The Gràcia neighborhood festival, better known as the Festa Major de Gràcia, is the flagship festival of the summer in Barcelona. During the Gràcia neighborhood festival, more than 20 squares and streets in the neighborhood are decorated. The event also features many cultural activities and concerts for all ages. If you’re in Barcelona between August 15 and 21, try to visit Gràcia to experience the Festa Major de Gràcia!
The Festa Major de Gràcia
The first information we have about the Festa Major de Gràcia dates back to 1817, at that time a festival dedicated to the Mare de Déu d’Agost. Only in the second half of the 19th century did the Festa Major de Gràcia grow larger. Today, the Gràcia festival is the largest, most colorful, and most popular neighborhood festival in Barcelona, a true must-see for anyone in Barcelona in August.
The Gràcia neighborhood festival is organized by local institutions with the aim of bringing neighbors together during community activities and events. For example, the streets and squares of the neighborhood are nicely decorated by the residents, communal meals are eaten, and there is joyful celebration.
👉 Check out my walking route through Gràcia.
Program Festa Major de Gràcia 2021
During the Festa Major de Gràcia, there are numerous free activities to participate in, and there’s a festive atmosphere everywhere. Below, I tell you what to expect from this event and which highlights you shouldn’t miss.
Opening Ceremony
The ‘pregó’, the opening ceremony of the festival, will take place on August 14 at Plaça de la Vila at 7:00 PM, and the ‘traca d’inici’, the start of the festival with cannon shots, is on Thursday morning at 8:00 AM.
Decorated Streets
The most important and certainly the most prestigious element of this neighborhood festival are the decorated streets. Small artworks built by anonymous hands (usually residents) that over the years have transformed the streets into real urban fantasies, fantastic landscapes, or grand ballrooms.
This year, there are a total of 24 decorated streets, namely:
- Carrer de Berga (between Sant Marc and Cigne)
- Travessia de Sant Antoni (between Astúries and Plaça d’Anna Frank)
- Carrer del Perill (between Venus and Lluís Vives)
- Carrer de la Providència (between Massens and Alzina)
- Carrer de la Fraternitat de Dalt (between Tordera and Siracusa)
- Carrer de la Fraternitat de Baix (between Tordera and Josep Torres)
- Carrer de Ciudad Real (between Terol and Ramón i Cajal)
- Carrer Jesús (between Sant Pere Màrtir and Gran Gràcia)
- Carrer de Lluís Vives
- Carrer de Joan Blanques de baix (between Sant Lluís and Encarnació)
- Carrer de Joan Blanques de baix de tot (between Travessera and Ramón i Cajal)
- Carrer de la Llibertat (between Fraternitat and Torrent de l’Olla)
- Carrer Maspons (between Pere Serafí and Plaça del Sol)
- Carrer de Mozart (between Goya and Jesús)
- Carrer del Progrés (between Tordera and Llibertat)
- Carrer de la Perla (between Torrent de l’Olla and Verdi)
- Carrer de Puigmartí (between Milà i Fontanals and Torrijos)
- Carrer de Tordera (between Progrés and Fraternitat)
- Carrer de Verdi (between Providència and Robí)
- Plaça de la Vila
- Plaça del Nord
- Plaça del Poble Romaní
- Plaça Rovira i Trias
- Placeta de Sant Miquel
As every year, one of the decorated streets is chosen as the most beautiful. The award ceremony will take place on August 18 at 6:00 PM at Plaça de la Vila.
Cercavila
Like every year, there is daytime programming that offers various activities for the whole family. Normally this is in the form of a cercavila, a kind of parade with music, giants, dwarves, and other costumes.
This year you can admire all these creatures plus the famous human towers or castellers on Thursday, August 15 at 1:00 PM at Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia.
Sardanes
Also fun to watch are the sardanes: a typical dance from the Catalan region. On Tuesday, August 17 at 6:00 PM at Plaça de’n Joanic, you can admire this special dance.
Havaneres
Want to discover another piece of Catalan culture? Then don’t miss the havaneres. You can listen to the cantada d’havaneres on several days, such as on Sunday, August 15 at 6:00 PM at Passeig de Sant Joan and on Thursday, August 19 at 6:30 PM at Plaça de’n Joanic.
Castellers
Indispensable at every Catalan festivity are the castellers. Witness these human towers on Saturday, August 17 at 7:00 PM at Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia. You will surely be impressed.
Correfocs
Among the planned events, the correfoc is one of the most popular, especially among the youth. Correfoc literally means ‘running with fire’ and that’s exactly what participants do: they run ahead of fireworks set off by celebratory devils. These devils dance and are accompanied by drums while setting off their fireworks.
This year, the correfoc will take place in an adapted form on Saturday, August 21 at 8:00 PM at Carrer Còrsega.
Concerts
The festival continues into the early hours in the streets of Gràcia during the neighborhood festival. Every day, multiple free concerts are organized in the decorated streets of the neighborhood. All kinds of music are featured, making the Festes de Gràcia one of the most enjoyable and popular neighborhood festivals.
Fira d’artesans “El Petit Artesà”
Additionally, between August 15 and 18, you can find a Fira de productes artesans, or stalls with all kinds of handmade items and delicacies, on Passeig de Sant Joan (between Carrer Indústria and Roselló). At Plaça Joanic, you can also exchange, buy, and sell vinyl, LPs, and CDs.
Given the full program and all these fun activities, I recommend not missing the neighborhood festival of Gràcia. So, who’s coming along?
Practical Information
- What: Festa Major de Gràcia
- Where: Gràcia neighborhood
- When: from August 15 to 21, 2022
- Metro: Fontana (L3)
- Price: free
Tip: On the website festamajordegracia.cat, you can find the complete festival program.
Note: During the Festa Major de Gràcia, there is a massive influx of visitors coming to admire the decorated streets. It can get very crowded at times.
