10 Things to Do in Barcelona in February

During the month of February, two very colourful festivities take place in Barcelona: the Santa Eulalia Festival and the Carnival Festival. As if that wasn'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 12 February, Barcelona celebrates for four days the feast of its patron saint, Santa Eulalia. During this celebration, giants, dwarves, devils and other colourful characters walk around Barcelona's Gothic Quarter, led by Laia, the giantess who represents Santa Eulalia.

Some of the colourful 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 Plaça Sant Jaume.
• The parade of Santa Eulalia's entourage.
• The dance of Santa Eulalia.
• The Castellers (human castles).
• The Carrefoc (parade of devils amidst fireworks).

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

In February the temperatures in Barcelona are gradually beginning to rise, but there is still time to enjoy the snow if you travel to the mountainous area of the province. Just a few kilometres away, in fact, you have the Catalan Pyrenees, 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 for the eyes and which adds even more charm to the landscape. On 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 historic 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 Festival. This festival has been held in Barcelona since 2005 and is becoming more and more popular every year, making it a classic on the literary scene.

Please note that some activities may require prior registration, so I recommend that you visit the official BCNegra website, 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 city. You can complete your visit to the thriller festival with one of these tours of the darkest Barcelona.

The Calçotada Festival is celebrated on the last Sunday in January, and this is when it starts to take centre stage on every table. Calçots is a type of sweet onion that is harvested between November and April and used to prepare the traditional Calçotada.

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 village of Valls is the one that has passed down from generation to generation the way of cooking them, and it is no coincidence that it is the world capital of calçot: the best calçot are grown there.

Needless to say, you can taste this delicacy not only in Valls, but also in many restaurants in Barcelona during the calçot season. Moreover, by taking a gastronomic tour of Barcelona you can discover this and other typical culinary specialities of Catalan gastronomy.

The BCN Guitar Festival starts its recital season in February each year, when it is at its most powerful. More than 50 6-string artists from all over the world take part 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 favourite.

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 for nothing has it been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, so booking tickets for the Palau de la Música is an experience not to be missed 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 Baile del Molinet.

The following Saturday is the time for La Rua or parade in different neighbourhoods of the city, which display all their colour, inviting to celebration and unlimited enjoyment. 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 in which the Carnival King is bid farewell until the following year, and which 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 homage to the muleteers, who were so important before motorbike transport came into use.

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 eagerly awaited race to the Castle, which, by the way, you can't miss.

The Poblenou neighbourhood lights up with the Llum BCN Festival of Luminous Arts, which brings together leading artists from all over the world during the first days of February. Light installations of all kinds fill the streets of Poblenou with colour, inviting passers-by to enter them at night when the magic of the lights takes centre stage.

Colours, 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 the Articket, a pass to save time (you have preferential access without queuing) 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
• Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona
• Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art
• Antoni Tàpies Foundation

The University of Barcelona's Els Vespres de la Universitat de Barcelona concerts began with summer editions, but since 2016, thanks to their popularity, they have also been held in winter, every Friday in February.

The purpose of these concerts is to promote emerging artists on 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.

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

Cool days are ideal to pamper the palate and there's 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 in 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. And don't miss the star of the fair, Coradella, the typical dish of Baix Llobregat, and one of the favourites in Catalonia, consisting of a lamb stew with a sauce of tomatoes and onions that also contains white wine or cognac.

If your stay doesn't coincide with the Fira de la Candelera, don't worry. Don't worry. Book a gastronomic tour of Barcelona and enjoy 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 it is the coldest time. During the day it rarely drops below 10°C, and at night the temperature drops the most.

Although February is the rainy season, it only rains 5 or 6 days a month. However, winter days are shorter, so it's always best 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's no reason not to visit if the weather is good.