Festivals

Colourful chaos, cava and community spirit

Word to the wise: Barcelona's Carnival, which takes place in February, is eclipsed by the flamboyant, gay-friendly celebrations in Sitges, 40km away.
To say that the Spanish like their fiestas is an understatement on a par with Canadians being quite keen on ice hockey. In February, around Shrove Tuesday, the country erupts in Carnivals, whilst during August it can feel like there's a party on every block in Barcelona, and there is - each barrio celebrates its own saint with a week long celebration of music, cava, fireworks and arcane rituals.

The big one - worth scheduling your trip around - is Festes de La Mercè in September, which celebrates Barcelona's own patron saint. Alongside the normal fiesta merriment you'll see fire runs (correfoc), locals dressed as devils and dragons, human towers and a giants parade.
Otherwise, the best and largest neighbourhood bash is held in Gràcia at the end of August, whilst the cutest is the Tres Tombs festival in January, which celebrates the patron saint of animals: locals bring their pets to be blessed at the Ronde Sant Pau.

Then there are the music, dance and arts festivals, most famously the vast electronic dance event Sonar in June and, just down the coast, the music festival Benicassim in July. A higher brow alternative that month is the long-running Grec performing arts festival.