Every barri in Barcelona throws its own festa major — a week of free street parties that are some of the most magical (and most local) things you can do with kids in the city. Expect gegants (towering papier-mâché giants that parade and dance), castellers building human towers, capgrossos (big-heads) chasing children through the crowd, sardana circles, open-air concerts and the famous correfocs, where costumed 'devils' run through the streets trailing showers of sparks.
The season runs from summer well into winter, hopping from neighborhood to neighborhood: Raval kicks things off in July, then Gràcia (mid-August) and Sants turn their streets into wildly decorated, themed wonderlands competing for a prize, before Poblenou, Horta, Barceloneta, Sarrià and finally Sant Andreu carry the festivities through to December.
Almost everything is free and outdoors, with daytime giant parades, workshops and children's activities that suit even little ones. One tip for the correfocs: they're loud and genuinely sparky, so dress in cotton (no synthetics), wear a hat and a long-sleeve top, and watch the family-friendly 'correfoc infantil' if your kids are small. This collection gathers this year's neighborhood festes majors so you can plan which streets to wander into next.
On the map
8 spots on the map
