
Some say that the carnival dates back thousands of years, to the Saturnalian festivities of the Roman Empire. Whatever the origin, if anything has characterized this party, the king ceases to be king and the commoner can be whoever he wants. That is why the power has always tried to eliminate it, as it was in the case of Franco’s regime in Spain, or the most paradigmatic case, the prohibition of the famous Carnival of Venice when the city was invaded by Napoleon.
If anything distinguishes the Barcelona Carnival is the enormous participation that accompanies it. We Barcelonians love to get involved with this party and the amount of activities, traditions, rúas or parades that are organized is incredible.
If you do not want to miss anything of this week, fun and extravagant, here we tell you everything you need to know to keep abreast of all the activities that are scheduled.
When is Carnival 2025 in Barcelona?

If you are one of those who are already wondering what day is Carnival this 2024, we tell you the most important dates. As you know, the dates vary every year, as they depend on the lunar calendar. Carnval starts seven weeks after the first full moon of winter, so this year it will start a little later than last year.
As every year, the celebration will kick off on Maundy Thursday -the last Thursday before the beginning of Lent- which this year will be from February 27 to March 5, the famous Ash Wednesday and the day when the sardine is buried.
Beginning of the Carnival with the Arrival of the Kings of Carnival and the Taronjada.

For a few days Barcelona will become monarchic, because the government of the city will pass into the hands of the Kings of Carnival – King Carnestoltes and Queen Belluga – kings of the madmen and the tarambanas, of fun and disobedience. To welcome the Carnival, they will make a parade accompanied by seven ambassadors, representing the seven historical towns of the city: Gràcia, Horta, Les Corts, Sant Andreu, Sant Martí and Sarrià.
The city will welcome them on Thursday 27 February and from there they will go to the Palacio de la Virreina, where they will celebrate the Taronjada, a tradition that dates back to 1333, and that is, in essence, a great war where oranges are thrown. Simple, crazy and fantastic, because what would be a carnival where order reigned?
Everything you need to know about the Carnival of the neighborhoods: schedules, dates and route.

As every year, this Carnival 2025 will be held the neighborhood Carnival rúas, where neighborhood associations, schools and popular culture groups from many neighborhoods of the city will organize their own parades. Although all the information is not yet known, some of the districts that will organize activities again will be Clot and Camp de l’Arpa, Sant Andreu or L’Eixample.
Here is a list that will be updated with information about the activities in each neighborhood:
- Rúa de Carnaval de Sarriá: will organize its own parade starting at 17h. followed by party and music by La Social Disfunktion.
- Rúa de Carnaval de Sants, Hostafrancs i la Bordeta: will start in Sants street and will extend from Badal to Béjar. The parade, organized by the Centro Cívico Cotxeres de Sants, will be from 5 pm until approximately 8 pm.
- Carnival parades in the district of Gràcia: The parade will start at 6 p.m. at the Jardinets de Gràcia and will end at the Plaza de la Vila de Gràcia with the reading of the ‘Ban por parte’ of King Carnestoltes, followed by a confetti war and awards ceremony. That same afternoon the district will have other activities such as tasting butifarra d’ou and cava, Jam Session and costume contest with chocolate.
- Rúa de Carnaval la Sagrera: will begin at 16:45 h. from Jardins d’Elx with Filipines and will be followed by chocolate, a children’s entertainment show and a popular dinner with dancing, all in charge of the Sagrera Festival Committee.
- Rúa de Carnaval del Clot i Camp de l’Arpa: this parade will start its route at 4.30 pm. The concentration of the groups is scheduled at Passeig de Maragall, between Freser Street and Carrer de la Indústria. From this point it will go through the streets of Rogent, the Sèquia Comtal, the Plaza del Mercat del Clot and Cabanyal street. The procession will end at the Parc del Clot moat, where there will be a space for taking photographs.
- Sant Andreu Carnival Parade: the parade in the Sant Andreu district, unlike the rest, will take place on the morning of Sunday, February 11. Although the route and schedule are yet to be confirmed, we already know the theme of this year’s costumes, which will be elements of nature.
- Nou Barris Carnival parade: the central carnival parade of Nou Barris will be held from 7 pm from Via Júlia to Plaça d’Àngel Pestanya. From 9 p.m. there will be an awards ceremony and at 11 p.m. there will be a big Carnival party at Ateneu Popular 9 Barris.
- Rúa de Carnaval de l’Eixample: L’Eixample will have three rúas these carnivals. In the Dreta de l’Eixample will take place on Friday, February 9, and will begin at the Mercado de la Concepción at 5 pm. For its part, the Fort Pienc Carnival parade will begin and end its route in the Fort Pienc square on Saturday, February 10 from 5 pm. Finally, the LGTBI+ rúa of L’Eixampla will start at 5:30 p.m. from the University Square and will end at the same point.
- Children’s Carnavalassu del Gòtic: The Gótic children’s parade will take place on February 9 and will start at 5:30 pm from Plaça del Rei. The celebration will conclude at Plaça de la Mercè, where there will be music and a chocolate party.
- Casc Antic Children’s Carnival: The Casc Antic Children’s Commission will organize a parade at 5:00 p.m. from Plaça de l’Acadèmia. At the end of the route, there will be children’s activities and a chocolatada.
- Sant Antoni Carnival parade: it will start at 5 pm from the Civic Center Cotxeres Borrell and will continue along the streets of Viladomat and Parlament, the round of Sant Pau and Tamarit. At the end, there will be animation by Toca’l 2 and the Diables de St. Antoni, as well as a popular chocolate.
- Carnival of Barceloneta: will be the last of the city. This neighborhood will host this carnival festival a week after the rest of the city. Its parade will take place on February 18 at 11 a.m. from Pepe Rubianes street and will end at Poeta Boscà square.
- Ravalstoltada del Raval: The big Raval Carnival party will be just a day before the big parades of the city. The Rua will start at 18:30h. in the Rambla del Raval, will continue along Hospital street, Junta de Comerç, Sant Pau and Reina Amàlia, to finish in Josep M. Folch i Torres square, where there will be a party and snack for the participants.
Because, where better than in our own neighborhoods to set up this event?
Farewell to the Carnival with the Burial of the Sardine

