What is there to do in Barcelona in December 2026?

The Christmas lights and markets, concerts such as Pau Casals' oratorio El Pessebre at the Palau de la Música (Tuesday 15 December), The Nutcracker at the Liceu, La Marató de 3Cat (Sunday 13 December) and New Year's Eve. Shops may open on Sundays 6, 13, 20 and 27 and Tuesday 8.

What are the public holidays in Barcelona in December 2026?

Tuesday 8 (Immaculate Conception), Friday 25 (Christmas Day) and Saturday 26 (Saint Stephen's Day). 6 and 7 December are not holidays in Barcelona, and the 24th and 31st are working days.

Are shops open on Sundays in Barcelona in December?

Yes: they may open on Sundays 6, 13, 20 and 27 and Tuesday 8. On 25 and 26 December, public holidays, only exempt shops may open, such as bakeries, convenience stores or shops of up to 300 m².

Is Barcelona open on Christmas Day?

Partly. 25 December is a public holiday: most shops are closed by law, but the metro runs and some sights open for shorter hours, such as the Sagrada Família, 9:00 to 14:00. MNAC, La Pedrera and the Museu Picasso are closed.

When are the Barcelona Christmas lights switched on in 2026?

It has not been announced yet (checked on 31 October 2026). For the last three years the lights were switched on on Passeig de Gràcia at 18:00: on Thursday 23 November 2023, Thursday 28 November 2024 and Saturday 22 November 2025.

When is the Santa Llúcia Christmas market in 2026?

The 2026 dates have not been announced yet (checked on 31 October 2026). In 2025 it ran from 28 November to 23 December 2025, in front of the Cathedral.

Does the Barcelona metro run on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve?

Yes. By TMB's standing timetable it closes at 23:00 on 24 December and runs all night on the 31st. TMB confirms its Christmas hours in December.

Festivals and traditions

Barcelona in December 2026: what's on, holidays and what's open

December 2026 in Barcelona on one page: public holidays and what closes, shops, the metro, the weather, the lights and markets, and the key dates day by day.

Published on 31 October 202613 min readVerified on 31 Oct 2026

Fira de Santa Llúcia stalls lit up at night by Barcelona Cathedral — The Fira de Santa Llúcia, in front of Barcelona Cathedral.Enric · CC BY-SA 4.0

On this page (10)

Things to do in Barcelona in December 2026: the key dates
Still to be announced
Public holidays in Barcelona in December 2026
What's open and what's closed: shops, museums and sights
Metro and transport in December
What is the weather like in Barcelona in December?
Christmas in Barcelona: lights, markets and nativity scenes
New for 2026: concerts and shows with a date
Day trips and snow
Keep reading

In December 2026 Barcelona has three public holidays: Tuesday 8 (Immaculate Conception), Friday 25 (Christmas Day) and Saturday 26 (Saint Stephen's Day). Shops may open on Sundays 6, 13, 20 and 27 and Tuesday 8; on the 25th and 26th only exempt shops may. La Marató de 3Cat is on Sunday 13 December and La Grossa de Cap d'Any is drawn on Thursday 31 December. Average highs are 14.3 °C (58 °F) and lows 5.7 °C (42 °F). The City Council has not announced the Christmas lights switch-on yet.

December 2026 in Barcelona at a glance

Public holidays: Tuesday 8 (Immaculate Conception), Friday 25 (Christmas Day) and Saturday 26 (Saint Stephen's Day)
Shops: May open on Sundays 6, 13, 20 and 27 and Tuesday 8; on the 25th and 26th, exempt shops only
Weather: Average highs of 14.3 °C (58 °F) and lows of 5.7 °C (42 °F); 40 mm of rain (AEMET)
Metro: Until 23:00 on the 24th; all night on the 31st (TMB timetable)
La Marató: Sunday 13 December
La Grossa de Cap d'Any: Thursday 31 December (time not announced yet)
Lights switch-on: Not announced yet (2025: Saturday 22 November 2025, 18:00 on Passeig de Gràcia)
Fira de Santa Llúcia: 2026 dates not announced yet (checked on 31 October 2026)

How we handle dates

We give a 2026 date only once the organiser or an official body has published it; dates from earlier years always carry their year. The lights, the Fira de Santa Llúcia and the New Year's Eve show have no date yet (checked on 31 October 2026): we add each one the day it becomes official.

