Christmas in Barcelona

By Robert Heaney
Caga Tió among a festive display

The Christmas season is often a magical time to travel, no matter where you go. So long as your destination celebrates the religious holiday, you can be sure to expect some fantastic cultural festivities to complement your trip. And Christmas in Barcelona is no exception.

A country with deep Catholic roots, much of Spain typically goes out of its way to celebrate its religious festivals in style. As you might expect, that means that Christmas is a particularly big event – especially in Barcelona. Expect a month of high spirits, bizarre traditions, mouth-watering seasonal foods and holiday festivities.

Visiting Barcelona Around Christmas

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Should you choose to visit Barcelona throughout December, you’re in for a real treat. Typically renowned the rest of the year as a rich hub of art, culture, cuisine and nightlife, the Christmas season sees the Catalan capital transform into somewhat of a winter wonderland.

While white sheets of snow aren’t a common sight in Barcelona – with snowfall typically a once-in-a-decade occurrence for the city – you can bet your bottom dollar on all the other troupes of a Christmas city. Holiday displays in just about every store window, seasonal treats at every bakery and festive lights adorning iconic streets as far as the eye can see.

Taking a trip to Barcelona in winter means that, while you may not get the best weather the city has to offer, you’ll be able to explore much more freely without battling huge crowds. The Christmas season does naturally bring in more tourists than other winter months, but you should usually be able to book any attraction you want on the same day, not to mention you’ll also have your pick of the litter of hotels at off-season rates.

If you’re planning to be in Barcelona over Christmas itself, just be aware that Christmas Day and Boxing Day are public holidays, meaning most stores, restaurants and services will be closed for the day. Many of these will still operate on December 24, though some opt for half days, so be sure to do your last-minute shopping in the morning.

Christmas Markets

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Europe is world famous for its holiday markets. While Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic are some of the most renowned destinations, Barcelona can more than hold a candle to their spirited selection of merry merchants.

Throughout the city, you can explore a multitude of markets selling all manner of festive fare, from mulled wine to roasted chestnuts. Local artists also take the holiday season as an opportunity to sell their crafts, baked goods, artisan wines and spreads, homemade candies and Christmas ornaments, among a multitude of other things.

You’ll find plenty of different markets dotted around the city, but the largest and most famous market is Fira de Santa Llúcia. Found on Avinguda de la Catedral, this market dates back over 200 years to 1786. Given its history and popularity, it’s wise to give yourself plenty of time to visit should you want to pick up some souvenirs from your trip, as crowds are almost inevitable.

Christmas Traditions

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Christmas Cuisine – Perhaps one of the most anticipated aspects of Christmas celebrations around the world is the seasonal food that comes with it. In Catalonia, Christmas is a time when most families splash out for some of the most luxurious foods to share with their families.

Popular inclusions of a traditional Catalan Christmas meal are Carn d'Olla (a sort of meat broth) served with Galets pasta and tapas dishes with various meats and fish (most notably ham and eels). After the main meal, many will then turn to festive sweet treats, such as turrón nougat and polvorón shortbread, all washed down with a hearty glass of local Cava.

Even if you aren’t actually celebrating Christmas in Barcelona, you can still find various seasonal treats on sale throughout many retailers and Christmas market stalls throughout the city. Whether you’re keen on trying some almond-based sweet treats, grabbing yourself some local meats and cheeses or taking home a bottle of authentic Catalan Cava, you’re sure to be spoiled for choice.

Caga Tió – Early in December, the Caga Tió makes an appearance in many Catalan homes and Christmas market stalls. The Caga Tió is a relatively small wooden log with two front legs and a jolly face, often adorned with a traditional Christmas hat.

Children are given the responsibility of taking care of the Caga Tió throughout the season, typically putting a blanket around it and feeding it fruit, nuts, bread and candy, much like kids elsewhere might leave out milk and cookies for Santa Claus.

Should you ever be fortunate enough to spend Christmas with a Catalonian family, you’ll then get to see the true colors of the Caga Tió. Translated literally as ‘pooping log’, children will beat the Caga Tió in hopes of having it ‘poop out’ gifts which, if they looked after it well, they should find beneath the blanket.

El Caganer – Often depicting various celebrities, public figures and fictional characters going number two, El Caganer is a staple of Catalan Christmas. Originally depicted between the 17th and 18th Centuries as a young peasant caught short between the three wise men in the nativity scene, many families now adorn their own scenes with their favorite Caganer.

