La Festa Major de Gracia 2012
La Fiesta Mayor de Gràcia - 15 August to 21 August 2012

   PDF Map Festa de Gracia
   PICTURES Festa Major de Gràcia

The Festa Major de Gracia is the biggest of Barcelona's neighbourhood street festivals. About one and a half million people visit the Gracia Festival which opens on 15th August for the 196th edition. The Gracia festival is a street festival on streets and plazas of Gracia every year from 15th to 21st August. Monday 15th August is a public holiday called Assumption Day. The Gracia festival features a huge and varied programme with more than 600 activities in total, of which 400 are for families and children. You can also enjoy 175 concerts many of them outdoor and free. This popular festival is organised for and by neighbours and families in Gracia, but visitors are very welcome. Around 19 streets and plazas in 2012 will be decorated by the residents themselves and you can experience many wonderful Catalan traditions in a full programme of concerts and activities that will fill the streets of Gracia every night during the festival. 

The 19 streets and squares in Gracia have different themes every year. The residents who spend hours transforming parts of their street with charming homemade carnival style decorations and themes to compete for the prize of being the best decorated street or square of the Gracia festival and the results are amazing. All the decorated streets are worth visiting, but it can take a while, so be sure to visit the streets that often win the top prizes like "Carrer de Joan Blanques" and "Carrer de Verdi." 


Highlights of Gracia Festival 2012
19 streets and plazas have decorations. You can find them on the map below. It is best to visit streets in the first days of the Gracia festival. The prizes for best decorated streets are announced on 16/8 and after the prize giving the decorations start to crumble a bit. There is also a competition for the best decorated balconies in the Gracia area.

Dates and events below will be updated for the 2012 Festa Major de Gracia in July 2012

Sunday 14/8 2011
Show - Tabals i gralles d’inici de Festa
Time: 18:30
Place: Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia
Espectacle de lluïment de les Colles de Cultura de Gràcia. 
Presentation show by all the cultural groups of Gracia to start the festival

Sunday 14/8-2011
Speech - Pregó de la Festa Major de Gràcia 2011
Time: 19:00 
Place: Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia
Opening speech of Festa Major de Gracia by journalist Laia Ferrer  

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Monday 15/8 2011
Parade - Seguici d’autoritats
Time: 10.45 to 11:30
Start: Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia
Finish: Mass at church Santa Maria de Gràcia on Carrer de Gràcia, 3.
Morning parade with various groups which finishes with mass at 11,30

Monday 15/8  2011 
Ball - Matí de Festa Major
Time: 12:30 
Start:  Plaça de Nicolàs Salmeron
Finish: Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia
Ball de Gegants i Capgrossos, Ball de Diables, Pas de Dracs, Lluïment dels Trabucaires, Ball de Bastons i Castell
Festival dance with giants, big heads, devils, dragons, trabucaire bandits, bastoner stick dancers and castellars towers builders.

Monday 15/8  2011 
Parade - XIII Cercavila de Cultura Popular
Time:18.00 
Start: Junction of streets "Carrer de Santa Àgata" and "Gran de Gracia" - MAP parade route
Finish: Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia
Biggest parade of the Gracia Festival. This is a festive evening parade with all groups of the Festa Major including the gegants (giants of Gracia including “la Gresca i el Torradet”)  caps grossos (big heads)  dracs (dragons), castellers (human castle builders) and , bastoners (stick dancers) grallers – (pipers) and more. Worth seeing.  MAP parade route

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Tuesday 16/8 2011
Parade - Sortida en cercavila de Sant Roc
Time: 10:30 
Start: Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia
Finish: Junction of streets Libertat and Fraternitat
Parade with Gegants (giants), Castellers (tower builders), Trabucaires (bandits) and Bastoners (pipers).
Finishes at 11:30 with homage to Sant Roc.

Tuesday 16/8  2011  
Human Towers - Assaig a plaça dels Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia.
Time: 20:30 
Place: Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia
Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia make human towers on Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia.
"Assaig" means rehearsal or attempt. These sessions are usually to warm up before a big castellars event.