Things to do in Barcelona in December 2026: the key dates

Day by day, everything that already has an official date: holidays, shops, concerts and shows, La Marató, nativity scenes and New Year's Eve.

December 2026 in Barcelona, day by day
Day	What's on	Source
Tuesday 1 to Thursday 3 December	Metro line L2 is still closed between La Pau and Gorg, with a shuttle bus; TMB expects trains back on Friday 4 at 5:00.	Barcelona City Council, 29 October 2026
Friday 4 December	La Molina, Vallter, Port Ainé and Boí Taüll plan to open (Espot on Saturday 5), snow permitting: ski resorts.	Each resort's calendar
Saturday 5 to Tuesday 8 December	December long weekend: the only holiday is Tuesday 8; Sunday 6 is not a holiday in Catalonia and Monday 7 is a working day in Barcelona.	Order EMT/66/2025 (DOGC)
Sunday 6 December	Shops in Barcelona may open (a Sunday trading day). Concert de carilló al Palau de la Generalitat at 12:00. Carillon and tenor, with Jordi Mas. Registration required; it closes on the Friday before the concert.	Resolution EMT/4342/2025 (DOGC); Catalan government's cultural agenda
Tuesday 8 to Saturday 12 December	El trencanous, Gran Teatre del Liceu. Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, danced by the Badisches Staatsballett Karlsruhe.	Catalan government's cultural agenda
Tuesday 8 December	Public holiday: Immaculate Conception. Shops in Barcelona may open.	Order EMT/66/2025 (DOGC); Resolution EMT/4342/2025 (DOGC)
Saturday 12 December	El conte de Nadal de Charles Dickens, Gran Teatre del Liceu at 11:30. A Christmas Carol with music by Albert Guinovart; from age 8.	Catalan government's cultural agenda
Sunday 13 December	Shops in Barcelona may open (a Sunday trading day). La Marató de 3Cat, the TV3 and Catalunya Ràdio telethon, for neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases.	Resolution EMT/4342/2025 (DOGC); Fundació La Marató de 3Cat
Tuesday 15 to Sunday 27 December	El Trencanous, Teatre Coliseum. Danced by the Kyiv Ballet.	Catalan government's cultural agenda
Tuesday 15 December	Concert de l'Oratori El Pessebre, Palau de la Música Catalana at 20:00. Pau Casals' oratorio, part of the Pau Casals year.	Catalan government's cultural agenda
Friday 18 December	Per Nadal l'originalitat és tornar a l'origen, Sagrada Família at 19:00. The Montserrat boys' choir and the Vallès Symphony Orchestra open a Christmas event centred on the Nativity façade, part of the Gaudí year.	Catalan government's cultural agenda
Sunday 20 December	Shops in Barcelona may open (a Sunday trading day).	Resolution EMT/4342/2025 (DOGC)
Monday 21 December	Torre del Suro living nativity (el Guinardó) at 18:00, free entry. Astronomical winter begins, at 21:50.	Pessebre Vivent de la Torre del Suro; Spain's National Geographic Institute
Tuesday 22 December	School Christmas holidays begin, until 7 January 2027.	Order EDF/66/2026 (DOGC)
Thursday 24 December	Christmas Eve, a working day. The metro closes at 23:00.	TMB timetable
Friday 25 December	Public holiday: Christmas Day. Shops closed, except exempt ones (bakeries, convenience stores, small shops...).	Order EMT/66/2025 (DOGC)
Saturday 26 December	Public holiday: Saint Stephen's Day. Shops closed, except exempt ones (bakeries, convenience stores, small shops...).	Order EMT/66/2025 (DOGC)
Sunday 27 December	Shops in Barcelona may open (a Sunday trading day).	Resolution EMT/4342/2025 (DOGC)
Wednesday 30 December	La bohème, Gran Teatre del Liceu. Puccini's opera, with performances until 19 January 2027.	Catalan government's cultural agenda
Thursday 31 December	New Year's Eve. La Grossa de Cap d'Any lottery draw (time not announced yet). The metro runs all night. The city's celebration has not been announced yet: New Year's Eve in Barcelona.	Loteries de Catalunya; TMB timetable