Contrary to the apparent profane nature of the display, El Caganer is viewed as a sign of good luck to the people of Catalonia. Harking back to ancient pagan beliefs, the Caganer’s ‘deposit’ is supposed to represent the fertilization of the soil and high productivity in the fields for the year ahead.

El Caganer figurines make for a humorous and festive gift to bring home to your loved ones. Be sure to look for your favorite celebrity, public figure or fictional character while exploring the city’s many Christmas market stalls!

Kings’ Day – In tribute to the day that the Three Kings were said to have visited the baby Jesus in Bethlehem, Barcelona welcomes their ceremonial arrival on the evening of 5 January.

The Three Kings arrive by boat before beginning their annual procession through the streets of Barcelona. Traditionally, children in Spain write letters to the kings in place of Santa Claus, and they typically receive their main gifts on Kings’ Day rather than Christmas Day.

If you happen to be visiting around Kings’ Day, be sure to catch the parade and take part in some of the many local festivities. Locals are likely to be throwing parties, and stores and bakeries will be full of festive sweet treats to try out, most notably Tortells de Reis, or Kings’ Cakes.

All Fools’ Day – While not explicitly a Christmas celebration, All Fools’ Day takes place on December 28 and serves as Spain’s equivalent of April Fools’ Day. Participation often varies, but you can expect news outlets publishing bizarre and false stories playing on current events and friends playing practical jokes on one another throughout the day.

A common prank you may see during your visit is people sticking a paper silhouette of a man onto their victim’s back to see how long it takes them to notice – resulting in greater hilarity the longer the joke goes on.

Robert Heaney
Go City Travel Expert

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Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art or Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) Comparison

Barcelona ain’t no shrinking violet when it comes to great art. This, after all, is a city that nurtured the work of Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso, all of whom are of course well represented in the city’s galleries and museums. But you need only wander the atmospheric streets to catch a glimpse of the good stuff, from edgy Poblenou street art to the eye-popping Gaudí architecture that characterizes Eixample and its most celebrated building, the mighty Sagrada Família. Aficionados of fine art will likely also have the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art and Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya on their lists. But what does each have to offer? We take a close-up look in our MACBA vs MNAC comparison. Read on for the gen… Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art: The Lowdown Vital Statistics: Opened in 1995, MACBA is Barcelona’s premier museum of contemporary art, a great white sugar cube of a building located in El Raval neighborhood, a few blocks from the fabulous Gothic Quarter. The permanent collection of 5,000 works is exhibited across 45,000 square feet of gallery space, attracting over 300,000 visitors every year. MACBA in Brief: Aficionados of post-war art, particularly of the Spanish and Catalan variety, will find much to admire at the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art. Here’s where you can ogle iconic pieces by the likes of Picasso, Joan Miró and Juan Muñoz across several themed zones, as well as taking in rotating exhibitions celebrating experimental works by established and emerging international artists like Alexander Calder, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and the Guerrilla Girls. The MACBA building is something of a contemporary art icon itself; a modern, minimal Richard Meir-designed space with white walls, clean lines and plenty of natural light, that allows the artworks to speak for themselves. Don’t miss the striking central courtyard and the skateboarders out front, who are as much a part of the furniture here as the eye-popping art inside. Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya: The Lowdown Vital Statistics: An extraordinary collection spanning some 1,000 years of Catalan art, MNAC has been operating since 1934 here at the Palau Nacional, an Italianate confection high on Montjuïc hill that's almost as spectacular as the 300,000-strong collection it houses. At 113,000 square feet, it’s well over twice the size of MACBA, and pulls in close to a million annual visitors. MNAC in Brief: The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (aka the National Art Museum of Catalonia; aka MNAC) is perhaps the planet’s best museum if you’re in the market for an overview of Catalan art across the centuries. We’re talking everything from thousand-year-old Romanesque church murals to medieval Gothic art, Baroque and Renaissance masterpieces, and works from the likes of Titian, Canaletto, Velázquez, Gaudí and more. Again, the building housing the collection only adds to the appeal, with a central dome inspired by St Peter's Basilica and a quartet of towers that nod to the architecture of Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. MACBA: Highlights & What to Expect The gallery spaces at MACBA really allow the art to shine, and it’s rarely so busy that you’re trying to glimpse that elusive Miró masterpiece over a sea of heads. The collection is also helpfully arranged into zones covering three distinct periods of modern art: the forties to the sixties, the sixties and seventies, and the contemporary period. The focus here is primarily on post-1945 Catalan and Spanish art, although some international artists are also represented, especially at rotating exhibitions which are well advertised on the official museum website. Highlights of the permanent collection include: Joan Miró’s ‘Oiseau’ sculptures are something of a centerpiece of MACBA: a mind-boggling collection of stylized heads, birds and other characters in bronze and terracotta. ‘Sterno’ is a celebrated 1985 piece by Neo-expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. His homage to Afro-American cultural heroes features the intense brushstrokes and voodoo images that characterize his work. Spanish artist Ignasi Aballí pushes the boundaries of contemporary art with an approach that uses multiple layers of varnish and correction fluid to ‘suggest the presence of a painting rather than show the painting directly’. ‘Gran Error’ (‘Big Mistake’) is a thought-provoking case in point. Pro-tip: entry to MACBA is free after 4PM on Saturdays. You can also save money on entry with a Barcelona pass from Go City, which includes access to MACBA and many more attractions, activities and tours around the city, including Gaudí’s Casa Batlló, a guided tour of the Sagrada Família, and more. Find out more about the pass and buy yours here. MNAC: Highlights & What to Expect  There’s plenty more to see inside once you’re done gazing in awe at the soaring domes and Romanesque towers of the Palau Nacional’s stunning exterior – as well as the sweeping city views from atop Montjuïc hill. Weekday mornings are generally the best time to visit, especially outside of the summer season, when you’re far more likely to get to view the collection’s highlights unimpeded by fellow tourists. And oh, what highlights await within, such as… The Romanesque collection is perhaps the best and most important on the planet, an absolute treasure trove of Catalonian religious art from the 11th and 12th centuries, taking in frescoes, murals, stone carvings, intricately detailed wood panels and more. If you only see one piece, make it the ‘Apse of Sant Climent de Taull’, a colorful wall mural by the Master of Taull, one of 12th-century Europe’s absolute legends of Romanesque art. A key influence on Picasso, it’s quite the sight, and has been lovingly transferred onto a replica of its original apse at MNAC, for maximum authenticity. It may not look very comfortable, but Gaudí’s double sofa is a fine example of his lesser-spotted interior design work. Made for his Casa Batlló, it eschews right angles and straight lines in favor of ascending to the status of design icon. It’s displayed with the Modern Art Collection, alongside classical sculpture by Damià Campeny, landscape paintings by Joaquim Vayreda and much more. The Mural paintings of the Conquest of Majorca is effectively the Catalan Bayeux Tapestry, and its series of frescoes representing the titular 13th-century conquest dominates the museum’s Gothic art section. Not to be missed. Pro-tip: admission to MNAC is free after 3PM on Saturdays and on the first Sunday of each month. You can book tickets for these as well as paid entry slots here. Save on Attractions, Tours and Activities in Barcelona Save money on Barcelona attractions, tours and activities with a pass from Go City. Check out @GoCity on Instagram for the latest top tips and attraction info.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak
Black Friday blog hero
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Win a Cloud Cities Experience and dive with sharks this Black Friday

