Castells human towers, tattoo festival, Viu Montjuïc: what's on this weekend

With events ranging from music to cultural festivals, art, and celebration, there are countless things to do in Barcelona and around Catalonia. 

Here's a selection of some of the best plans and what's on this weekend. 

Sitges Film Festival | October 8-18 | Fantasy & Horror Film Festival | Sitges

One of Catalonia's biggest movie events is back. This year, Kevin Bacon, Danny Devito, and Peter Jackson are among the headline names to make an appearance. 

Protesta Film Festival | October 6-18 | Socially conscious film festival | Vic 

This October, Vic will once again be filled with socially conscious cinema and provocative ideas, centering on the theme of "skin", an edition that invites us to feel, connect, and look more closely.

Astronomy Festival | October 9-12 | Astronomy, family-friendly | Montsec

The Montsec Astronomical Park is a cornerstone of astronomical research, education, and outreach in Catalonia. The Park is organizing the 12th Montsec Astronomy Festival with the aim of bringing science closer to people of all ages through a new form of tourism: Starlight Tourism. We invite you to enjoy this experience, blending science and tourism, featuring activities for all ages, such as workshops, guided tours, special screenings, a guided visit to the Montsec Observatory, and the "Moon and Mars through the Streets of Àger" geological walk, all set beneath the spectacular Montsec sky.

Horrorland Halloween | October 9 - November 15 | Scream park | Illa Fantasia 

Where your nightmares come to life. Europe's best scream park returns this Halloween with 5 new haunting experiences. Located just 15 minutes from Barcelona at the Illa Fantasia water park.

Saga | October 9-11 | Game festival | Fira Montjuïc, Barcelona

Barcelona's biggest computer games festival returns this weekend with a huge lineup of gaming stations, exhibitors, competitions, shows, and business-to-business networking opportunities. 

Barcelona Queer Market | October 10 | Festival | Carrer Diputació, Barcelona

Barcelona Queer Market celebrates the city’s LGBTQ+ community with shopping, entertainment, food and live performances in the heart of Eixample. The market brings together queer-owned businesses, designers, artists, community groups and independent makers from across Barcelona. Visitors can browse the stalls, join workshops, watch drag performances and live shows, listen to local DJs and take part in a community book exchange. The event runs from 11am until 2am. The daytime market develops into an open-air street party, with music and entertainment continuing until 2am.

Port Flea | October 11 | Flea and vintage market | Port Olímpic, Moll Mestral 

Barcelona's flea markets can throw up a lot of surprises. From domestic antiques, rare coins, war medals and memorabilia, to even vintage clothes and retro football shirts, there are bargains and treasures to be found across the board. With great DJs soundtracking your Sunday bargain hunt, there's not many better plans.

Raimat Arts Festival | October 8-11 | Arts | Lleida

Music, landscape, heritage, wine, and community: nurturing a territory with a soul. The Raimat Arts Festival was born from a conviction that beauty, too, can nurture a territory. Over four days, from October 8 to 11, Raimat becomes a meeting point for artists, the public, institutions, businesses, local residents, and patrons. Music unfolds amidst vineyards, architecture, living heritage, and hospitality, set in an inherited landscape that looks toward the future.

Escena | October 8 - December 19 | Theatre and music | Barcelona community centres

Live arts. A free program of theater, circus, music, and dance performances across 36 stages in civic and cultural centers throughout the city's districts. The Escena series will present 145 theater, circus, music, and dance performances, all free of charge, subject to advance reservation.

Swab Barcelona | October 8-11 | Contemporary art | Palau Victòria Eugènia

An independent art fair, experimental platform, and meeting point for emerging artists and galleries. Swab Barcelona, ​​the International Independent Art Fair, will hold its 19th edition at the Palau Victòria Eugènia, located at the Fira Barcelona-Montjuïc venue. The fair will bring together over 180 artists presented by more than 60 exhibitors, with a significant presence of self-managed spaces, hailing from 22 countries. The public program includes talks on immaterial collecting and non-monetary markets, an art object lottery, and family workshops.

Emancipations | October 8 - February 7 | Photography exhibition | Foto Colectania 

A new reading of the Foto Colectania Collection, curated by Florian Ebner, head of the Photography Department at the Centre Pompidou, Paris. This exhibition explores how photography accompanied the transformation of Spanish society and the evolution of the photographic medium itself, placing Spanish photography in dialogue with the major narratives of European modernity.

Dana Lixenberg and Flama’26 | October 1 - January 17 | Photography exhibitions | KBr

The photography of Dana Lixenberg has gained international recognition for its honest and committed approach to documentary portraiture. Over more than three decades, she has developed a deeply human body of work focused on the representation of marginalized communities, iconic figures in popular culture, and social landscapes imbued with memory. Meanwhile, the KBr Photography Center also presents the sixth edition of its annual showcase dedicated to emerging photographers who are beginning their professional careers after completing their training in Barcelona.

