Christmas in Barcelona

Are you spending the Holiday season in Barcelona? The city has some great spots to get you in the Christmas spirit. On this page I’m sharing the best places to celebrate Christmas in Barcelona. Barcelona gets in the Christmas mood at the end of November, so you’ll be able to visit all these festive spots the whole month of December. Let’s celebrate the Holidays in Barcelona!

Christmas market Santa Lucia

The Christmas market Santa Lucia in the city center of Barcelona is the most known market. You can find it next to Barcelona Cathedral in Gothica. It’s the oldest Christmas market of Barcelona. It opens at the end of November and stays there until December 23. On the market you can find all kinds of Christmas decorations and the typical caganer; a pooping figure. It’s a Catalan tradition and this bare bottomed, squated down figurine symbolises fertility.

Click here for tips on New Year’s Eve in Barcelona.

Nadal al Port

From the beginning of December to the beginning of January you can celebrate Christmas at the Port in Barcelona. There are nice Christmas lights, a Christmas market, a ferris wheel, a merry go round and performances in the evenings.

Christmas lights

There are many streets and squares that have beautiful Christmas lights and decorations in Barcelona. My favorite street during the Holiday season is Pg. de Gràcia. From Placa de Catalunya it’s decorated with thousands of beautiful lights. It looks like it’s raining lights. And there are pretty butterflies floating in between them too. The street lights for the holidays are turned on at the end of November.

Christmas shop

In the Barcelona neigborhood the Gothic quarter you can find a wonderful Christmas shop called Käthe Wohlfahrt. The shop originally comes from Germany, where they have stores in several cities. In Spain there’s only this one in Barcelona. It’s a wonderful store with many Christmas ornaments and other decorations.

Casa Batllo

Casa Batllo, the beautiful house designed by Gaudi on the Paseig de Gracia, is beautifully illuminated for the holidays. From mid November 2023 to the beginning of January 2024 the building has special lights coloring the building the whole evening. From 6:30 to 9: 30 (and to 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays) there’s a special light and sound show every 30 minutes. The show lasts 3 minutes and is free to visit as you can see it from the street. The best spot to watch is on the opposite side of the street.

Poble Espanyol

Poble Espanyol is an open-air museum. It has replicas from streets and houses from all over Spain. From the end of November up until Christmas they always have a nice set-up where you can sent letters to Santa or have your picture taken next to the Santa statue.
On this picture, you see me with our son Mats when he was only four months old.
Click here for my tips for travelling with a baby.

Tibidabo

From the end of November to the beginning of January, Tibidabo (the amusement park and church upon the hill) has an ice rink. The ice skating rink offers beautiful views over Barcelona. Entrance to the ice rink is included in your ticket to the amusement park. And you can also buy a seperate ticket if you don’t plan on visiting the amusement park for only 5,-. The maximum capacity of the ice rink is 40 people, so there might be a wait.

Christmas Cinema

In the month december the El Palace Hotel Barcelona hosts a Christmas Cinema. They have two daily sessions on Thursday to Sunday, at 6pm and 9 pm, with the all time favourites Christmas movies. They show the movies in the original English language with Spanish subtitles. You can have a blanket, hot water bottle, hot chocolate or Gossey mulled wine, homemade popcorn and a Christmas Snack. Make sure to buy your tickets online in time.

El Caganer

You’ll see figurines like this all over the city during the holidays. This pooping man is called the ‘Caganer’, literally ‘the Pooper’. The traditional version is the one you see pictured, a peasant with a red Catalan hat and a bare bottom, pooping. Catalan families will have this little statue in their Nativity scene. But nowadays they have all kinds of versions. From a pooping Queen Elizabeth to a pooping Michael Jackson. They say that it’s a symbol of fertility, but I guess it’s also just a fun gimmick.

Click here for all my favorite vegetarian food spots in Barcelona.

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