Carnaval de Barcelona 2024

Traditionally in Christian countries, the carnival week begins a week before the lent that leads to Easter. The "last fun" starts on Thursday, the week before the Ash Wednesday. In Barcelona, the carnival week is outrageously full of entertainment and good food! Gear up for parades, masqued balls, parties, gastronomic pleasures, and lots of fun and free activities, happening throughout Barna.

Fat Thursday

The merriments begin with the arrival of the Carnival King, who is deemed to be the centrepiece of carnival joy and debauchery in Catalonia. Accompanied by his seven ambassadors, King Carnestoltes makes appearance at Pl. Real and La Rambla at 6 pm. The anticipated parade steps off from La Rambla at 6:45 pm.

Carnival Parades

The Carnaval de Barcelona lasts the whole week bringing fun to every corner of the city. There's no shortage of flamboyant parades, many of which snake across the city's streets on Saturday. Festive processions take place in multiple neighborhods, but the largest parade is usually planned in the Gothic Quarter. Great Carnival Street is scheduled for 6 pm from Jardinets de Gracia to Placa de la Vila, where festivities proceed with the confetti battle.

Burial of the Sardine

The whole week of street parties and parades is wrapped up with a special tradition, happening on Ash Wednesday. The tradition has it that people bury sardines, which symbolizes the approaching of the Lent. Locals call it "E'Enterro" or "El Entierro", but tourists recognize it as "the burial of the sardine". No wonder most meals served on this day abound with sardines.