For street party lovers, La Merce edition 2016, Barcelona´s biggest street festival is on this week.
The Merce celebrates Merce, Barcelona’s patron Saint. She has a dedicated bank holiday, on September 24th. However, the festival will last from the 22nd to the 25th of september.
La Merce is my favourite festival in the city ranking before the Festa de Gracia. Why? Because it takes place all over Barcelona and presents various events: exhibitions, traditional dances, food trucks, shows, parades and so on. Moreover, the Merce gives a full overview of Catalan traditions in one event like listed below:
Highlights to watch out
– Castelleres or human towers as described in my post about the Festa de Gracia. To see it rendez-vous at San Jaume square at 12:30 on 24th of september
– Sardana dancing: a traditional catalan dance better seen than told about at Avinguda de la Catedral, at 19H on 22nd of september
– The correfoc or devils’ parade: at 20H30 (for adults) on the 25th of september at Via Laietana. A word of advice, to dance underneath the correfocs, cover yourself as you can get badly burnt
– The circus at Montjuic Castell: my favourite part with the correfoc. You can enjoy here high quality shows of various forms of contemporary circus
– This event is not particulary catalan but I like the dance show showcased in Parc de la Ciutadella. I have seen a hip hop group this year.
A little note also on side events: the calendar shows the main official events of the festival but remain open minded while going around. Sometimes you can find gems among the unofficial street artists that also take advantage of the party to showcase their talents. And you might be surprised!
To view the full calendar of events for La Merce 2016, click here: Calendar of events.