Thu 10am-2pm; Fri 10am-2pm, 5pm-8pm; Sat, Sun, holidays 11am-2pm, 5.30pm-8.30pm.
Holiday season: Dec 24 10am-2pm; Dec 25 closed; Dec 26-30 10am-2pm, 4pm-8pm; Dec 31 10am-2pm; Jan 1 5.30pm-8.30pm; Jan 2-5 10am-2pm, 4pm-8pm; Jan 6 5.30pm-8.30pm
Prices: €14 (€5 for Barça members); glove rental €3; helmet rental: €3

Finding a place to ice skate in Barcelona is easy enough. You can take to the rink practically whenever you want at Skating Club or the Barça installation. But learning how to do pirouettes, figures of eight and other fancy moves is not so simple. If you’ve always had dreams of swirling with grace around the ice, know that these same two places also offer classes for all ages and levels, so you have no excuse not to try it out. The courses are quarterly, and you’ll invest about €200 in your lessons. Barça’s are one hour per week, and at Skating Club they’re an hour and a quarter per week.

If it's clear that you were born to ice skate and you're tired of wasting all that money on ill-fitting rental skates, it just might be time for you to buy a pair of your own. At L’Estel Skates (Canigó, 3) they offer a variety of figure skates, hockey skates and roller skates; in fact, they're the official suppliers of the Spanish Federation of ice skating and roller skating. In addition to kitting out your feet, you can find great clothing and accessories like skirts, thermal tights, backpacks and much more than you can possibly imagine.