Our Black Friday Giveaway has now ended. Whizz up to the 30th floor and marvel at 360° views of Barcelona – get a stunning new perspective from 125-meters above the city. You’ll get the VIP experience on a private tour of the tower before you head to the Skydeck for your very own photoshoot. A professional photographer will guarantee you remember the experience with picture perfect vacation snaps. You’ll also get access to the Cloud Cities Experience – an interactive installation from artist Tomás Saraceno. Move through over 100 different cloud spaces and re-imagine what an observatory can be, inside the changing shapes of passing clouds. As if the heights of Glòries Tower aren’t daring enough, you’ll also win a diving with sharks experience in Barcelona Aquarium. An expert instructor will teach you all you need to know about diving signals, breathing and moving around underwater, buoyancy control and using a regulator. Then it’s time to jump in and meet your hosts – you’ll find yourself surrounded by sharks, moray eels, rays and more. See Barcelona from above then dive into the deep with some of the sea’s most scary locals. How to enter For a chance to win this incredible prize, all you have to do is purchase any of our Barcelona passes between 9AM Tuesday 22 November 2022 and 11:59PM Tuesday 29 November 2022. Once you’ve purchased, you’ll be automatically entered into the giveaway. Easy! If you’re the lucky winner, we’ll contact you by email by December 15, 2022, so look out for us in your inbox. Click here to view giveaway terms and conditions.
Alice Padfield
Alice Padfield
Palau Nacional light show in the evening
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Barcelona in May

