New year in Barcelona: how to celebrate?
There are many ways to celebrate the New Year in Barcelona. Dancing in clubs and discos, attending light and music shows, walking around the neighbourhood and sightseeing: the rich tourist infrastructure will allow every visitor to the Catalonian capital to find an option to his or her liking.
Meeting New Year in a foreign country is a fabulous way to celebrate it, and if you have thought about it beforehand, travelling to Spain can really make you believe in the beginning of a new life. Here's a look at Barcelona in 2023 and here's what you can do to celebrate Christmas Eve.
Here are 5 tips for you to celebrate the New Year in Barcelona in 2023:
1. What to see in Barcelona for New Year's Eve
The historic city has a lot of history in its streets and buildings and the buzzing atmosphere of Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve in particular attracts visitors to Barcelona even in winter.
2. Barcelona Christmas fairs
An important part of the Christmas and New Year's Eve traditions in Spain are the pre-Christmas fairs. Unlike in shops and restaurants, where prices go up on the eve of the winter holidays, prices at the marketplaces go down. The last few weeks before the winter holidays are a great time to pick up handicrafts and souvenirs.
The most notable ones are:
Fira de Santa Llucia: The oldest fair to be held for 200 years. Held by the Cathedral.
Feria de Navidad del Port Vell: The largest fair in the city and one with a 150-year history, held in the Old Port. During winter there are shows, amusement rides and a large 31 m long LED tree.
Feria de Reyes de la Gran Vía is dedicated to the Feast of the Three Kings or Three Wolves. The most recent of the fairs.
Feria de Reyes en el Passeo de Sant Juan: organised by the Craftsmen's Association, dedicated to handmade souvenirs and gifts. New, only 5 years in the making.
3. A festive itinerary through Barcelona's fairs on Google Map
So, in just 1 hour and 13 minutes, you can walk around all 4 of Barcelona's famous Christmas markets, enjoying a colourful route through the festive city:
Fira de Santa Llucia
Feria de Navidad del Port Vell
Feria de Reyes de la Gran Vía
Feria de Reyes en el Passeo de Sant Juan
4. Festive Dinner in a Historic Restaurant in Barcelona
If you'd like, you can reserve a table at one of the restaurants in Old Town Barcelona where the festive menu will certainly be prepared, although it will cost a lot more than the usual dishes. All terms and conditions of the reservation and payment for a table are available by phone, or you can check them on the Internet.
Famous historical restaurants in the city:
Casa Fuster
Els Quatre Gats
Palacio del Flamenco
Enigmatium
5. New Year shows and events
If you don't feel like sitting at home on New Year's Eve in the Catalonian capital, you should take advantage of the many shows and events that are organised every year.
Barcelona gets a huge New Year's Eve makeover, especially in Plaça Espanya Square where there is a big party and at midnight there are all kinds of colourful fireworks. In 2023, as in previous years, there will be performances with music.
The Singing Fountains near Montjuïc an hour before the chime starts a spectacular show on the stage of the Museum of History in Catalonia, which merges music, water and light.
If you walk to the coastal area of the city, apart from the grandiose fireworks you can see how the tallest tower in the city, Agbar, goes out and lights up to the chime, all 34 floors of it have a mirror-like surface, on which the light show begins afterwards.
6. Christmas shopping in Barcelona
Not only do you get to eat out and buy treats to take home with you on Christmas Eve, but there are also great deals on Christmas Eve in Spain!
In Barcelona, you can buy famous brands of shoes and clothes with big Christmas discounts: look for the red signs bearing the name "Rebajas".
Just be sure to plan your route through the shopping streets beforehand, so you don't miss a decent shop. If you don't have the energy and time to book a table, organise New Year's Eve entertainment for the whole family, and have a wardrobe to update, there are agencies that can help organise everything with the whole family in mind.
Even young children won't get bored if you discuss in advance where they want to go and what kind of entertainment they're in the mood for. We wish you a pleasant journey through our Barcelona Unlimited Routes! Happy New Year and Merry Christmas!
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