Ash Wednesday is, perhaps, the saddest day of this festivity. According to Christian tradition, Lent begins, a time full of sacrifices where there is no more room for madness and carnival debauchery.
The city will say goodbye to the Kings of Carnival and the traditional Burial of the Sardine will take place. During this day associations and entities of the districts will organize events such as popular meals, burning of the sardine and neighborhood parties to say goodbye to this colorful and frenetic week, putting the finishing touch to the celebration one more year.
If you do not want to miss anything of this crazy party, you can check the detailed program on the website of the City Council.
Unbaile of masks in Poble Espanyol
The plans to celebrate Carnival in Barcelona do not stop appearing, and among them we find the proposal of Poble Espanyol, which for this Carnival brings its third edition of the Mascarada party. This is their particular updated version of the classic masked balls like the one in Venice. Details are yet to be confirmed but, as every year, it will be spectacular.
Sitges Carnival: everything you need to know about the best Carnival in Catalonia.
The Sitges Carnival is, without a doubt, the queen of Carnival in Catalonia. Faced with the centrality of the Barcelona Carnival, the Sitges Carnival claims to be one of the most festive and fun in the country. Perhaps because of its marine spirit, perhaps because of the city’s love of fun… There is no clear reason, but what is certain is that the costume party in the town of the Garraf is one of the most entertaining.
One of the graces of this coastal carnival is that its festivities are extended, and where in most cities the big days (and nights) are celebrated on the weekend, in Sitges the big celebration comes just two days before Ash Wednesday, as if the Sitgetans were looking to squeeze the last hours before the end of the disbauxa.
In this article we have explained everything you need to know about the Sitges Carnival: its schedules, its main activities and its most important rúas, so that you don’t miss out on any of the fun.
Butifarra d’ou, coca de llardons, cod… Gastronomy and typical dishes to eat during Carnival in Catalonia.

One of the strong points of Carnival in Barcelona is its peculiar gastronomic tradition. Are you familiar with the saying Per dijous gras, butifarra menjaràs? This refers to Dijous Gras or Dijous Llarder, a day when some of our culture’s favorite dishes are celebrated with friends and family: tortilla, coca de llardons and butifarra d’ou.
The origin of this day dates back to when the Christian tradition dictated abstinence from certain foods during Lent, such as meat or eggs. Thus, Dijous Gras became the day where to eat them without restrictions and appeared, among others, the butifarra d’ou, that famous yellowish sausage.
But as we said, it is not the only one: coca de llardons (made, literally, with pork rashers), tortilla (where eggs symbolize the same abundance as the butifarra), buñuelos ( another Lent classic) or cod (typical, this time, of Easter, where it was considered a cheap food that replaced meat in time of abstinence) are some of the other dishes that are worth to be eaten.