Barcelona Festivals

Fira de Santa Llúcia

2 - 23 December

Dating from 1786, this traditional Christmas fair has expanded to more than 300 stalls selling all manner of handcrafted Christmas decorations and gifts, along with mistletoe, poinsettias and Christmas trees. There's also a Nativity scene contest, musical parades and exhibitions, including the popular life-size Nativity scene in Plaça Sant Jaume.

Cavalcada dels Reis

5th January

Epiphany is the big Christmas event here and is marked by the Kings' Parade. Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar arrive aboard the Santa Eulàlia boat at the bottom of La Rambla before beginning a grand parade around town with a retinue of acrobats, circus clowns and child elfs. The route is published in the newspapers, but normally starts at the lower entrance of Ciutadella, running up C/Marquès de l'Argentera and Via Laietana. Later that night, children leave their shoes out on the balcony stuffed with hay for the kings' camels; in the morning, they're either full of presents or edible sugar coal depending on their behaviour the previous year.

Festa dels Tres Tombs

17 January

St Anthony's day marks the festa major of the district; all the usual ingredients of music, and gegants here include a monstrous, symbolic fire-breathing pig - the form the devil took when tempting the saint. Horsemen ride three circuits (tres tombs) in a formal procession from Ronda Sant Antoni, through Plaça Catalunya, down La Rambla and along C/Nou de la Rambla.

Festa Santa Eulàlia

12th February
The city's winter festival is in honour of Santa Eulàlia. Her feast day kicks off with a ceremony in Plaça Sant Jaume, followed by music, sardanes and parades, with Masses and children's choral concerts held in the churches and cathedral. In the evening, the female giants gather in Plaça Sant Josep Oriol, then go to throw flowers on the Baixada de Santa Eulàlia before a final boogie in the Plaça Sant Jaume