What does New Year’s Eve look like in Barcelona? How do the people of Barcelona celebrate? In today’s post, we’ll introduce you to New Year’s Eve in Barcelona: from eating twelve grapes at midnight to fireworks, there’s surely something you’ll find for yourselves.
In fact, as we tend to celebrate the coming of a new year, it’s fun to reflect on the traditions and rituals that we hold dear too. How we derive comfort from them and how they remind us of simpler times. But it’s not something set in stone, you know?
If you get stuck routining even your New Year’s Eves, why not try out some of these popular Catalan customs this year? Add a bit of Barcelona to your Eve? Or, as the Spanish would refer to it, to the Noche Vieja, or the Old Night.
Eating twelve grapes at midnight
New Year’s Eve traditions in Barcelona and Spain
One of the most popular New Year’s Eve traditions in Spain is eating twelve grapes at midnight. This strange custom is supposed to bring good luck in the coming year. The grapes are traditionally eaten one at a time, each representing a different month.
So if you want the coming year to be a good one, be sure to savour each grape. If you’re not planning to come over to Barcelona for New Year’s, that’s alright too. You can simply prepare 12 grapes for each guest at home.
Just remember to eat them one at a time, eachtime a bell.
Setting off fireworks
Or sparklers if you don’t like fireworks! 🙂
Another popular way to celebrate the new year in Spain is to set off fireworks. Though the tradition is very slowly losing popularity across the globe in favour of alternatives, you can surely see displays in Barcelona if you’re a fan of fireworks. If you want to join in on the fun with your friends or family, you may want to buy your fireworks well in advance in Barcelona, as they tend to sell out quickly when near the New Year’s.
Where can you watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks display in Barcelona? You can visit Plaça d ́Espanya or Plaça Catalunya where celebrations start around 9:30pm and last until dawn, fueled by bottles of Cava.
If you are also not a fan of fireworks and prefer some alternatives, you can still find something for yourself in Barcelona. We recommend the increasingly frequent laser/light shows and celebratory sparklers! 🙂
How much does New Year’s Eve in Barcelona cost?
New Year’s Eve in Barcelona, prices
We’d recommend you really hurry up if you want to book accommodations in Barcelona for New Year’s Eve because the prices get really extreme really fast, going up even a few hundred percent. Same deal with restaurants, and we recommend making reservations in advance. Truthfully, perhaps opting for grapes and some of Barcelona’s best free attractions is preferable for most of us.
Other interesting New Year’s traditions in Barcelona
- Putting a gold ring inside a glass of Cava (please don’t drink the ring), as it is supposed to bring good fortune
- A shared family dinner with the obligatory broth with pasta shells
- After dinner, many hit up the streets to party or visit the local clubs (if you’re into that type of outgoing stuff)
- There’s a ‘First Bath of the Year’ tradition too, where some try to bathe in the Mediterranean (on the San Sebastián Beach usually) at 00:00, believed to also bring prosperity. If you don’t like cold baths, then maybe skip this one and just stock up on grapes
We hope you may have found something from the Barcelonian New Year’s celebration tempting enough to include in your own routine or to try it out in person in Barcelona. Whichever way you decide to celebrate this year’s Eve, make sure to do it with the people you love, let them know you do and just enjoy yourselves. Buenas fortunas y próspero año nuevo.
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