Barcelona is one of those cities that stays exciting all year round. Its passion, romance, and intense spirit loom in every corner, no matter the time of year. With that said, however, New Year's Eve in Barcelona offers a whole other level of excitement. There's the fireworks display in Plaça Espanya, for instance, which is always quite a sight to see. There are parties in the city's best nightclubs, each more palpitating than the next. A flamenco show is also a holiday staple in Barcelona, one that lets you experience Spanish culture at its finest. And of course, there's a Catalan feast just waiting for you in every beloved culinary hotspot!
See The Fireworks at Plaça Espanya
What is New Year's Eve without any fireworks? Boring! They're the pièce de résistance of the entire nightly celebration, after all. They help end the year with a spectacular bang! And while Barcelona is far from the world's best fireworks displays, the show at Plaça Espanya is still worth checking out. With the palatial Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in the backdrop, the fireworks will take your breath away! It's an extraordinary scene, one that you simply have to see firsthand and in person. And then afterward, you can party the night away.
Watch The Montjuïc Magic Fountain Show
Do you know what's also a pretty amazing sight on New Year's Eve in Barcelona? The Montjuïc Magic Fountain Show! Perched high up on the hill of the same name, it's an incredible light show filled with pyrotechnics, holograms, and of course, fireworks. The show starts at around 23:45 (11:45) pm, right as the new year draws near. And as the clock strikes 12, the fireworks go off and the show takes on a more extravagant turn. Your eyes will be glued to the entire spectacle, so much so that you might even forget that it's already the new year!
Source: Flickr.com/ Nathan Rupert
Attend A Flamenco Show
The flamenco spirit is alive and well in the Catalan capital. In fact,
watching flamenco in Barcelona is always a must, whether it's New Year's Eve or not and whether you're a tourist or not. Everyone, both locals and tourists alike, loves flamenco. It's such an electric and passionate dance, one that has long defined the spirited nature of Spanish culture. So what better way to spend New Year's Eve in Barcelona than to watch a flamenco show? There are lots of places that will host their own shows on the night of December 31st, be they bars, dance clubs, and more!
Enjoy An Authentic Catalan Feast
Any holiday calls for a feast, what more when it's New Year's Eve? This is one of the very days in a year when locals go all out in preparing the most elaborate and the most delicious menus. Since you're in Barcelona, the capital city of Catalonia, why not take this chance to indulge in authentic Catalan cuisine? From
Michelin-starred restaurants to humble diners, you can bet that the city's culinary hotspots are ready to feed you the food of their homeland. Don't worry! Many of them stay open late at night just for this very occasion.
Eat 12 Grapes
Every country has its own unique New Year's Eve tradition. In France, for example, there's eating
Galette de rois (King Cake). In Japan, people visit their local shrines to pray for a prosperous new year. So what about in Spain? If you're celebrating New Year's Eve in Barcelona, what tradition do you follow? Eating 12 grapes! As the clock strikes 12, church bells will ring 12 times and people eat 12 grapes at every chime. Like the other traditions around the world, eating 12 grapes aims to ward off evil and bring in good fortune for the next 12 months.
Party The Night Away
Don't forget that the Spanish know how to party. Even when it's not a holiday, the city's nightlife scene is always bustling. What more when it's New Year's Eve? After watching the fireworks, eating 12 grapes, and doing all the staple holiday activities, there's arguably no better way to end the night than to let loose and party all night long. Head to El Raval, one of the trendiest
neighborhoods in Barcelona, and go bar-hopping there. You'll find that many of its nightlife hotspots are the places while the sun is still out!
Listen to Jazz
What if you're not in the partying mood after all? Letting loose is fun and all, but there are years when you just want to chill and welcome the new year a bit more relaxed. So what do you do? Listen to jazz! Barcelona may not be well-known for its jazz, at least not on the same level as New Orleans,
New York City,
Paris, and more, but there are a few great jazz clubs here nonetheless. There's the Harlem Jazz Club on Carrer de la Comtessa de Sobradiel, the Milan Jazz Club on Ronda de la Univ., and Soda Acústic on Carrer de les Guilleries.
Take Your First Bath of The Year
The New Year's celebrations in Barcelona don't stop the moment the clock strikes 12. On the very next day, at around 12:00 noon on January 1st, the locals partake in what's called the “El Primer Bany de l’Any” tradition. In English, it means the “First Bath of the Year.” True to its name, this is where locals head over to San Sebastián Beach and take a dip in the cold waters. Though it's freezing, this is said to be an auspicious way to start the new year. And it's definitely a fascinating way too, that's for sure!
Will you be spending New Year's Eve in Barcelona this year? If you are, then you're in for a wild ride! The city gets a lot more exciting for the last night of the year. It'll be a memorable way to end the year right!