In the wake of winter and the anticipation of summer, Barcelona in May offers what many consider to be the best of both worlds. Throughout this period, visitors get to experience the busy and electric ambience that the city is known for, while also being able to reap the benefits of visiting ahead of the summertime crowds. Whatever your travel style may be, this is likely the ideal time to plan a visit. If easily accessible attractions and a thriving nightlife aren’t quite enough to convince you, then perhaps the wealth of celebrations and events taking place throughout the city will be. Tourism in May With winter now a distant memory and springtime too on its way out, Barcelona begins a sort of metamorphosis in anticipation of the coming summer months. The beginning of the city’s first ‘shoulder season’, May marks the beginning of a transitive period for the Catalan capital. While tourism rates around this time still stand a ways behind high-season traffic, they’re also significantly higher than throughout the preceding winter months. For many, this is what makes May a perfect time to visit Barcelona. Barcelona’s famed bustling atmosphere is an inherent result of its high throughput of visitors, but that often comes at the cost of overcrowding and queuing for just about every major attraction. In May, however, the city sees just enough tourists to stay true to its character while also leaving much of the city easily accessible and uncrowded. May brings with it pleasant temperatures typically falling between the high-50s and high-60s, alongside some fairly consistent sunshine. Although that may not be prime sunbathing weather, it does mean you can ditch the winter jacket – though an umbrella is still advisable. With that, visiting Barcelona in May is the perfect opportunity to experience the city both inside and out. Explore the famous architecture of the Sagrada Familia without battling too many queues and take a relaxing stroll through Park Güell in the pleasant springtime weather. And why not take some time to enjoy some of the region’s highly-anticipated events and festivities, too? Primavera Sound Festival Held each year in Barcelona’ Forum Building close to Parc del Fòrum, the Primavera Sound Festival stands as one of the city’s most hotly anticipated music festivals each year. In contrast to many other music festivals taking place throughout the year, Primavera Sound is host to a diverse lineup of genres comprising everything from jazz and hip hop to folk and alternative rock. Previous editions of the festival have performances from the likes of Arcade Fire, Pet Shop Boys and White Stripes. While the main sets typically take place over the course of a weekend, the event runs for around a week in total, with additional gigs and performances hosted across the city. Night of the Museums Those who remember the Ben Stiller hit movie Night at the Museum may already have some fantastical idea of what this cultural event entails. While reanimated exhibitions aren’t typically on the table, many of Barcelona’s most important museums come to life in their own way for one night each May. Coinciding with International Museum Day, this event sees a huge array of Barcelona’s museums open their doors to visitors throughout the night, often free of charge. Popular locations such as the MNAC, CaixaFòrum and MACBA offer visitors an opportunity to explore their exhibitions in a new way, alongside hosting a number of cultural activities and performances for all ages to enjoy. Ciutat Flamenco Festival For those with a flair for dancing or a passion for the performing arts, this festival could really be a treat. The Ciutat Flamenco Festival serves as one of the most significant shows dedicated to Flamenco dance and music. Held for roughly two weeks in May, the event grants attendees the opportunity to discover music from some of the most prominent names in the Flamenco scene, while also showcasing the work of newer artists. Don your best outfit and be prepared to experience this passionate performance of Spanish dance. Girona Flower Festival For roughly one week in early May, the nearby city of Girona comes into full bloom, with many of its most popular neighborhoods decorated in all manner of floral arrangements. Displays range from classy and tasteful to purposefully kitsch and quirky, often accompanied by art and light installations, music With over a hundred displays spread across the city, the Flower Festival offers a fantastic means of exploring Girona in a whole different way. The event opens up a number of areas and patios normally closed to the public, allowing you to truly see a side to the city that most others rarely do. Sitting only an hour or so away from Girona by car, coach or train, Barcelona serves as a fantastic base from which to visit the Flower Festival. Once you’re there, pick up an event map from the tourist office or from the many volunteers dotted along the festival route and explore the veritable Eden of Girona in May. Barcelona International Comic Fair This somewhat more niche event speaks to the comic book fans among us. Having now run successfully for over 40 years, the Barcelona International Comic Fair serves as a demonstration of all the important developments in the comic book world. It showcases the works of prominent and upcoming comic book authors, with awards presented for the best among them. Visitors have the opportunity to meet and chat with authors and artists alike, and can attend various concerts, performances and film premieres taking place throughout the festival. If you’re planning a trip to Barcelona in May and want to embrace your inner geek, be sure to swing by this fantastic fiction fair. Wrapping Up Whether you’re looking to experience Barcelona in its prime state without too many crowds or to get in on some of the incredible festivities taking place throughout the month, visiting Barcelona in May is a fantastic way to experience everything that the city has to offer.
Robert Heaney

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