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Thursday 18/8  2011
Show - 7a Diada de les Colles de Cultura de Gràcia
Time: 19:30
Place: Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia
Show by all the cultural groups of Gracia to explain history of Gracia

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Friday 19/8  2011
Human Towers - Assaig a plaça dels Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia  
Time: 20:30  
Place: Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia 
Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia make human towers on Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia. More info.

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Saturday 20/8  2011 
Bike ride - Pedalada popular Festa Major de Gràcia 2011
Time: 10:30 
Start: Junction of "Passeig de Sant Joan" and Travessera de Gracia (gardens)
FInish: Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia. 

Saturday 20/8  2011
Human Towers - Baixada del Pilar Caminat (the walking column) 
Time: 20.00 
Place: Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia 
Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia build a human castle and attempt to walk it from Plaça del Sol to Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia in front of the town hall. 

Saturday 20/8  2011
Human Towers - Diada de Vigílies de Festa Major 
Time: 20:30 
Place: Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia 
Popular Day of Castellars. Castellers groups "Colla Jove Castellera de Sitges" and "Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia"

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Sunday  21/8  2011
Human Towers - Diada Castellera de Festa Major
Time:12:00
Place: Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia
Day of Castellars. Biggest castellers event with groups "CollaVella Xiquets de Valls", "Colla Jove dels Xiquets deTarragona" and "Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia" 

Sunday 21/8  2011 
Firerun - Correfoc infantil 
Time:18:30 
Start: Plaça del Nord 
Correfoc firerun in a smaller format for children

Sunday 21/8  2011 
Drum parade - Tabalada Infernal 
Time: 20.00
Start: Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia 
Tabalada Infernal is a drum parade with drummers from the "colles de foc" fireworks groups.

Sunday 21/8  2011  
Firerun - Correfoc
Time: 22:00 to 23:30 
Start and route: Plaça Trilla, Gran de Gràcia, Maurici Serrahima, Torrent de l'Olla, Bellver, Plaça del Nord, Robí, Torrent d'en Vidalet, Terol, Torrent de l'Olla, Diluvi, and finish at Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia - Click for correfoc route map
Correfoc is the traditional "firerun" where Festa Mayor visitors i.e. the general public are chased by "devil" groups brandished sparkling fireworks. Very dramatic. Read dress and safety guidelines for watching correfocs.  



Festa Major de Gracia parades and parties
There are simply too many activities to mention them all, but visit the festival plazas and you will always find something going on. The "cercavila" parades are always fun and great for the children. These are parades that open the Festa de Gracia and usually on the first day. These parades feature all the groups of the Festa Major de Gracia including  the huge colourful papier-mache giant dolls called "gegants" that are up to 4 metres tall. There is usually always a King and Queen gegant and a string of other characters in attendance. There are usually also some "capgrossos" which means literally "big heads."

Plazas of Gracia. 
On many plazas in the festival area you will find concert stages and plenty of food, drink and handicraft items.  Some of the main festival squares like Plaça del Sol, Plaça del Diamant, Plaça de la Revolució and Plaza de Torrente Manuel have individual themes. 

Catalan Festa Major traditions
The Festa Major de Gràcia features, like all Catalan festivals, a rich presence of all the traditional cultural Catalan traditions including the "Diada Castellera de Festa Major." This features "colles castelleres" which are groups that build up to 7 or 8 storey high human towers or castles, which is an amazing thing to see live. During the festa major there are many opportunties to see the local castellers group - called "Castellers de la Vila de Gracia" - build these amazing towers. On one evening they will build a tower and walk it between two plazas which is called the "Baixada del Pilar Caminat." See the times for castellers above or in the events calendar. The "correfoc" and "tabalada Infernal" are also among the most popular and festive tradtions of all festivals in Catalunya. Correfoc means "firerun" in Catalan and consists of "colles de diables" - which means "groups of devils" chasing and dancing to the beating of drums of the and spraying out sparks from fireworks attached to forks. The drummers of the Correfoc have their own parade called the "Tabalada Infernal." There will be also be traditional Catalan "sardanas" folk dancing and other traditions like "bastoners" stick dancing, "trabucaires" shooting "bandits" and "grallers" pipers

  Catalan festa major traditions

Have fun, but respect the neighbours
In recent years the Festa de Gracia has scheduled more daytime events and fewer night-time activities to respect the neighbours and reduce the potential of disturbances in the early hours of the morning. And we ask that all visitors to the Festa de Gracia do their bit to keep noise levels down and keep the area as clean as possible. Be careful when walking through the decorated streets. A lot of time and effort has gone into making them and many others will want to see them after you. 

