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Festa Major de Grącia 2007 Barcelona |
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The Festa Major de Grącia 2007 is here!
The 190th Festa Major de Grącia 2007 is a week long neighbourhood festival with a delightfully varied programme of over 600 events events.
 Click here for pictures of Festa Major de Grącia 2007
The practical details.
The Barcelona Metro will be open all night between Tuesday and Wednesday and throughout the weekend, but on the other days of the festival the normal metro timetable will be in operation.
Every night of the Festa Major de Gracia festival there will be a shuttle bus service between 11 p.m. and 5.15 a.m running from the junction of Carrer de Cņrsega and Pau Claris to Plaza Catalunya to connect with NitBus night buses .
Here are some useful links:
 The Festa Major de Grącia website
PDF version of the 2007 programme
The official website of Gracia district (Spanish and Catalan)
And now the good stuff.
In 2007 a total of 18 streets and squares are festively dressed up in elaborately themed theatrical carnival style decorations to compete for the prize of being the best decorated street or square of the festival.
On many plazas in the festival area there are find market stalls with food and drink and handicraft items. See the map below for details of streets and squares that are participating in the festival Festa Major de Grącia
The Festa Major de Grącia programme of 2007 features a rich presence of all the traditional cultural Catalan traditions including the Castellera de Festa Major which is the always thrilling human tower building.
There will be firework processions (correfocs), live music concerts, workshops, traditional Catalan dancing (sardanes), other kinds of dancing and festival processions (cercaviles) and more.
The festival also knows that to survive for 190 years traditions must go hand in hand with innovation and in keeping with that sentiment 2007 welcomes exciting new events like the "Les Tardes Cląssiques" or "Classical Evenings among others. Recycling will also play a greater part in this year festival.
About Grącia district and barrios
Grącia is a district of the city of Barcelona above Eixample to the south and sandwhiched between Sarrią-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. Grącia is bordered by the districts of Eixample to the south, Around 120,087 people live in Gracia.
The name Grącia originates from a Carmelite convent dating back to 17 de gener de 1626 1626 called "Nostra Senyora de Grącia (Our Lady of Grace)."
Until 1897 Vila de Grącia 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 Grącia. 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 Grącia has retained its old world charm in the midst of a modern city like Barcelona. .
Its 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 all the charm of the Ciutat Vella district, but the lack of major tourist attractions has kept the tourists, street artists and fast food chains away from the streets of Gracia leaving space for the residents to weave a neighbourhood tapestry of bohemian, stylish, artistic shops, cafes and restaurants. For food and shopping in Barcelona it is worth a visit.
The only time when the tourists really visit Gracia in droves is during the Festa Major de Gracia. A million of them find their way to Gracia during this annual week long festival.
Thanks largely in part to the special nature of the neighbourhood and its surroundings Festa Major de Gracia has grown to be the most popular and largest neighbourhood festival in Barcelona, only surpassed in size and visitors by the Merce festival for the whole city, which is in September.
Here are some useful links:
The Festa Major de Grącia website
PDF version of the 2007 programme
The official website of Gracia district (Spanish and Catalan)
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