Biennial of Thought 2026 | October 13-18 | Talks and debates | CCCB

The 2026 Biennial invites us to think about the here and now: the present and cities, brought together in a dialogue that seeks to turn the urban square into a public, shared space. In doing so, it aims to address the questions that run through this edition’s programme: how can we foster solidarity in the face of the pressures of neoliberalism? What tools can enable the city to become a stronghold of democratic resistance against authoritarianism? How can we put into practice ways of improving the material and symbolic conditions of life in the city?

Iniesta Experience | September 28-January 10 | Exhibition | Port Vell

A new exhibition is opening up in the old IMAX Port Vell theatre, taking a look at the career of legendary footballer Andrés Iniesta. An experience where football, personal experiences, and a champion's mindset merge into an inspiring journey that reveals the reality behind every great victory.

L’Hora del Jazz | September 12-October 17 | Live music | Barcelona and around Catalonia

The L’Hora del Jazz – Tete Montoliu Memorial Festival celebrates its 36th edition this year, cementing its status as a long-standing and essential event on the Catalan jazz calendar. Events in Barcelona take place every Sunday until September 27 in Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia, while shows are held Saturdays and Sundays through to mid October in Tarragona, Sitges, Reus, Girona, Vilafranca del Penedès, and more.

Live music

Placebo | October 3 | Sant Jordi Club

Blood Red Shoes | October 3 | Razzmatazz

Big Big Train | October 7 | Razzmatazz 

The Lemon Twigs | October 15 | Parallel 62

Teenage Fanclub | October 17 | Razzmatazz

The Strokes | October 20 | Palau Sant Jordi

Band Of Horses | October 21 | Razzmatazz

Joe Jackson | October 23 | Parallel 62

Niall Horan | October 25 | Palau Sant Jordi

Simple Plan | Ocrober 26 | Sant Jordi Club 

Actress | October 30 | CaixaForum

Pitbull | November 4 | Palau Sant Jordi

Ginestà | November 7 | Razzmatazz

Bryan Adams | November 14 | Palau Sant Jordi

Kingfishr | November 24 | Sala Apolo

Carolina Durante | November 28 | Palau Sant Jordi

Hercules & Love Affair live | December 15 | Sala Apolo

Amaia | December 20 | Palau Sant Jordi

Buhos | January 15 | Razzmatazz

Editors | January 31 | Razzmatazz

Amble | February 10 | Sala Apolo

Passenger | April 4 | Razzmatazz

Angèle | April 28 | Sant Jordi Club

Olivia Rodrigo | May 1, 2, 5, & 6 | Palau Sant Jordi

Rodrigo y Gabriela | May 7 | Sala Apolo

Gracie Abrams | May 27 & 28 | Palau Sant Jordi

Out of Focus: Another Vision of Art | May 21 - September 27 | Exhibition | CaixaForum Barcelona 

Monet's Water Lilies series introduced the concept of blur in art, using the blurred and indistinct as expressive elements. This exhibition explores how this phenomenon provided a new way of understanding the world for subsequent artists, a key to reinterpreting some aspects of modern and contemporary art.

The Cult of Beauty | May 21 - November 8 | Exhibition | CCCB

Based on the ideals of human beauty that exist in all eras and cultures, the latest exhibition at the CCCB traces the evolution of these ideals throughout history. ‘The Cult of Beauty’ analyzes how aesthetic canons have been constructed, and stands up for bodies and beauties excluded from the norm. Through 400 pieces, the exhibition puts works, objects, and installations into dialogue to address how the idea of ​​beauty is conditioned by morality, status, and gender.

Experience 'The Last Days of Pompeii' | Open March 20, 2026 | Exhibition | IDEAL Montjuïc

Towering flames of lava taking over the skies, ash and soot flooding homes and buildings; utter devastation and total destruction inevitable. ‘The Last Days of Pompeii’ is the newest exhibition from IDEAL Digital Arts Centre, taking visitors back to 79 AD and one of the most compelling episodes of ancient history. The experience seeks to bring visitors closer to the lives and culture of the people who lived in the shadow of Vesuvius. 

Joan Miró: Cirlces | March 13, 2026 - March 12, 2028 | Art | Joan Miró Foundation

A new exhibition reorganizes the Miró collection and invites visitors to reinterpret the artist's work through Joan Miró's creative process rather than a traditional chronological or thematic narrative. The show presents 102 works from across the artist's career and will run for two years, with some pieces rotating every six months.

Visit 50,000-year-old Siberian mammoth | Every day | Museum | CosmoCaixa, Barcelona 

Barcelona's CosmoCaixa Science Museum unveiled the latest addition to its exhibition: a large six-meter-long and 3.5-meter-tall Siberian mammoth. The mammoth is between 40,000 and 50,000 years old and will now be part of the permanent exposition.