10 Things to Do in Barcelona in February

During the month of February, two very colorful festivities take place in Barcelona: the Feast of Santa Eulalia and the Carnival Festival. As if that weren't enough, a festival of luminous arts dresses the streets with magic and a half marathon invites you to test your physical prowess. Planning a shopping spree? The good news is that February is sales season in Barcelona.

Around February 12, Barcelona celebrates for 4 days the feast of its patron saint, Santa Eulalia. During this celebration, giants, dwarfs, devils and other colorful characters walk through the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona led by Laia, the giantess who represents Santa Eulalia.

Some of the colorful and traditional shows that you can see in the streets of Barcelona during the festivities of Laia are:

• The Sardana Dance, when the giantesses arrive at Sant Jaume square.
• The parade of the entourage of Santa Eulalia.
• The dance of Santa Eulalia.
• The Castellers (human castles).
• The Carrefoc (parade of devils among fireworks).

You can take a tour of the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona to walk through its streets and understand its history. This way you will soak up the symbolism of these festivities.

In February the temperatures in Barcelona begin to rise little by little but there is still time to enjoy the snow if you go to the mountainous area of the province. A few kilometers away, in fact, you have the Catalan Pyrenees and it is one of the best excursions to do from Barcelona.

There you will discover villages like Vic or Queralbs where a great blanket of snow awaits you, a real spectacle to be hold and that adds even more charm to the landscape. In the excursions to the Pyrenees you can explore the Nuria Valley thanks to a trip on the rack railway that takes you to the top of the mountain.

But you will also get to know the most historical part of Vic, an ancient medieval city with its great Roman Temple. Take advantage of the winter season and escape for a day to the nearby Pyrenees mountain range.

Lovers of Noir literature and literature in general can participate in this unmissable event in Barcelona that takes place during the month of February: the BCNegra Noir Novel Festival. This festival has been held since 2005 in Barcelona and every year it gains more and more followers, so it is becoming a classic of the literary scene.

Please note that some activities may require prior registration, so I recommend that you visit the official site of the BCNegra Festival official site, where you will find all the information about the event.

If you are interested in mystery, you can take a ghost tour of Barcelona that bases its route on the legends that surround the whole city. You can complete your visit to the noir festival with one of these tours through the darkest Barcelona.

The Calçotada Festival is celebrated on the last Sunday of January, and is when it starts to be the protagonist on every table. Calçots is a type of sweet onion that is harvested between November and April and with which the traditional Calçotada is prepared.

Calçots are cooked on the grill, peeled and spread with romesco sauce. It is customary to eat them standing up and with a bib, as the sauce tends to spill over the diner. The town of Valls is the one that transmits from generation to generation the way of cooking them, and it is not by chance that it is the world capital of calçot: the best calçots are grown there.

Needless to say that not only in Valls you can taste this delicacy, but also in many restaurants in Barcelona during the calçot season. In addition, making a gastronomic tour of Barcelona you can learn about this and other culinary specialties typical of Catalan cuisine.

The BCN Guitar Festival starts its season of recitals in February each year, which is when it concentrates its greatest power. More than 50 artists of the 6 strings from all over the world participate in the Festival. Musicians of the stature of Caetano Veloso, Pat Metheny, Rosario Flores and Lila Dows have performed on its stages, as well as many popular artists among whom you are sure to find your favorite.

The BCN Guitar Festival, which starts in February and continues until November, is one of the most important guitar festivals in Spain. The concerts take place on different stages:

• Sala Barts
• The Sant Jordi Club
• The Auditori
• The Palau de la Música Catalana

The latter, by the way, is a real marvel for the senses. Not in vain is declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco, so book tickets for the Palau de la Música is an experience you can not miss in Barcelona.

The Barcelona Carnival begins with Larder Thursday, when the Carnival King awakens and inaugurates the first masked balls and revelry, usually in the Born, an emblematic promenade of the city located in the Gothic Quarter. The arrival of the Queen is also celebrated, with the Molinet Ball.

The following Saturday is the time of La Rua or parade in different neighborhoods of the city, which display all its color, inviting celebration and enjoyment without limits. On Sunday, the Carnival King parades through the streets and the carnival ends with the Burial of the Sardine or burial of the carnival, which consists of a satirical procession where the Carnival King is bid farewell until next year, and coincides with Ash Wednesday.

For this activity you will have to leave Barcelona, about 80 km away, but it is worth it for its originality and historical relevance. The weekend before Carnival, the town of Balsareny pays tribute to the muleteers, who were so important before the use of motorcycle transport.

Declared a Festival of Tourist Interest, during the Festa dels Traginers there are correfocs, dances, parades of animals with ornaments, activities for children, fairs and the expected race to the Castle that, by the way, you can not miss.

The neighborhood of Poblenou lights up with the Festival de Artes Lumínicas Llum BCN, which brings together leading artists from around the world during the first days of February. Light installations of all kinds fill the streets of Poblenou with color, inviting passers-by to enter them at night when the magic of the lights takes center stage.

Colors, textures and shapes that invite you to think about public spaces in a different way and why not, to discover all the artistic possibilities offered by light, is the proposal of this original Festival capable of stimulating all the senses.

A great plan to complement with the purchase of Articket, a pass to save time (you have preferential access without queues) and money (up to 45%) when visiting the most important museums in Barcelona:

• Museu Picasso de Barcelona
• National Art Museum of Catalonia
• Joan Miró Foundation
• Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona
• Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art
• Antoni Tàpies Foundation

The concerts Els Vespres de la Universitat de Barcelona began performing only summer editions but, since 2016, thanks to their popularity, they are also held in winter, every Friday in February.

The purpose of these concerts is to give diffusion to emerging artists in the music scene. In addition to the opportunity to listen to good music, it is also an excellent excuse to get to know the Paraninfo of the UB, a building that, in addition to excellent acoustics, has a series of decorative elements that create a unique atmosphere for music.

Vespres d'hivern concerts are free, but require prior registration on their website.

Cool days are ideal to pamper the palate and nothing better than going to a food and wine tasting fair to find variety, traditional foods and gourmet dishes, such as the Fira de la Candelera Molins del Rei in Barcelona. This festival was declared of national interest in 2022 and is held on the first weekend of February.

With a plan that includes tastings, live dish preparations, exhibitions, workshops and more, La Fira de la Candelaria is an event for the senses. In addition, you can not miss the protagonist of the Fair, the Coradella, the typical dish of Baix Llobregat, and one of the favorites in Catalonia consisting of a lamb stew with a sauce of tomatoes and onions that also contains white wine or cognac.

Your stay does not coincide with the Fira de la Candelera? Don't worry. Book a gastronomic tour of Barcelona and enjoy the exquisite Catalan food.

February is the middle of winter in Barcelona, although as the city is located in a Mediterranean climate zone, it is a mild winter with a minimum temperature of 5 °C and a maximum of 14 °C. During the day it is rarely less than 10 °C, and at night is when temperatures drop the most. During the day it is rarely less than 10 °C, and at night is when temperatures drop the most.

Although February is the rainy season, it rains only 5 or 6 days per month. However, winter days are shorter, so it is always better to go out early, to make the most of the daylight.

An extra tip: if you visit Barcelona, you can't miss walking along the beach, even in the middle of winter. Barceloneta beach is the most emblematic and crowded during the warmer months, but there is no reason not to visit it if the weather is nice.