Barcelona Events

JANUARY
The Procession of the Three Wise Men on January 5th inaugurates the year's festivities.
FEBRUARY/MARCH
Carnaval: Sitges has Catalunya's best celebrations.
MAY
11 The Cremada del Dimoni at Badalona: demon-burning, dancing and fireworks.
Third week: Fires i Festes de la Santa Creu in Figueres; processions and music.
Corpus Christi (moveable feast, sometimes falls in early June): The Festa de Corpus Christi in Sitges - big processions and streets decorated with flowers.
JUNE
24 Dia de Sant Joan celebrated everywhere; watch out for things shutting down for a day on either side.
Last week: Annual festival at Canet de Mar and Sant Cugat del Vallès.

SONAR MUSIC FESTIVAL by Day
Simultaneous and uninterrupted concerts and DJ's at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) and the MACBA. A meeting point for artists, professionals and public.

Sónar by Night
Nights at SÓNAR are of a distinctive nature, an enormous cosmopolitan celebration, similar to other great European events but with a Mediterranean feeling, giving it a unique festive atmosphere.

Sónar by Night has 3 locations occupied by distinguished national and international names from the world of electronic music. Each night DJs, VDJs and concerts from the broadest spectrum of dance music appear simultaneously in the 4 areas. Sónar by Night occupies an area of more than 10,000 meters, divided between covered and open-air spaces.

Click here to visit the official web

JULY
Second week: Annual festival at Arenys de Mar.
AUGUST
15 Annual festival at Castelldefels.
19 Festa de Sant Magi in Tarragona.
Last week: Festa Major in Sitges, to honour the town's patron saint, Sant Bartolomeu.
Last three days: The Festa Major in Vilafranca del Penedès, with human towers, dancing and processions - continues into the first two days of September.
SEPTEMBER
Second Sunday: The Fira Gran in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, the town's big annual festival.
23 Festa de Sant Tecla in Tarragona, with processions of gigants and human castles.

PRIMAVERA SOUND FESTIVAL

Situated at the foot of Mont Montjuic, site of the Olympic Games, the Poble Espanyol is a walled enclosure area, a waterclour painting which portrayas the different peoples and cultures of spain, represented in the form of streets and squares, monuments and buildings. An important tourist attraction by day, becomes a nightlife area.

Mont Montjuic, the biggest urban park of Barcelona, is close to Plaça Espanya, a very central square, with good communications with metro and buses with the rest of the city. From Plaça Espanya to Poble Espanyol there´s only a 5-10 minutes walk.

Click here to visit the official web

Catalonia has managed to maintain many customs and traditions over the years, which are very common in everyday life.

The most important from a tourist point of view are:

Sardanas: Traditional Catalan dance. People meet in front of the cathedral on Sundays to dance it.

Castellers: The "castells" are impressive human towers of up to 9 "floors". They originated in the Tarragona region, although they can be seen in popular festivals in Barcelona, especially during the "Mercè".

Saint George (Sant Jordi), patron saint of Catalonia: On 23 April the Catalans celebrate Saint George's day by offering a rose and/or book, and the main shopping streets of Barcelona are filled with book stands.

Night of Saint John's: On the 23 June, the summer solstice is celebrated with big bonfires, firecrackers and fireworks, and people eat the traditional "coca de Sant Joan" (a pastry).

La Mercè festival: This is the festival for Barcelona's patron saint, held in the week of the 24 September, the day of La Mercè. All kinds of activities are organized, for all tastes and all ages. Of particular interest is the "correfoc" (fire-breathing dragons from all over Catalonia), and the pyrotechnical music show (fireworks and classical music next to the Montjuïc fountains).

BANK HOLIDAYS

1 January
New year's day
6 January Epiphany
April Easter
23 April Saint George's day
27 April Mare de Déu de Montserrat
1 May May Day
19 May Whitsun
24 June Saint John's day
15 August Assumption Festivities of Gracia
11 September La Diada (Catalan national holiday)
24 September La Mercè
12 October Columbus Day
1 November All Saints' Day
6 December Constitution Day
8 December Immaculate Conception
25 December Christmas
26 December Saint Stephen's Day