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Barcelona is one of the world’s prime destinations, and during the Christmas season, the markets are beautiful than ever. Quite a few Christmas markets in the city can provide visitors with many ideas for gifts, as well as plenty of entertainment.

In The Lofttown we celebrate Christmas above all else, because this is a very special date for us! And we are excited to be able to celebrate with you all!

The main traditional Christmas markets that you should visit are the following:

La Fira de Santa Llucia

Barcelona’s main Christmas fair has been going for over 225 years. Located in the plaza in front of Barcelona Cathedral, you’ll find it camped underneath the city’s imposing Gothic Cathedral.

Special days include festival ‘Diada de les tradicions i costums nadalenques’ which has extra Christmas activities for children including the ‘Carassa de Nadal de Barcelona’ and a Christmas concert. 

Most stalls are given over to selling festive decorations, nativity-scene figures (including the infamous Caganer in all his usual, and celebrity, guises), handmade crafts, traditional zambombas (friction drums) and seasonal trees and shrubs. 

The Santa Llúcia market opens at the end of November and finishes on the 23rd of December, opening at 10am to 9pm. 

Fira de Nadal de la Sagrada Família

Another traditional Christmas market, this time is held in the park beside the basilica and takes place from late November until the 23rd of December.

This Fira de Nadal boasts around 120 stalls and occasional appearances from Santa Claus. It is slightly smaller than the Fira de Santa Llucia and has more of a local feel to it.

In addition to Christmas decorations, there are also stands selling traditional winter snacks such as roast chestnuts, baked sweet potatoes, xurros and hot chocolate.

Opening times are from 10:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and 10:00 to 22:00 at weekends, public holidays and the day before public holidays. On two Saturdays from 6pm to 8pm Santa Claus pays a visit to collect letters from the children and hand out balloons and cookies. 

Fira de Nadal del Port Vell

Barcelona’s newest Christmas Market, the Fira de Nadal del Port Vell takes place from the first weekend in December until the 5th of January and can be found at the Moll de la Fusta (at the foot of the Christopher Columbus Statue), and typically features the city’s biggest Christmas tree, lit-up with LED lights, a Ferris Wheel and a floating nativity scene, besides that, features craft stalls, food stalls, childrens activities and workshops.

Opening times vary, but as a rough guide you can expect the fair to be open daily from 11.00 to 22:30.

Fira de Reis

The Fira de Reis located on Gran Via between Plaça de la Universitat and Carrer de Calabria is known for its large selection of toys. Most of the stalls sell children’s toys and other gifts. There are also xurrerias selling fresh xurros and hot chocolate.

The main day for giving and receiving presents in Spain is Kings Day (dia dels Reis Mags) which is January 6^th, for that reason, the Fira de Reis runs from December 17th until the 6th of January. Opening times are from 11:00 to 14:00 then 17:00 to 21:00.

Fira de Placa de Catalunya

The Fira de Placa de Catalunya is one of the most exciting festive events in all of Spain. Located in Plaça Catalunya on the first weekend of December each year, it boasts an array of stalls selling everything from artisanal food and drinks to traditional Catalan gifts like handmade wooden toys. The market also gives you live music and dance performances from local artists.

This market attracts over 2 million visitors per year due to be held in Plaça Catalunya (in front of La Boqueria), which is where most tourists arrive in Barcelona by train or by plane.

Now that you know what the best Christmas markets are in all of Barcelona in December, we remind you that at The Lofttown, your student residence in Barcelona, ​​we want to count on you to live a unique and unforgettable experience, while you study in Barcelona so that you become one of our #TheLoftowners.

If you want to know more about us, we also invite you to follow us on Facebook and Instagram so that you are always up to date with the latest promotions and news in our university residence.

Enjoy December!

Exam season is fast approaching, so this week’s blog focus on exam study tips.

Exams are inevitable for students, but they don’t need to be painful. With preparation, stress can be avoided, and better results are more likely to be achieved. For that reason, today at The Lofttown, your student residence in Barcelona, ​​we share a list with the best tips so that during exam times you get the results you always wanted.

Tip 1: Study Every Day

According to studies, students revise 15 to 20 per week in the few weeks before an exam. This equates to around five hours per day, with weekends off. Revising every day reduces pressure on the student and reduces the need to cram.

Tip 2: Have A Study Routine

The best time to revise depends on personal preference, however developing routine delivers better results. Find the study times that work best for you and create a study timetable around that. If you work best in the daytime, treat your study schedule like a 9-5 job and down tools for the day at 5pm to do something fun or de-stressing. If you find you work best in the evening time, then take the mornings for yourself and start working in the afternoon.

