With the end of Christmas comes the return to school and back to work and yes, the said New Year’s resolutions that we know are rarely fulfilled. But we make it easy for you: what we propose are leisure and cultural activities that are impossible to resist and that are a great way to overcome the routine and the January slope.
Challenging the five senses at SENSAS Barcelona
In Barcelona you can start the year with an experience that enhances the senses and the spirit of solidarity. At SENSAS Barcelona, sensory workshops make you disconnect to reconnect and discover your essential skills you didn’t know you had. It’s the perfect way to start the year with purpose: enjoy a little adventure in the city and, at the same time, support the local association AURA, dedicated to people with functional diversity. New year, new experiences and the opportunity to make a difference from day one.
📍 Location: c/ Entença 91-93, Bajos
Dates: Open every day, from Monday to Sunday.
💸 Tickets: general 22€ (minimum 4 tickets)
AMAZÔNIA, the great exhibition of Sebastião Salgado
After its successful passage through other cities, arrives in Barcelona the awaited exhibition of this genius of photography. Through more than 200 photographs in beautiful black and white, seven films and a soundtrack created by Jean Michel-Jarre, AMAZÔNIA reveals the beauty and fragility of the planet’s lungs and the life of its indigenous tribes. Art and social conscience in equal parts.
📍 Location: Les Drassanes Reials. Avinguda de les Drassanes, s/n
Dates: open all month, except January 1st and 6th.
Tickets: From 10,50€.
Two immersive experiences to enjoy with the family
That children and adults can enjoy the same thing is not always an easy task. Fortunately, we have in the city with different immersive experiences that are suitable for the whole family.
On the one hand, we can visit Paradox Museum throughout the month, a museum that using the concept of paradox invites us to interact with all the spaces, play with optical effects, perspectives and objects that seem magical and take selfies and very funny videos.
On the other hand, Bubble Planet is an ideal option to bring out the child in all of us. Its universe of colorful bubbles is perfect for having fun, unloading adrenaline and having moments of disconnection, and we can even feel like a bubble in its virtual reality experience!
👉 F ind out more in “What to do with kids in Barcelona”.
Discover XR Sports at Alfa5
XR Sports, the concept that unites sports with advanced technologies, has made a strong entry in Barcelona, with the largest dedicated center in the world. Located in a former gymnasium, Alfa5 offers nine activities that invite you to repeat them over and over again: from dynamic soccer to paragliding or a shooting game in the Metaverse, to climbing Everest or enjoying the innovative Flatball game, located in a huge arena. The different intensities of its activities make it suitable for all physical conditions (from 7 years old).
Location: c/ Almogàvers, 169
Dates: open every day except Mondays (and on the 6th instead of the 7th)
Tickets: from 17€.
Enjoy Barcelona’s nightlife in two mythical places in Plaça Reial: Tarantos and Jamboree.
These two mythical places, active for decades in a very iconic enclave, are two perfect leisure options when the evening falls. In Tarantos we can spend an afternoon/evening of flamenco, enjoying a selection of shows that move between tradition and new trends of the genre and that can be seen 365 days a year.
After enjoying the singing, dancing and guitar playing and dinner (something you can also do in Tarantos) you can extend the night in the nightclub right next door, Jamboree, which after midnight changes the jazz rhythms that have made it famous for its disco nights, ie, sessions of the best hip-hop and other genres of black music. To dance like there’s no tomorrow from Monday to Sunday.
👉Discover more in “The best tablaos in Barcelona” and “The best clubs in Barcelona for an epic night”.
The best tributes of Candlelight
Candlelight ‘s candlelight concerts are the most varied this January: from tributes to legendary artists ranging from Mecano to Serrat, through ABBA or Coldplay, to an edition dedicated to Magical Soundtracks or other special ones about classical composers such as Vivaldi and Mozart. In short, concerts for all tastes and in some of the most beautiful locations in the city, such as the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site or the Basilica of Santa Maria del Pi.
📍Location: Various locations
Tickets: From 14,00 €.
Eat the best escudella (without forgetting your grandmother’s).
Saying goodbye to Christmas without a good plate of escudella is… to say the least, a bit strange. Escudella de galets is a traditional Catalan dish, especially associated with Christmas celebrations. The choice of enjoying it in a mythical restaurant in Barcelona certainly adds a special touch to the experience. If you are in Barcelona and are looking for options to taste a good escudella, here is a list.
📍 Several locations
Strolling and breathing fresh air in the newly opened Can Batlló Park
Barcelona recently has a new green lung, Can Batlló, a 29,000m2 park located in Sants. The city’s temperate climate makes it pleasant even in the middle of winter to take a walk outdoors, which you can do in this new green space, as well as practice sports or simply sit and enjoy the sun on your face and the fresh air provided by its more than 600 trees and 9,000 plants.
