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Barcelona Fiestas Spanish towns & cities are famous for their festivals or fiestas & Barcelona is no exception. Due to population alone events here are done on a grand scale, with over a million people participating in the largest celebrations. There are plenty of fiestas throughout the town calendar, see below for some of the more popular events:-
Carnaval (Mardi Gras) takes place in the week leading up to Ash Wednesday in the month of February. During this week the city hosts many events, including masked balls, feasts, & parades. Costumes are worn for the bigger events, & much food & drink is consumed. Though the religious celebration of Semana Santa (Easter week) is celebrated in a bigger way in southern Spain (especially Andalucia) festivities are still prevalent in Barcelona. They mainly take the form of processions carrying religious statues through the city streets to the cathedral. The annual Barcelona Marathon is also held around this time. A very popular event is the Fiesta de San Juan (feast of St. John) on the 23rd of June. The fiesta originates from pagan tradition, though given Christian sanction, & is essentially a celebration of the midsummer solstice. Bonfires are erected throughout the cities districts & beaches, accompanied by much music, singing, & dancing. Drink flows & food is widely available. Events culminate with raucous fireworks, though in reality (as the 24th is a public holiday) the party goes on all night on Montijuc Hill & many city beaches. La Merce is the celebration of Barcelona's patroness. One of the cities biggest fiestas it takes place over four days from the 19th-24th of September. There are many parts to this fiesta including musical performances, parades of big headed effigies, impressive fire creature costumes (correfocs), & the obligatory fireworks; as well as many cultural & sporting events.
Precise dates cannot be given for many of the above festivities, due to the ever changing fiesta calendar. The best advice we can give for those planning their holiday at fiesta time is to contact the Barcelona tourist office call centre. Their contact details are as follows: -
Barcelona Tourist Office Tel +34 932 853 834 (Mon-Fri 9am-8pm & Sat 9am-2pm)
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Barcelona Fiestas, Fiestas in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain |
Barcelona Fiestas, Fiestas in Barcelona, Barcelona Festivals, Catalonia, Spain. Hotels, Holidays, Flights, Property, and Tourist Information. General information on Catalonia, Spain. |