Village de Noël Le Barcarès — Attraction in Perpignan

Both great and terrible.

The actual Christmas village was great. Loads of fun activities and my partner and I had a lovely time. The organisers had put a load of thought and effort into everything. Lots of food choices too.

However, the organisers had greatly underestimated how popular it would be. We went on the evening of Friday the 8th of December which was a public holiday in Spain and the queues were horrendous. We had to park almost 30 minutes away, the queue just to the ticket booths (we'd bought in advance) was massive and eventually the Police wouldn't allow anyone in past that point, nevermind getting to the actual entrance.

We saw people climbing over the fences to get out - it was too crushed for their children. We eventually left when people started getting angry and returned on Saturday morning when it was better but still busy.

I'd only recommend visiting if you can go on a normal working day. Don't try going on a Friday evening, weekend or...

Lots of free parking close by within a 5 or 10 minute walk. Well signposted. Range of tickets on sale including adult entry only 5€. Children under 5 go free. Discounts on other tickets for example family of four or a "premium pass" although it was not immediately clear what this pass entitled you to once inside.

Once inside lots of trees covered in "snow", brightly coloured lights and decorations. Giant characters and lots of decorative areas to take photos. Most of the rides inside seemed to have a seperate cost. Children's fairground rides, some adult rides eg big wheel. Ice skating rink. Unsure of the cost for those.

Museum of ice sculptures, separate cost for entry at €4 per adult but 2 adults for 8€. Under 5's I think were free.

Lots of different chalets of food and numerous types. Many chalets selling gifts, crafts items and souvenirs.

Busy, noisy, colourful and fun. Packed with...

We didn’t book in advance. Arrived by car, queues were endless, took a long time to park, then a good half an hour walk in the dusty paths. By the time we arrived at the entrance storm started to gather like crazy, despite that they sold us tickets, security at the gate was a farce might as well not exist ( poorly managed, understaffed and poorly organised) . I couldn’t enjoy anything inside as I could barely open my eyes without sand getting in from the worsening tornado, and everything was flying around which was clearly unsafe! Eventually they called in a “ safety evacuation “ via loud speakers . Then imagine the chaos with everything from getting back to the car to driving out of the village! No information offered on how ( if any) to get a refund . Absolute...