This week is La Mercè edition 2016, Barcelona´s largest street festival.

The Mercè celebrates Mercè, Barcelona’s patron Saint. She has a designated bank holiday, on September 24th. However, the festival will take place from September 22nd to September 25th.

La Mercè is my favourite festival in the city ranking before the Festa de Gràcia. Why? Because it takes place all over Barcelona and includes a variety of events such as exhibitions, traditional dances, food trucks, shows, parades and more. Furthermore, the Mercè provides a full overview of Catalan traditions in a single event as shown below:

Highlights of la Mercè

– Castells or human towers as described in my post about the Festa de Gracia. To see it, rendez-vous at Sant Jaume square at 12:30 on September 24th.

– Sardana dancing: a traditional Catalan dance better seen than told about at 19h on Avinguda de la Catedral on 22nd of september.

– The correfoc or devils’ parade: will take place at 20H30 (for adults) on Septemeber 25th on Via Laietana. A word of caution: if you are going to dance in the parade with the correfocs, wear protective clothing because you could get severely burned.

– The circus at Montjuic Castle: my favourite part with the correfoc. Here you can enjoy high-quality contemporary circus performances in a variety of genres.

– This event is not specifically Catalan but I like the dance show presented at Parc de la Ciutadella. This year, I saw a hip hop group.

A word on side events: the calendar lists the festival’s main official events. Keep an open mind while you are out and about. You can sometimes unearth hidden gems among the unofficial street artists that also showcase their talents. You never know what you will find!

Click here to see the complete La Mercè 2016 Calendar of events.