Fireworks, free concerts, markets, Euros final: what's on this weekend

From concerts to cultural festivals, events and nightlife, there are countless things to do in Barcelona and around Catalonia this weekend. 

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

Poble-sec Festa Major | July 18 - 27 | Street festival | Poble-sec, Barcelona

Open-air concerts, traditional correfocs (fireworks parades)... The festes majors season is in full swing, and for over two weeks, Poble-sec will take center stage. Popular culture will once again be a main highlight of the Poble-sec Festa Major, with a program packed with a wide variety of activities: music, street parades, sports, children's events, correfocs, and a fireworks display, among others.

This weekend, Apolo will be opening their doors for free as part of the Festa Major. First come first serve! 

Euros final | July 27 | Football | Switzerland, but television screens here

Spain take on England in the final of the 2025 Women's European Championships this Sunday in the latest installment of a rivalry that has been brewing for some years now. The Spain team is powered by the majority of the FC Barcelona squad, giving Catalonia exceptional representation in the tournament. Kick-off is at 6 pm and will be available to watch free on terestrial television. 

Blanes fireworks festival | July 23-27 | Fireworks spectacle | Blanes

The 53rd annual Blanes fireworks festival got underway during the week, before it hits its peak this weekend. Each night on the shoreline of the Costa Brava town, some of the biggest fireworks companies put on the most incredible spectacles. Thursday night's offering, for example, saw some 600kg of pirotechnics light up the night sky. The event is free to enjoy for the thousands who will be in attendance.  

Children's workshops | July 27 | Family-friendly | TimeOut Market, Maremagnum, Barcelona

Rotating workshops combine arts, crafts, and local culture, designed for children eager to discover, imagine, and create with their hands, are on offer free of charge this Sunday in the TimeOut Market in the top floor of the Maremagnum shopping centre in Barcelona. While the little ones create, you can relax with a coffee, grab a snack, or explore the market's culinary delights. 

Bargain Garden | July 27 | Vintage market | Ciutadella Campus, Barcelona

An open-air second-hand and vintage market with affordable fashion, accessories, and design up for grabs. The Bargain Garden is a new secondhand and vintage market that focuses on affordable prices and the circular economy. Held on Sunday, July 27, in the UPF Aigües Garden, it features more than seventy stalls where you can find fashion, accessories, design, and collectibles for a maximum price of €10. The experience is rounded off with music by Radio Flea DJs, a relaxed atmosphere, and specialty coffee from More Than Coffee. Entry is €1 plus booking fees if you buy in advance, or €2 on the door.

International Carillon Festival | July 18 - 27 | Music festival | Barcelona

The Barcelona Carillon Festival brings together the best virtuosos in the world of this traditional craft each year. The event takes place in the emblematic Pati dels Tarongers and the gothic gallery of the Palau de la Generalitat, located in Sant Jaume Square, in front of Barcelona City Hall. During the festival, various artists from around the world perform on the palace's carillon pieces by composers such as Mozart, Chopin, Grieg, or Beethoven, among others, as well as popular music. The current carillon of the palace, with 49 bronze bells that include four octaves, is classified as a concert carillon. It is an instrument made by the company Petit & Fritsen, presented on December 21, 1976, which replaced the small carillon from 1927. Access is free with registration.

Grangel Studio | July 8 - September 4 | Exhibition | Casa Seat, Barcelona

Grangel Studio has been designing some of the most characteristic animation movie characters, and now all are featured at the largest exhibition ever presented on the animation team. The entry is free and the show features characters from famous movies, such as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, Alex the lion from Madagascar, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, and Spirit. Divided into two floors, the exposition featuring 300 objects starts with characters designed for 'stop motion' movies, such as Del Toro's Pinocchio and Burton's Corpse Bride. 

Sala Montjuïc | June 27 – August 6 | Outdoor cinema | Les Tres Xemeneies, Sant Adrià de Besòs

Open-air cinema, live music and gastronomy under the Barcelona sky. Despite the name, this summer Sala Montjuïc moves temporarily to a new location: Les Tres Xemeneies (Three Chimneys) in Sant Adrià de Besòs – an iconic spot with stunning sea views and industrial charm. Screenings include A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Blade Runner, All About My Mother, Oldboy, and many more. All films are screened in their original language, with subtitles (usually in Spanish).

Grec Festival | June 29 – August 4 | Performing arts festival | Various venues, Barcelona 

The 49th edition of the Grec Festival includes 44 theatre productions, 24 music performances, 15 dance shows, 5 circus acts, and 3 film screenings, spread across 42 venues throughout Barcellona. Highlights include Milo Rau, Carolina Bianchi and Cara de Cavalo, Max Richter, William Kentridge and the Handspring Puppet Company, Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod, Alessandro Sciarroni, Christos Papadopoulos, Mario Banushi, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and Lisaboa Houbrechts.

Art Nou | June 25 – September 4 | Art exhibitions | L'Hospitalet and Barcelona

Art Nou (New Art) aims to support young artists, reaffirm the role of galleries as spaces for dialogue and exchange, and connect art professionals with the general public. The 14th edition of Art Nou features a program of around thirty exhibitions and over forty artists, along with a wide range of activities including guided tours, openings, artist talks, performances, screenings, and live actions in galleries, institutions, and independent venues.

'Se ha escrito un crimen' | July 8 - August 12 | Musical comedy | Teatre Apolo, Barcelona

The murder-mystery musical comedy, 'Se ha escrito un crimen' (A crime has been written, a literal translation), premiered on Tuesday at Barcelona's Apolo theater. The musical, written, composed and directed by Naim Thomas, follows seven strangers that are invited to a billionaire’s island mansion, where they must solve a murder  — or else all of their secrets will be exposed. But there’s a twist. The actors don’t know who the murderer is at the top of the show. There are seven different endings to ‘Se ha escrito un crimen,' that the audience votes on each night.