Tip 3: Manage Your Time

As soon as your exam schedule comes in, write it down and pin it up to your wall. In creating a study schedule, you can ensure that you do not leave anything to the last minute. A starting point may be to write out the dates of exams, organise how many pages you have to learn and how long tasks will take based on your studying habits. Additional tools like alarms, wall planners and to-do lists may help aid the process. There is nothing more stress-inducing than realizing you’ve forgotten an exam because your phone had a glitch and you lost your timetable. 

Tip 4: Organise Your Study Space

Organising your notes, files and papers is incredibly important for a successful study sesh, this includes your computer too. There is nothing more frustrating than searching through files and papers trying to find that one piece of information you need, so remember to label and colour code to your heart’s content. A cluttered desk leads to a cluttered mind!

Organising your exam study space and getting rid of distractions improves focus. Ensuring it is as comfortable as possible reduces anxiety and stress.

Tip 5: Get Plenty Of Practice

Old exam papers are an ideal way of preparing for exams. This means you are prepared for the format of the questions and the time it takes for yourself.

Tip 6: Have A Healthy Routine

You need to fuel your body with foods that help concentration like bananas, berries, yoghurt, eggs, oats, salmon, peanut butter and even chocolate. By eating natural, healthy food you can keep your body and brain fit and help improve concentration and memory. It can be really tempting to reach for foods that are convenient when you’re short for time, but you’ll soon find yourself feeling lethargic and unmotivated if you exist solely on a diet of cereals, pot noodles, and takeaways during your exams. 

Drinking water is also advisable as it is required to stay hydrated and adds to your positive mood.  

Tip 7: Get A Good Night’s Sleep

Revising late into the night might seem like the only way you can get through your hefty to-do list, but you’ll find yourself feeling hazy and unfocused the next day. Stick to a regular schedule and switch off your lights at a reasonable time at night. Getting into a great sleeping pattern will help get your body get ready for those early morning exams and even boosts your mood, concentration, appetite, memory, and physical health.

Tip 8: Believe In Yourself

Last but very important, believe in yourself. You are more than capable, just make sure to look after your mental and physical health, structure your revision and do as much as you can whilst looking after yourself. Tell yourself you are capable and you will start to believe it. Your well-being is just as important as these exams. If you need help, ask for it, you will be surprised what the university or school can do for you. With these 8 tips, we guarantee that you can pass the exams with maximum success and end the semester with good grades. 

If you want to know more about us, we invite you to follow us on Facebook and Instagram so that you are always up to date with the latest promotions and news in our student residence.

Good luck in the exams!

It’s been a week since summer has ended so the study season is starting. Are you ready for your classes, exams and assignments? In Xior Lofttown we are ready to see you give it all this semester. Planning your study time well is very important to reach all your goals and what you want to achieve in the future. And, apart from planning your life in the residence hall, you will also have to plan your studies. We know that it is a difficult task, even more so if you have just started university.

First of all, you have to have to set your goals and ensure you take care of everything, both with your studies and in your day-to-day activities. You will have days when you are going to wake up eager to do everything, especially now that you are starting the semester, and other days when it is going to be a bit more difficult for you to catch up with your agenda.

For this reason, at the Xior Lofttown student residence in Barcelona we will give you some advice to make planning your studies as easy as possible.   

Having an agenda or calendar

There are many ways of knowing what you have to do on a daily basis, the best thing to do is to choose the best tool for you. It can be an agenda or a calendar, or also online platforms that will help you a lot in the organization and planning of your work or exams such as:

• Google Drive
• Google Calendar
• Evernote
• Trello
• Studeam

Sort your subjects by difficulty

You can order your subjects from most to least important or also order them by difficulty. Dedicate more time and especially the first hours of study to those subjects that you think may cost you a little more, because when you are more tired and unmotivated, then you will only have the ones that are easier for you to study. 

This is a great trick to avoid having to deal with the most difficult subjects when you have no more energy left, take advantage of it! 

Set goals  

Short-term goals are one of the best things you can do to keep your motivation up and keep you motivated so that you can gradually achieve what you set out to do. You can start by thinking about one main goal but it is always better to have several short-term goals or objectives that are realistic, clear and specific, that you know you will be able to achieve them, also something very important to set your objectives or goals is that you have to establish the time in which you want to achieve them.

For example, you can start by making daily goals, study one or two subjects per day, or finish a paper in one or two hours. 

Study area:  

It is essential to find a place to study or do your university work, Xior Lofttown offers you a study room where you can study, work, etc. But if you are one of those people who like to study in different places, Barcelona offers you many options.