Only dates published by the organiser or an official body, checked on 31 October 2026. Prices and tickets on each organiser's website.

Still to be announced

These December dates have not been announced yet. We add each to the table the day it is out:

Christmas lights switch-on. The City Council has not announced the date yet (checked on 31 October 2026). For the last three years it was on Passeig de Gràcia at 18:00: on Thursday 23 November 2023, Thursday 28 November 2024 and Saturday 22 November 2025. Everything known so far: the Barcelona Christmas lights switch-on.
Fira de Santa Llúcia. The 2026 dates have not been announced yet (checked on 31 October 2026): the organisers' website still shows the 2025 calendar, when the fair ran from 28 November to 23 December 2025, in front of the Cathedral. According to the City Council, it goes up every year in late November or early December, always before Santa Llúcia's day, the 13th.
Plaça de Sant Jaume nativity scene. 2026 dates not announced. In 2025 it was open from 13 December 2025 to 5 January 2026, free, inside City Hall.
The city's New Year's Eve show. Not announced yet; in 2024 and 2025 it was on Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina, at the foot of Montjuïc. How it worked and what to know: New Year's Eve in Barcelona.
La Grossa draw time. The draw is on Thursday 31 December 2026; Loteries de Catalunya has not announced the time yet.
Three Kings parade, on the evening of 5 January 2027: the City Council publishes its times and route in the weeks before.

Public holidays in Barcelona in December 2026

Three, all Catalonia-wide: Tuesday 8 (Immaculate Conception), Friday 25 (Christmas Day) and Saturday 26 (Saint Stephen's Day). Sunday 6 December, Constitution Day, is not a holiday in Catalonia, and Monday the 7th is a working day in Barcelona, whose 2026 local holidays are 25 May and 24 September. 24 and 31 December are working days too.

For a long weekend, see the December 2026 long weekend.

Holidays and special days in Barcelona, December 2026
Day	What it is	Shops
Sunday 6 December	Constitution Day, on a Sunday: not a holiday in Catalonia	May open (a trading day)
Monday 7 December	Working day in Barcelona (a local holiday in 43 other towns)	Each shop's own hours
Tuesday 8 December	Public holiday: Immaculate Conception	May open (a trading day)
Thursday 24 December	Christmas Eve: working day	Each shop's own hours
Friday 25 December	Public holiday: Christmas Day	Closed, except exempt shops
Saturday 26 December	Public holiday: Saint Stephen's Day	Closed, except exempt shops
Thursday 31 December	New Year's Eve: working day	Each shop's own hours

Sources: Order EMT/66/2025 (holidays), Order EMT/208/2025 (local holidays) and Resolution EMT/4342/2025 (Barcelona's trading days), in the DOGC.

What's open and what's closed: shops, museums and sights

Shops. In Barcelona they may open on Sundays 6, 13, 20 and 27 and Tuesday 8, under the 2026 shopping calendar. On 25 and 26 December Catalan retail law keeps shops on the general timetable closed; exempt, and so free to open, are bakeries and cake shops, florists, convenience stores, pharmacies, shops inside stations, and shops of up to 300 m² that sell everyday food or are run by small and medium-sized businesses. Being allowed to open does not mean every shop will: each decides. Details in our guide to shops open on Sundays and holidays.

Museums and sights. These are the holiday hours the big sights publish on their official websites. For anywhere else, check the museum's own site before you go: holiday hours change from year to year.