Here are some useful Festa de Gracia links:

  Festa Major de Gracia official website ( Catalan)
  Map of decorated streets &  plazas 2011 Festa de Gracia   
  Festa de Gracia 2011 programme PDF version (Catalan)
  Website of Gracia barrio (neighbourhood)
  Website Castellers de la Vila de Gracia 

Festa Major de Gracia practical information.
Monday 15th August  is Assumption day and a public holiday in Spain. 

Metro hours during Festa de Gracia
During the Fiesta de Gracia the Barcelona Metro is open all night on the nights of Sunday 14 August and Saturday 20 August 2011. On the other nights of the Festa Major de Gracia the metro operates at normal times.

Festa de Gracia night bus service.
There is a special bus service from corner of streets Còrsega and Roger de Llúria to Plaza Catalunya. This bus service runs on nights of 15 to 20 August from 23.00 until 05.00 every 10 minutes.
Then from Plaza Catalunya you can catch NitBus night buses


Some general information about the Gràcia district /barrio
Gràcia is a district of the city of Barcelona above Eixample to the south and sandwhiched between Sarrià-Sant Gervasi to the west and Horta-Guinardó to the east. The district contains the neighborhoods barris of of Vallcarca, Penitents, El Coll, La Salut and Camp d'en Grassot. Gràcia is bordered by the districts of Eixample to the south, Around 120,087 people live in Gracia. The name Gràcia originates from a Carmelite convent dating back to 17 de gener de 1626 1626 called "Nostra Senyora de Gràcia (Our Lady of Grace)." Until 1897 Vila de Gràcia was a separate village and municipality from Barcelona city. To get through the fields from Barcelona to Gracia you traveled on the road called Passeig de Gracia, the passage to Gràcia. This road still has the same name today. In 1897 it was annexed to Barcelona in 1897 and as the city expanded Gracia was surrounded, but largely left intact, which explains why oldest barrio of Vila de Gràcia has retained its old world charm in the midst of a modern city like Barcelona. It’s this special atmosphere of Gracia that makes it very popular residential area for locals and foreigners alike and about 50.000 people live in the quaint narrow streets of Vila de Gracia.

Gracia has plenty of narrow streets and lots of charming plazas and an independant and local feel. There are no big tourist attractions which means that tourist buses, street artists and fast food chains have not taken over the streets of Gracia leaving space for the residents to weave a neighbourhood tapestry of bohemian and artistic shops, cafes and restaurants. For food and shopping in Barcelona it is worth a visit. The most popular street in Gracia to stroll down is Carrer de Verdi, which is sort of the "rambla" of Gràcia with many charming small shops and restaurants. The only time when the really tourists visit Gracia in their thousands is during the annual Festa Major de Gracia.  This event in centred in the Vila de Gracia - the village of Gracia. Usually around 55.000 people live in the Gracia area, but during the Festa de Gracia week over half a million visitors drop in for a drink and a stroll. Thanks largely in part to the special nature of the Gracia neighbourhood and its surroundings, the  Festa Major de Gracia has grown to be the most popular and largest neighbourhood festival in Barcelona, only surpassed in size and visitor numbers by the Barcelona Merce festival, which is in September every year.

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Organisers: 
Federació Festa Major de Gràcia 
Tel. 93 459 30 80 
Fax. 93 207 63 80 
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Festa de Gracia office:
Carrer de  Igualada, 10
08012  Vila de Gràcia 
Office hours: Monday, Wednesday & Friday from 17:30 to 21:00