GETTING STARTED
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Compact and easy to get around by public transport, Barcelona is geared to tourism and you will find plenty of information on all major tourist attractions. At the same time, it is full of mystery and invites you to spend long days of meandering and discovering. The monuments and museums, mainly concentrated in a relatively small area, could keep you busy for a week or more, but inevitably some of your time will be dedicated to simply hanging out in cafes, bars, eateries and at the beach. Consider setting aside a day or two for excursions (Click here), most easily done by train. Consider booking hotels, sought-after restaurants and shows before leaving home (see (Click here). Take care, particularly on arrival, as petty crime directed at tourists laden with cameras and bags is, unfortunately, common.
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WHEN TO GO
Barcelona is a year-round destination; as ideal for a long weekend city break as for a six-month sabbatical. It is a good idea to time a trip with one eye on events and the other on the weather (see (Click here). Many associate Barcelona with the summer sun, but August can be a poor choice – the city broils and swarms with tourists as the locals disappear to more salubrious climes. It is certainly better to come around mid-June or September. If beach time is not a priority, you can easily find sunny (if chilly) weather and fewer visitors in January and February. You stand a good chance of striking rain from April to May and October through November.
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FESTIVALS
Whether it’s being chased by fire-spitting demons or joining parades of giants, meandering through the decorated streets of Barcelona’s barris (neighbourhoods) with beer in hand, or crowding into a mega-concert at the Fòrum, the city proffers a plethora of festivals. Many are steeped in colourful tradition, while others are modern affairs focused on concerts, theatre or sport. Some envelop the entire city; other lively local festes are limited to a particular barri. Events take place throughout much of the year, although there is more activity in the warmer months. For a list of official public holidays in Barcelona, see (Click here).
January
ANY NOU/AÑO NUEVO (NEW YEAR’S DAY)
Like Cap d’Any/Noche Vieja (New Year’s Eve) anywhere, this occasion can create but not always fulfil expectations. Many locals arrange parties in their homes as restaurants, bars and clubs fill to bursting and charge like wounded bulls. Rowdy folks also gather around Plaça de Catalunya.
REIS/REYES
Epifanía (Epiphany) on 6 January is also known as the Dia dels Reis Mags/Día de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings’ Day), or simply Reis/Reyes, perhaps the most important day on a Barcelona kid’s calendar. According to tradition, this is when they receive gifts (although Christmas has made heavy inroads). The holiday itself is quiet, but on 5 January children delight in the Cavalcada dels Reis Mags (Parade of the Three Kings), a colourful parade of floats and music, during which countless sweets are launched from the floats into the crowds.
FESTES DELS TRES TOMBS
A key part of the festival of Sant Antoni Abat, the patron saint of domestic and carriage animals, is this Feast of the Three Circuits, a parade of horse-drawn carts in L’Eixample near the Mercat de Sant Antoni every 17 January.
February
BARCELONA VISUALSOUND
www.bcnvisualsound.org, in Catalan
This 10-day festival brings together audiovisual creators in a celebration of emerging stars in the making of anything from video to multimedia art.
BARNASANTS
www.barnasants.com, in Catalan
Each year the city’s main live-music venues host a bevy of Catalan, Spanish and Latin American singer-songwriters for concerts spread over a period from the end of January until about mid-March.
CARNESTOLTES/CARNAVAL
Celebrated in February or March, this festival involves several days of fancy-dress parades and merrymaking, ending on the Tuesday 47 days before Easter Sunday. The Gran Rua (Grand Parade) takes place on the Saturday evening from 5.30pm. Down in Sitges (Click here) a much wilder version takes place. The gay community stages gaudy parades and party-goers keep the bars and clubs heaving for several days running.
DE CAJÓN FESTIVAL FLAMENCO
A major flamenco fest running over different dates each year (a series of 16 major concerts from mid-February to mid-April in 2010) and held in venues across town.