Discover the world of sailing in an immersive experience with a sailing simulator.
At the America’s Cup Experience you can enjoy an interactive and immersive experience on a large 128 m² LED screen with videos projecting the history of the competition and broadcasting live races. But there is more: two AC75 foils in match racing, a life-size replica of the America’s Cup trophy, interactive totems, content projected on different media and models with audiovisuals. Although the jewel of the exhibition is the virtual reality sailing simulator.
Location: Moll d’Espanya
Tickets: From 12,00 €.
Thrill to one of the most legendary operas
La Traviata is one of the most famous operas in history, both for its emotional plot and for the unsurpassed music of Giuseppe Verdi. This year comes to the Liceu a new adaptation of it, directed by David McVicar and with the soprano Nadine Sierra playing Violetta, the tragic heroine, the lady of the camellias.
Location: Gran Teatre del Liceu. La Rambla, 59
Dates: from January 17 to February 2
Tickets: from 10,5€.
Celebrate the Chinese New Year
China has a large representation in Barcelona, and that is why the community of this country organizes its New Year every year. 2025 is the year of the Snake, and therefore the celebration will be full of artistic versions of this animal, both in the parade with which the party starts and in the fair and shows. A day of leisure for all audiences and an ideal opportunity to learn more about an ancient culture.
Location: Parc de l’Estació del Nord and Arc de Triomf
Dates: January 25
Winter Circus in Ateneu Popular Nou Barris
The 29th edition of the Winter Circus is a circus show that ponders tradition in the midst of the world’s evolution. Designed for all types of audiences, it presents outstanding artists in Chinese pole, fixed trapeze, Washington, vertical and acro-dance. An event that fuses the classic with innovation to offer a captivating experience for all audiences.
Location: Fàbrica de Creació Ateneu Popular 9 Barris (Carrer Portlligat, 11-15)
Dates: until January 19
Tickets: 12€ adults / 6€ children under 14 years old
Tribute film series to Teresa Gimpera
Teresa Gimpera was an icon of our culture: model, actress, businesswoman, muse of the ‘gauche divine’… Deceased in 2024, the Filmoteca is now dedicating a whole cycle to her that is more than deserved, and the fact is that the Catalan woman stood out in films by great directors such as Víctor Erice(The Spirit of the Beehive), Vicente Aranda(Fata Morgana) or Antoni Ribas(La Ciutat Cremada). These films and others can be seen throughout the month.
Location: Filmoteca de Catalunya (Plaça de Salvador Seguí, 1)
Dates: from January 8 to 21
Tickets: from 3€.
Ice skating
Ice skating is possibly one of the most fun things to do in winter. And that’s for three reasons: because if you don’t know how to skate you have just as much fun, because it’s as intuitive as breading croquettes and because, once you learn, you spend your life looking for indoor skating rinks. In these cases, the proposal is driven by merchants and are good outdoor options to get started in this undoubtedly Christmas plan.
Various locations
Snowboarding (now that it’s finally the season)
How many times have you heard that “I’ve done a quick up and down to the snow”? It’s very much us Barcelonians. Like any son of a neighbor, we may sometimes complain about our habitat, but the truth is that we have the privilege of having everything nearby: sea, mountains and snow. Now that the cold season is starting to appear, we want to tell you about these 5 places where you can enjoy skiing or just spending a day in the snow with your colleagues.
Various locations
Cruïlla Hivern 2025
The Cruïlla festival returns with its winter edition to offer us more concerts. The cycle will start on January 11 with Maria Bezerra, and will continue with a good selection of artists until March 15. Please note that some concerts are already sold out, so don’t wait too long to get your tickets.
January 17 with the Viennese duo Kruder & Dorfmeister. Pol Batlle will also perform on January 18; Cupido on January 20; Sidonie on January 27 and 28, and will continue with more concerts in February: Pau Vallvé on February 2; Sen Senra on 3; Antònia Font on 7 and 8; Viva Suecia on February 9; Mujeres + Los Blenders + Rombo on February 10 and Sexy Zebras on February 17.
Various locations
Dates: from January 11 to March 15
Tickets: from 15€.
Find bargain sales in shopping malls
January is the month of the famous “cuesta”, but it is also the month when one of the most powerful sales periods of the year begins. Barcelona and its surroundings have several shopping malls full of stores that will be full of bargains, plus they are places where we can eat with the family, go to the movies and other leisure activities. Here you will find all the info you need to plan a date to these places.