Big sights over the holidays
Sight	What its official page says
Sagrada Família	25 and 26 December, 1 and 6 January: 9:00 to 14:00
La Pedrera	Closed on 25 December 2026; 26 December to 3 January, 9:00 to 20:30 (1 January from 11:00); closed 11 to 17 January 2027
Casa Batlló	Says it opens every day of the year
MNAC (National Art Museum of Catalonia)	Closed on 25 December and 1 January; in winter, Sundays and holidays 10:00 to 15:00
Museu Picasso	Closed on 25 December, 1 January and Mondays; 24 and 31 December, 10:00 to 14:00

From each sight's own opening-hours page, checked 25 October 2026. Hours can change for special events, so check the day before.

Sagrada Família, Park Güell and Casa Batlló tickets are in our tickets guide, and the museums you can visit for free in free museums in Barcelona.

Metro and transport in December

The metro runs on every day of the holidays. This table applies TMB's standing timetable to the month's special days:

Barcelona metro over Christmas and New Year (2026-27)
Day	Type of day	Metro
Thursday 24 December 2026	Working day	Opens at 5:00; closes at 23:00
Friday 25 December 2026	Public holiday (Christmas Day)	Opens at 5:00; closes at 2:00
Saturday 26 December 2026	Public holiday (Saint Stephen's Day)	Opens at 5:00; runs all night
Thursday 31 December 2026	Working day	Opens at 5:00; runs all night

From TMB's standing timetable (checked 25 October 2026): midnight; 2:00 on Fridays and nights before holidays; all night on Saturdays and 31 December; 23:00 on 24 December. TMB confirms its Christmas hours in December (on the 23rd in 2025).

L2: until Thursday 3 December there are no trains between La Pau and Gorg because of engineering work; a shuttle bus runs, and the L4, L10, the tram and the R1 are alternatives. TMB expects trains back on Friday 4 at 5:00 (Barcelona City Council, 29 October 2026).

For night buses and each night's hours, see Barcelona metro hours and night buses.

What is the weather like in Barcelona in December?

In December Barcelona averages highs of 14.3 °C (58 °F) and lows of 5.7 °C (42 °F) at the airport (AEMET, 1981-2010), a mean of 10.0 °C. The centre is a little warmer: Meteocat's el Raval station gives 16.0 and 9.8 °C (61 and 50 °F, 2010-2025).

Expect 40 mm of rain over 4.4 days on average, 69 % relative humidity and 141 hours of sunshine, the least of any month. The month's records at the airport: 27.0 °C on 31 December 1925 and -8.0 °C on 27 December 1962.

Astronomical winter begins on Monday 21 December at 21:50, Spanish mainland time, according to Spain's National Geographic Institute. Every month's averages are in Barcelona weather by month; for the next few days, see AEMET's forecast for Barcelona.

Christmas in Barcelona: lights, markets and nativity scenes

Lights. The City Council has not announced the Christmas lights switch-on yet. For 2026 it plans 130 km of lit streets, and 2026 is the year Barcelona is European Capital of Christmas. The date, time and place of the switch-on, once out, are in the Barcelona Christmas lights switch-on.

Markets. The Fira de Santa Llúcia, in front of the Cathedral, and the Sagrada Família fair have not published their 2026 dates yet. Elsewhere in Catalonia, 41 Christmas fairs already have an official date: see Christmas markets by town and our Christmas markets guide.

Nativity scenes. In the city, the 33rd Torre del Suro living nativity, in el Guinardó, is on Monday 21 December at 18:00, free, according to its organisers. Catalonia's other living nativities are in our living nativity scenes guide.

Traditions. Children start "feeding" the tió log on 8 December, the Immaculada, and the 26th, Sant Esteve, is a public holiday. The 2026-27 season has not been presented yet (checked on 26 October 2026). The Coordinadora de Pastorets de Catalunya presented the last one on 29 November 2025, and it ran from 13 December 2025 to 1 February 2026. How to make the tió poo and what Catalans eat at Christmas: Catalan Christmas traditions. And to close the season, the Kings' times and route: the 2027 Three Kings parade.

