Events in Barcelona
In September 2026, Barcelona builds up to La Mercè, the city's biggest festival, which fills the parks and squares from 23 to 27 September with free street arts from MAC and open-air concerts from BAM. Live music runs right through the month: Airbag play Sant Jordi Club on 18 September, The Strokes and Niall Horan headline the Palau Sant Jordi in October, and candlelight concerts light up the Palau de la Música Catalana. In the museums, MACBA closes its Prisoners of Love installation on 28 September, while La Virreina keeps a major Godard retrospective open into October.
Barcelona gigs and festivals
Blood Red Shoes
Blood Red Shoes plays Sala Razzmatazz 2 on 3 October at 21:00.
Mercury Rev
Mercury Rev plays Sala Apolo on 5 October at 20:30.
Gondwana & Quique Neira
Gondwana & Quique Neira plays Sala Razzmatazz 1 on 7 October at 20:00.
El Tri
El Tri plays Sala Razzmatazz 1 on 12 October at 20:00.
The Strokes - Reality Awaits
The Strokes - Reality Awaits plays Palau Sant Jordi on 20 October at 20:30.
Niall Horan: Dinner Party Live On Tour
Niall Horan: Dinner Party Live On Tour plays Palau Sant Jordi on 25 October at 21:15.
Art exhibitions and museum shows in Barcelona
Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Prisoners of Love
Until: 28 September
Where: MACBA
A video and sound installation by the Palestinian duo, built around archives of resistance, memory and love.
The Fraternity of Metaphors, Jean-Luc Godard
Until: 4 October
Where: La Virreina Centre de la Imatge
The most complete retrospective yet devoted to the filmmaker, tracing his cinema and its place in contemporary visual thought.
Opening the Archive 08. Le gros orteil
Until: 29 November
Where: Fundació Joan Miró
An archive display at the Miró foundation built around Untitled from 1930, a recent gift to the collection.
Space Explorers, The ISS Experience
Until: 31 October
Where: Eclipso Barcelona
A virtual reality experience filmed aboard the International Space Station, shown in timed entry sessions at an immersive venue.
Barcelona tickets and tours
Keep the city and national holiday calendar in mind
Public holidays change the rhythm of a visit more than most travellers expect. Many shops and museums move to holiday timetables, public transport can run a reduced service and a day built around a market or a municipal museum can fall flat. Barcelona keeps 14 paid holidays in 2026: the 8 that apply across the whole of Spain, 4 more that only Catalonia observes and 2 that the city council adds for itself. The Catalan and city days are the ones that catch visitors out, because they are ordinary working days in the rest of the country.
National holidays in Spain 2026
- 1 January New Year's Day (Cap d'Any)
- 6 January Epiphany (Reis)
- 3 April Good Friday (Divendres Sant)
- 1 May Labour Day (Festa del Treball)
- 15 August Assumption of Mary (l'Assumpció)
- 12 October National Day of Spain (Dia Nacional d'Espanya)
- 8 December Feast of the Immaculate Conception (La Immaculada)
- 25 December Christmas Day (Nadal)
Local holidays in Barcelona 2026
- 6 April Easter Monday (Dilluns de Pasqua Florida), regional
- 25 May Whit Monday (Dilluns de Pasqua Granada), local
- 24 June Midsummer (Sant Joan), regional
- 11 September Catalan National Day (Diada Nacional de Catalunya), regional
- 24 September Feast of La Mercè (Mare de Déu de la Mercè), local
- 26 December Saint Stephen's Day (Sant Esteve), regional
The Catalonia tourist office at Palau de Mar closes on 25 and 26 December and on 1 and 6 January, and it shortens its hours on 24 and 31 December and 5 January. Turisme de Barcelona does not publish a holiday closing list, and the hours of each of its points sit on that point's own page, so a visit on one of these dates is worth checking there first.
Before you go to Barcelona
What to see in Barcelona
The Barcelona guide on Tourist Office gathers a first day itinerary, the landmarks worth booking ahead and what the city offers for free.
Tourist office in Barcelona
Where Barcelona's official tourist information points are, when they open and which public holidays change their opening hours.
Spain highlights
The Spain guide looks beyond the city to the country's great cities, landmarks and coast, with the sights worth planning a longer trip around.