FESTES DE SANTA EULÀLIA
Coinciding roughly with Carnaval, this is the feast of Barcelona’s first patron saint, Eulàlia (or ‘la Laia’ for short). The Ajuntament (town hall) organises a week of cultural events, from concerts through to performances by castellers (human-castle builders; see (Click here).
FESTIVAL DE JAZZ
www.jazzterrassa.org, in Catalan
A major season of jazz concerts from late January to the end of February in the nearby city of Terrassa.
March & April
DIVENDRES SANT/VIERNES SANTO (GOOD FRIDAY)
Transport yourself to southern Spain with the Easter processions from the Església de Sant Agustí in El Raval on Good Friday. They start at 5pm and end in front of La Catedral three hours later.
RAL.LI BARCELONA-SITGES
Dozens of classic cars converge on Barcelona towards the end of March for this annual rally. You can see the cars on show on the Saturday morning in Plaça de Sant Jaume, or position yourself on the route here or in Sitges.
DIA DE SANT JORDI
Catalonia celebrates the feast of its patron saint, St George, on 23 April. At the same time, the Dia del Llibre (Day of the Book) is observed – men give women a rose, women give men a book, publishers launch new titles and La Rambla and Plaça de Sant Jaume fill with book and flower stalls. In some years the day is marked, as in 2010, by a mega-concert in the Club Sant Jordi on Montjuïc (Map).
FERIA DE ABRIL DE CATALUNYA
Andalucía comes to town with this traditional southern festival staged by and for the city’s big Andalucian population. It lasts for about a week from late April and is held in the Parc del Fòrum.
FESTIVAL DE MÚSICA ANTIGA DE BARCELONA
A month-long festival from mid-April to mid-May of ancient music, which reaches back centuries and across cultures to create a varied series of concerts at l’Auditori.
May
L’OU COM BALLA
A curious tradition, the ‘Dancing Egg’ is an empty shell that bobs on top of the flower-festooned fountain in the cloister of La Catedral. This spectacle is Barcelona’s way of celebrating Corpus Christi (the Thursday following the eighth Sunday after Easter Sunday), which can also fall in June. You can see sardanes (traditional Catalan folk dance) being danced on Plaça de Sant Jaume from 7pm on this day.
FESTA DE SANT PONÇ
To commemorate the patron saint of bee-keepers and herbalists, locals fill Carrer de l’Hospital in El Raval on 11 May with the chatter and bustle of a street market.
FESTA DEL PASSATGE LLUÍS PELLICER
The intriguing little lane in L’Eixample (Map), lined with several interesting restaurants, really comes to life for three days in May with its folksy festival, featuring concerts and locals feasting at tables set up along the lane.
PRIMAVERA SOUND
For three days in late May (or early June) the Auditori Fòrum and other locations around town welcome a host of international DJs and musicians.
FESTIVAL DE FLAMENCO DE CIUTAT VELLA
One of the best occasions to see great flamenco in Barcelona, this concentrated festival is held over four days at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB). In the district of Nou Barris, a smaller three-day festival is usually held around the middle of the month in a local civic centre. Keep your eyes open for flyers.
June
SÓNAR
Sónar is Barcelona’s celebration of electronic music and is said to be Europe’s biggest such event. Locations and dates change each year.
FESTIVAL DEL GREC
www.barcelonafestival.com, in Catalan
This eclectic programme of theatre, dance and music runs for most of the summer. Performances are held all over the city, including at the Teatre Grec (Map; Passeig de Santa Madrona; 
Espanya) amphitheatre on Montjuïc, from which the festival takes its name.
DIA DE SANT JOAN/DÍA DE SAN JUAN BAUTISTA
The night before the Feast of St John the Baptist (24 June), the people of Barcelona hit the streets or hold parties at home to celebrate the Berbena de Sant Joan (St John’s Night), which involves drinking, dancing, bonfires and fireworks.
PRIDE BARCELONA
www.pridebarcelona.org, in Catalan
The Barcelona Gay Pride festival is a week of celebrations held towards the end of June with a crammed programme of culture and concerts, along with the traditional Gay Pride march on the last Sunday of the month.