New for 2026: concerts and shows with a date

Some of the December events in Barcelona already in the Catalan government's cultural agenda (open data, checked on 31 October 2026). Prices and tickets are on each organiser's website:

Concert de carilló al Palau de la Generalitat (Palau de la Generalitat). Sunday 6 December at 12:00. Carillon and tenor, with Jordi Mas. Registration required; it closes on the Friday before the concert. Catalan government's cultural agenda.
El trencanous (Gran Teatre del Liceu). Tuesday 8 to Saturday 12 December. Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, danced by the Badisches Staatsballett Karlsruhe. Catalan government's cultural agenda.
El conte de Nadal de Charles Dickens (Gran Teatre del Liceu). Saturday 12 December at 11:30. A Christmas Carol with music by Albert Guinovart; from age 8. Catalan government's cultural agenda.
Concert de l'Oratori El Pessebre (Palau de la Música Catalana). Tuesday 15 December at 20:00. Pau Casals' oratorio, part of the Pau Casals year. Catalan government's cultural agenda.
El Trencanous (Teatre Coliseum). Tuesday 15 to Sunday 27 December. Danced by the Kyiv Ballet. Catalan government's cultural agenda.
Per Nadal l'originalitat és tornar a l'origen (Sagrada Família). Friday 18 December at 19:00. The Montserrat boys' choir and the Vallès Symphony Orchestra open a Christmas event centred on the Nativity façade, part of the Gaudí year. Catalan government's cultural agenda.
La bohème (Gran Teatre del Liceu). Wednesday 30 December. Puccini's opera, with performances until 19 January 2027. Catalan government's cultural agenda.

Day trips and snow

Baqueira Beret plans to open its season on Saturday 28 November and the FGC resorts (La Molina, Vallter, Port Ainé and Boí Taüll) on Friday 4 December, weather and snow permitting. La Molina can be reached by train from Barcelona. Every resort is in Catalonia's ski resorts.

What is there to do in Barcelona in December 2026?: The Christmas lights and markets, concerts such as Pau Casals' oratorio El Pessebre at the Palau de la Música (Tuesday 15 December), The Nutcracker at the Liceu, La Marató de 3Cat (Sunday 13 December) and New Year's Eve. Shops may open on Sundays 6, 13, 20 and 27 and Tuesday 8.
What are the public holidays in Barcelona in December 2026?: Tuesday 8 (Immaculate Conception), Friday 25 (Christmas Day) and Saturday 26 (Saint Stephen's Day). 6 and 7 December are not holidays in Barcelona, and the 24th and 31st are working days.
What is the weather like in Barcelona in December?: Average highs of 14.3 °C (58 °F) and lows of 5.7 °C (42 °F) at the airport, with 40 mm of rain over about four days and 141 hours of sunshine (AEMET). In the city centre the average low is 9.8 °C.
Are shops open on Sundays in Barcelona in December?: Yes: they may open on Sundays 6, 13, 20 and 27 and Tuesday 8. On 25 and 26 December, public holidays, only exempt shops may open, such as bakeries, convenience stores or shops of up to 300 m².
Is Barcelona open on Christmas Day?: Partly. 25 December is a public holiday: most shops are closed by law, but the metro runs and some sights open for shorter hours, such as the Sagrada Família, 9:00 to 14:00. MNAC, La Pedrera and the Museu Picasso are closed.
When are the Barcelona Christmas lights switched on in 2026?: It has not been announced yet (checked on 31 October 2026). For the last three years the lights were switched on on Passeig de Gràcia at 18:00: on Thursday 23 November 2023, Thursday 28 November 2024 and Saturday 22 November 2025.
When is the Santa Llúcia Christmas market in 2026?: The 2026 dates have not been announced yet (checked on 31 October 2026). In 2025 it ran from 28 November to 23 December 2025, in front of the Cathedral.
Does the Barcelona metro run on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve?: Yes. By TMB's standing timetable it closes at 23:00 on 24 December and runs all night on the 31st. TMB confirms its Christmas hours in December.