‘How to Design a Revolution: The Chilean Road to Design’ | July 2 - November 16 | Exhibition | Disseny Hub building, Barcelona

How to Design a Revolution: The Chilean Road to Design is a comprehensive exhibition on graphic and industrial design during Salvador Allende’s government in Chile (1970-1973). An exceptional case in the history of design, where the unprecedented act of choosing a revolution through the ballot box led to the first instance of a country to collectively designing through socialism and democracy.

The exhibition, which was on display in Santiago de Chile as part of the programme commemorating the 50th anniversary of the civilian-military coup, featured original pieces and design reproductions aimed at the democratisation of reading and music, the reduction of technological dependence and addressing child malnutrition, among other goals.

Chocolate milkshake workshop | June 21 – August 31 | Workshop | Barcelona Chocolate Musuem

Cool off with a one-hour workshop making a milkshake with chocolate produced in the museum's Bean to Bar space, giving it a personal touch with different toppings. From €11 to €16 per person, depending on the workshop booked. The price also includes entry to the museum.

Miguel Milá. (Pre)industrial Designer | Until September 28 | Exhibition | Barcelona Disseny Hub

The exhibition Miguel Milá. (Pre) industrial designer celebrates the career of one of the pioneers of design in Spain, Miguel Milá Sagnier. Through more than 200 pieces, prototypes, maps and recent works, the exhibition offers a unique look at the life and work of this icon of Barcelona’s design and its modernisation. With a career spanning more than 70 years, Miguel Milá received some of the biggest awards in design, such as the Premi Nacional de Disseny and the Compasso d’Or Internazionale, consolidating him as a key figure in the history of industrial design. His perspective combines functionality, elegance and simplicity, guided by the conviction that good design must be useful and timeless.

Flemish Baroque works, including Rubens | Until September 21 | Art exposition | CaixaFòrum Barcelona

CaixaForum Barcelona premieres their new exhibition 'Rubens and the Artists of the Flemish Baroque,' exploring Peter Paul Rubens and other 17th century painters. The collaboration between La Caixa Foundation and Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid showcases 62 works. The exhibition also includes works from other Baroque artists like Anthony Van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens, and Pieter Brueghel the Elder. 

Pioneers: 125 Years of Catalan Football | May 23 - August 3 | Exhibition | IDEAL, Barcelona

There's no doubt that Catalan ingenuity has shaped football history, but past the game's top names are a foundation of the sport comprised of hundreds of clubsç, all ranging from amateur youth setups all the way to professional teams winning trophies and competing in Europe. Learn about and celebrate 125 years of Catalan football at the immersive IDEAL Digital Arts Centre in Poblenou, Barcelona.

Bowie x Sukita | May 23 - September 15 | Exhibition | FotoNostrum, Barcelona

Japanese photographer Masayoshi Sukita pictured his great friend, the international singer David Bowie, over 40 years. Years later, Barcelona's FotoNostrum exhibition hall presents 'Bowie X Sukita,' featuring around 70 iconic photos from the international artist.

Picasso Museum free entry | Thursdays to Saturdays, 7-9 pm | Art | Picasso Museum, Barcelona

With the arrival of the good weather again, the Picasso Museum is changing back to its summer opening hours, opening earlier and closing later. The summer hours and free admission will be accompanied by guided tours in Catalan, also free but with reservation, with the aim of bringing the museum closer to the locals.

Titanic: The Voyage Continues | April 17 - September 28 | Immersive experience | Espai Inmersa, Barcelona

The exhibition will anchor at Poblenou’s Espai Inmersa and promises visitors a "cutting-edge" immersive experience with “breathtaking” virtual reality that allows visitors to travel more than 3,000 km to the bottom of the ocean. Additionally, the exhibition will showcase 200 real artifacts recovered from the Titanic wreck, as well as recreations of the most emblematic spaces of the ship as it takes visitors back to April of 1912, to the moment when the Titanic embarked on its ill-fated maiden voyage.

'Chris Ware. Drawing is Thinking' | April 3-November 9 | Exhibition | CCCB, Barcelona

Chris Ware will be present at the Comic Barcelona as he was in the city this week for the launch of the new exhibition on his work at the CCCB. The retrospective reviews the work and reflections of an author whose work has the power to move so many people as they touch on themes of human existence in great depth.

‘Extraterrestrials. Is there life beyond Earth?’ | February 26 - August 30, 2026 | Science exhibition | CosmoCaixa science museum

'Extraterrestrials - Is There Life Outside Earth?' delves into topics such as our place in the cosmos, the meaning of the concept of life, and how literature and cinema have shaped the collective imagination about what form alien life could take. Visitors begin by discovering Earth's place in the cosmos. The exhibition then explores, from a historical perspective, the great philosophical debate between those who argue that life is unique to our planet, and those who believe in the existence of other inhabited worlds.

Antoni Tàpies: The Imagination of the World | February 13 – January 25, 2026 | Art exhibition | Tàpies Museum

The solo exhibition The Imagination of the World proposes a revision of the work of Antoni Tàpies based on ideas found in his earliest period of production. With Tàpies as the centre of the project, the exhibition seeks to map out a network of relationships between active agents, discourses and practices, as related to two key areas: on the one hand, the complex assimilation of artistic tendencies—such as dada and surrealism—and currents of thought—psychoanalysis, Marxism—in Barcelona in that period; on the other hand, the dialogue of these movements with various forms of the vernacular tradition of popular culture.