• Currency
  • Language
29 Nov 2016 | Estimated reading time: 5 minutes |
Christmas in Barcelona

What do to do in Barcelona over Christmas?

What do to do in Barcelona over Christmas?

Uncover how to celebrate Christmas in Barcelona and have a great time!

Christmas is celebrated all over the world and Barcelona is no exception. Lights decorate the streets, children deliver wish-lists to parents and the city becomes green and red to welcome the most family-friendly festivity of the year. Even so, do you know what things to do during Christmas in Barcelona exist? How about the local traditions, typical food, and events? It's all in this article!

1. CHRISTMAS MARKETS IN BARCELONA

Santa Llúcia Market

This is the most famous Christmas market in Barcelona. It's sheltered under the cathedral of Barcelona and is the the oldest christmas fair of all celebrated today in the city. This year it celebrates its 230 anniversary (almost nothing). It has 300 stalls where you can find decorations, Christmas trees, nativity figures and gifts of all kinds. Most of the products you'll find are handcrafted.

From 25 November through 23 December, 10:30 AM to 8:30 PM

Sagrada Familia Market

Another Christmas market, though smaller than the previous one. It has been going for 60 years and is right next to the famous Sagrada Familia basilica built by Antoni Gaudí. Handcrafted products are also on offer here. Usually busy with a lot of entertainment. Here you can enjoy wine tasting, as well as cakes.

From 25 November to 23 December, 10 AM to 10 PM

Sagrada Familia Christmas Market

Feria de los Reyes, on the Gran Via

It is a Christmas market that dates back to 1877. It is made up of around 200 stalls where they are sold from jewels and clothing to ceramics and decorative objects. You can enjoy it accompanied by a walk and a hot chocolate with churros. This market is between Urgell and Munater streets.

From 21 December to 6 January, 11 AM to 10 PM

2. ICE SKATING

Bargelona: The Christmas ice rink in Barcelona

It's used to be found on Plaça de Cataluyna, but this year they moved it to a bigger venue at a shopping centre in l'Hospitalet de Llobregat Its on Carrer Barcelona, 2 and the closest FGC station is Sant Josep. An unmissible activity for the Christmas holidays as this rink is one of the largest in Europe (1650m2) . The ticket costs 8 euros for an hour. There's another ice skating rink on Passieg de Sant Joan as well as another at Pedralbes shopping center.

Bargelona, ​​the Christmas ice rink in Barcelona

3. WALKING IN THE CITY

Christmas days bring us back to childhood. Young people and adults alike love to see the Christmas lights. Take a stroll through Barcelona and enjoy this city on the days that it shines more than ever. Don't miss the video of Santa Llucía Market earlier in this article as it will surely give you one more reason to book and to stay in Barcelona!

Lights in Barcelona

Catalan traditions

The Caganer

The Caganer is a feature of the nativity scene you'll probably only see in Catalonia. Traditionally, it's a figure of a person in typical Catalan clothes, with his trousers around his ankles and... well there's no real easy way to say this... he's pooing...

The theory is that his poo brings good luck, because it fertilizes the earth to ensure a good harvest next year. Of course, it might just be that the theory is a load of...

Caganer

Caga Tió

The Caga Tio also comes out on December the 8th and continues the light-hearted Catalan fascination with excrement. This is a log with a seemingly innocent smiling face on it and a traditional Catalan hat, called the Barretina. Children have to look after him by feeding him and keeping him warm with a blanket.

On Christmas Eve, after days of caring for this quirky creature; children hit Caga Tio with a stick, sing a special song and he poos out lots of treats. Caga Tio means "Pooing Log" in Catalan, just so you know. So if you get a crap present from a Catalan, now you know why!

Caga tio

Catalan Christmas Cuisine

A tradition dish in Catalonia for christmas is called 'escudella i carn d'olla', and it's a slowly cooked stew full of meat, vegetables, and pastas. It's mainly a christmas thing. Different types of meat are generally used, like chicken, pork, lamb, and beef. Catalan Christmas desserts are delicious too, serving a selection of cakes and sweets, like marzipan, nuts, and turrón.

Typical Catalan Christmas dinner
Escudella i carn d'olla - Christmas dinner in Catalonia

Turrón

One of the stars of Christmas, which we yearn for so much during the year and that comes at a time to increase the size of both our hearts and trousers. Turrón is a Spanish variant of nougat that's the typical Christmas sweet here. They are traditionally made with almonds and honey but also come in all sorts, like chocolate, fruit, praline, without almonds, rice, soft, and hard... Try them all!

Turrón

5. THE CHILDREN'S FESTIVAL

From 27 December to 4 January, Barcelona celebrates something called Festival de la Infancia. For 9 days, a wide variety of activities will entertain the litte ones. Concerts, workshops, crafts and sports activities for the whole family. There will be face painting workshops, music, cooking classes, and even a few fun conferences about healthy eating.

The Festival emphasizes the importance of food quality through fun workshops and games with the aim of educating children. There are also sometimes Olympic Games and Barcelona Football Club players who visit to brighten the kids' days.

If you visit Barcelona from 1 December, we wish you good weather and a very Merry Christmas. You can also take a look at the best plans to celebrate New Year's Eve here .

You could also read this article about all the kinds of activities that you can do during autumn and winter in Barcelona. Take a look and choose the ones that best suit you!

Feliz Navidad

Do you like this post?

Click here!

rating
0/5 - 0 vote

Related articles

Share your thoughts

Tired of reading about Barcelona? Find an apartment and stay there!

Congratulations!

Your current credit is €10

The travel credit is applied to the prices automatically when you log into your account.

Ooops. One error ocurred!

Connect with Facebook
Log in with Google
Forgot your password?
Enter your email below and we will send you a password reset link.
Cancel
captcha

Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 18:00.

We speak English, Spanish, German, Russian, French, Dutch and Italian.

+34 678625980
+33 184883620
+1 6465689734
+34 902052856
+46 844680527
+44 2036950691
+31 208083149
+39 0694804041
+49 3030808496
+45 89884196
International number: +34 933255027
Collect entries and win great prizes!

Everyone can collect entries for the prize draw of our contests by participating in our guide & community. Below you see how you can collect entries.

There is no limit to the number of entries you may collect. The more you collect, the bigger the chance to win!

To make it fair for everyone we reset the number of entries back to zero after every draw.

What can you win?
Win a weekend for 2 in Barcelona

Win a weekend in Barcelona


Need help?

WhatsApp Chat

We use cookies to provide you with a better web experience. By browsing our site you accept the use of these cookies. Read more here. OK