DÍA DE LA MÚSICA
www.diadelamusica.com, in Spanish
On 21 June a bevy of bands converge on Barcelona and other cities for an evening of indie music performances, usually held in Maremàgnum.
August
FESTA MAJOR DE GRÀCIA
www.festamajordegracia.org, in Catalan
This local festival, which takes place over about nine days around 15 August, is one of the biggest in Barcelona. More than a dozen streets in Gràcia are decorated by their inhabitants as part of a competition for the most imaginative street. People pour in to listen to bands in the streets and squares, fuel on snacks and drink at countless street stands.
FESTA MAJOR DE SANTS
www.festamajordesants.net, in Catalan
The district of Sants launches its own week-long version of decorated mayhem, held around 24 August, hard on the heels of Gràcia.
FESTES DE SANT ROC
For four days in mid-August, Plaça Nova in the Barri Gòtic becomes the scene of parades, correfoc (fire race), a market, traditional music and magic shows for kids.
September
DIADA NACIONAL DE CATALUNYA
Catalonia’s national day commemorates, curiously, Barcelona’s surrender on 11 September 1714 to the Bourbon monarchy of Spain, at the conclusion of the War of the Spanish Succession (see (Click here).
FESTES DE LA MERCÈ
This four-day fest sparks a final burst of pre-winter madness. Nostra Senyora de la Mercè (Our Lady of Mercy), Barcelona’s co-patron saint, is celebrated in the city’s festa major. There’s a swimming race across the harbour, a fun run, outstanding free concerts (such as Barcelona Acció Musica, or BAM; www.bcn.cat/bam) and a bewildering programme of cultural events. Adding to the local colour are all the ingredients of a major Catalan festa: castellers, sardanes, parades of gegants and capgrossos (giants and big heads), and a huge correfoc.
MOSTRA DE VINS I CAVES DE CATALUNYA
An excellent chance to taste a wide range of Catalan wine and cava, this expo is usually held at Maremàgnum over four days towards the end of September.
FESTA MAJOR DE LA BARCELONETA
Barcelona’s party-goers usually have only a short wait until the next opportunity for merrymaking. Although on a small scale, La Barceloneta’s gig, to celebrate the local patron saint, Sant Miquel, on 29 September, lasts about a week and involves plenty of dancing and drinking (especially on the beach).
October
FESTIVAL DE TARDOR
www.ribermusica.org, in Catalan
Five days of live music, workshops and more in bars and other locations around La Ribera.
November
FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE JAZZ DE BARCELONA
For most of the month, the big venues (from the Auditori down) across town host a plethora of international jazz acts. At the same time, a more home-spun jazz fest takes place for about a month in bars across Ciutat Vella.
December
FESTIVAL MIL.LENNI
Stretching into April of the following year, this concert series offers an eclectic range of performances, mainly in the Palau de la Música Catalana, from flamenco to Joan Baez.
NADAL/NAVIDAD (CHRISTMAS)
Catalans tend to have their main Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, although many have a big lunch the following day. An odd event to mark the occasion is the annual (freezing) 200m swimming dash from Maremàgnum in Port Vell to the Moll de les Drassanes.
PRIMAVERA CLUB
The winter equivalent of Primavera Sound in May.
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COSTS & MONEY
Long gone are the days when Barcelona could be considered a cheap destination. A 2009 study placed Barcelona in 38th spot in a ranking of more than 100 cities by expense. A midrange hotel double room can cost anything from €70 to €250, and a midrange dinner averages €21 to €70. On the other hand, simple, filling set lunchtime meals cost around €10. Many museums have free admission days (see the Neighbourhoods chapter, (Click here). Staying in a modest hotel, sticking to set lunches and dining out well (but without splurging), you can bargain on spending €100 to €150 a day. Those on a strict budget, who stay in hostel dorms and survive on entrepans (filled rolls) or make up their own meals, should be able to get by on about €50 a day.
