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Fiestas in Barcelona

Every barrio or district in Barcelona hosts its own annual fiesta, which you might as well join in with as the music, drums, noise of the crowds and general celebrations of the festival will keep you awake throughout the night anyway.

National Spanish Holidays, Catalan public holidays and Barcelona only holidays

La Fiesta Mayor de Grácia

Several streets are decorated to individual themes containing lanterns, Papier-mâché figures and sculptures in a competition to gain the prize for the best decorated street. It creates a magical feel as you walk through the narrow streets, especially at night.

Catalonia's traditional castellers (human castles) practice and compete in one of Gracia's main squares – Plaza Rius i Taulet. To watch these human towers is nerve-racking and thrilling, one by one people climb onto each other's shoulders to form a linked tower, topped by ever-lighter people until finally a small child forms the summit.

The dancing devils (Correfoc), are made up of different groups wearing decorated clothes who dance through the streets to their own band of drummers, setting off fireworks attached to the ends of their pitchforks as they go. If you want to see the devilish dancers, check out the videos below.

More dancing devils:

The Gigantes or giants parade, a family favourite, is a parade of huge figures representing kings, queens and nobles. The figures are accompanied by music and dance and twirl through the streets.

Concerts are organised, many of them free, and most streets seems to have some sort of band or music playing. You can collect a free guide to the festival from many of the street stands, or from the Ayuntamiento in Plaza Rius i Taulet.

For some reason it always seems to pour with rain during the Gracia Festival so take your umbrella!

Sant Joan

Sant Joan is an important date in Barcelona and Catalonia and this fiesta is celebrated with fire!

With recent laws banning the lighting of fires in the streets, Barcelona has become a safer place, and many people head for the beach where fires can still be lit.

However, fire-crackers and fireworks have replaced the fires, and the city echoes to the noise of fireworks all day and night (and most of the preceding and following nights too).

Sant Joan is a great excuse for a party, and everyone seems to join in. The fiesta has its roots in pre-Christian times and is celebrated during the night from 23rd to 24th June.

Sant Jordi

Sant Jordi is Catalonia's patron saint and therefore widely celebrated. The tradition is to buy a book and a rose for your loved one, and apparently book sales for Sant Jordi account for 18% of book sales for the whole year. The rose signifies love whilst the book signifies culture.

Sant Jordi is celebrated on 23rd April.

Sant Mercè

Sant Mercè is the Patron Saint of Barcelona: Mare de Deu de la Merce.

Celebrated on 24th September but lasting about three days, Sant Mercè is celebrated with processions and street performances together with the usual correfocs (dancing devils), gigantes and castellers. Not to be missed.

The list of fiestas above are the main ones in Barcelona, but there is a link in the right-hand column to a page where the dates of all fiestas in BCN are listed, so whichever barrio you are living in or visiting, there is a fiesta for you.