POO-POOING CHRISTMAS
A Catalan Christmas wouldn’t be the same without the pessebres (nativity scenes). A giant one is set up in Plaça de Sant Jaume and you can see a display of them in an annex of the Església de Betlem (Click here). These cribs are common throughout the Catholic world, particularly in the Mediterranean.
What makes them different here is the scatological presence – along with the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the three kings – of the caganer (crapper), a chap who has dropped his pants and is doing number twos (a symbol of fertility for the coming year).
On a similar note, the caga tió (poop log) is a wooden beast that ‘lives’ in the kitchen or dining room in the run-up to Christmas and has to be ‘fed’ (traditionally things like dry bread and water) so that on Christmas Day it will cagar (shit) gifts. Once, the gifts were sweets. In some families they tend to be more substantial nowadays.
The whole thing developed from a country tradition of placing a huge tió (tree trunk) in the fireplace – its gifts in the misty past were simply the benefits of heat and light. Somewhere along the line the story became more, shall we say, sophisticated. You can buy your own caganers and let kids have a go hitting a caga tió with a stick to get a present at the Fira de Santa Llúcia, a market in front of La Catedral, in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
ADVANCE PLANNING
You might want to book a few things in advance. Many of the more popular hotels fill up fast, especially during trade fairs. To know which dates to avoid, check the trade-fair calendar at www.firabcn.com.
If you are keen to eat in certain restaurants, book a table (by phone or, in some cases, online) to avoid disappointment on arrival. Similarly, those planning a night at the opera or similar outings should consider booking through the venues’ websites or ticketing agencies like: Tel-Entrada (www.telentrada.com); ServiCaixa (www.servicaixa.com); Ticket Master (www.ticketmaster.es) and El Corte Inglés (www.elcorteingles.es/entradas, in Spanish). Football fans anxious to catch a match with FC Barcelona should also book ahead (see (Click here).
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INTERNET RESOURCES
The following sites will get you started on a virtual research tour of Barcelona:
Barcelona (www.bcn.cat/en) The town hall’s official website, with plenty of links.
Barcelona Turisme (www.barcelonaturisme.com) The city’s official tourism website.
Barcelonareporter.com (www.barcelonareporter.com) An English language news site on Catalonia.
Barcelona Yellow (www.barcelonayellow.com) A general site with plenty of links and information on everything from Gaudí to gourmet dining.
Le Cool (http://lecool.com) A free weekly guide to what’s happening in Barcelona (and other cities).
Lonely Planet (www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/barcelona)
Ruta del Modernisme (www.rutadelmodernisme.com) The site that covers Barcelona’s Modernista heritage, sites, events and more.
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SUSTAINABLE BARCELONA
Water shortages are a problem throughout Spain. The situation in Barcelona, at one point so critical in 2008 that boatloads had to be imported from Almería (southern Spain) and Marseille (France), has been alleviated by the opening of a major desalination plant in nearby El Prat de Llobregat in 2009. It can process 200 million litres of water a day, providing up to 20% of Barcelona’s water needs. It is costly in terms of energy, however, and is brought to maximum production only if dam water supplies are lacking.
You can do your part to keep water consumption down, for example, by not sending off towels for washing each day in your hotel and making sure you don’t litter in the streets (a problem that has led to the hosing down of the city every night).
Air pollution is a problem (see (Click here) and driving around Barcelona is impractical anyway, so use public transport (more than a quarter of buses run on natural gas and diesel-powered buses are continually being phased out). Bike hire is an option but the introduction of a system of bicycles as public transport, the exponential explosion of bike tour companies and the inadequate network of bike lanes can, at times, make getting around by bike frustrating for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers alike!
Instead of flying to Barcelona, consider lengthening your trip and travelling there by train. Direct overnight sleepers run from Paris, Geneva and Milan. From London you could start with the Eurostar and spend a day in Paris en route.
Catalonia and 40 other European regions (including Tuscany and Provence) are members of a sustainable tourism network aimed at rendering tourism compatible with the environment, local quality of life and maintenance of local traditions.