You decide to spend the Ester holidays in Barcelona because normally of its nice weather, maybe to experience the Catholic celebrating spirit of the city or you just want to have fun and to do great photos as the sun helps you to put some sparkle on it. Well, next you have a list with EVENTS happening on Holy Week (or Semana Santa) this year.
As sometimes the people get confused between Barcelona Cathedral and Sagrada Familia Basilica in this article you get the public mass’ schedule for both of them.
April 18th Mass of the Lord’s Supper, you can be part of it on Barcelona Cathedral (Pla de la Seu) starting at 19:30 or on Sagrada Familia (Carrer Mallorca 401) at 20:00. This mass remembers Jesus’ last supper and how he washed his disciples’ feet.
April 19th Good Friday. The Friday before Easter Sunday. It is a public holiday in Barcelona. You will find that a large majority of the shops are closed. There are processions throughout the day. This is the moment to find good spots to take good street photography shoots. Don´t be scared about the Ku Klux Klan looking like characters, you’ve just participate at the Easter procession in Spanish Style. Downtown, known as Ciutat Vella, you have 2 options:
Sant Jaume church, on Ferran street, no 28.
From 18:30 to 22:00
Route: 18:30 Sant Jaume church, 19:00 Ramblas, 19:45 Plaza del Pi, 20:30 Avinguda de la Catedral, 21:00 Carrer Bisbe, 22:00 Plaza de Sant Jaume, 22:30 Parroquia de Sant Jaume
Sant Agustí Church, on Plaza Sant Agustí, no 2
From 17:00 to 23:00
Rout: 17:00 Pl. Sant Agustí, 17:15 Hospital, 17:30 Pla de la Boqueria, 17:45 La Rambla, 18:30 Santa Anna, 19:00 Av. Portal de l’Àngel, 19:30 Arcs, 20:00 Av. Catedral, 20:30 Trobada, 20:30 Boters, 21:15 Carrer del Pi, 21:30 Pl. del Pi, 21:45 Cardenal Casañas, 22:00 Pl. de la Boqueria, 22:15 Hospital, 22:30 Pl. Sant Agustí
Mass of Celebration of the Lord’s death and Via Crucis, on Barcelona Cathedral start at 17:00 and on Sagrada Familia at 19:00.
In front of Sagrada Familia at 21:00 will be a Via Crucis on the Passion façade, with illumination of the sculpture groups and music. There will be an area with chairs on Carrer Sardenya but space will be limited. Be there early to take your best spot for photos!
* For Sagrada Familia if you’re in a group of 25 or more you’ll have to fill out the form on they website
April 20th Easter Vigil the mass on Barcelona Cathedral start at 22:00 and on Sagrada Familia at 21:00.
*during the day everything runs as normal. The shops and markets are open and are busy with people getting stocked up for the next three days.
April 21st the first Easter procession take place in the Ciutat Vella at 12:00. El Paso de la Borriquita (the route of the donkey) commemorates the arrival of Jesus to Jerusalem. Here you see the traditional bleached palm leaves and a nice procession ready to be captured by you as your holiday photos.
The route: Plaza San Agustín, Hospital, La Rambla, Santa Ana, Portal del Ángel,
Cucurulla, Portaferrisa, La Rambla, Hospital y Plaza San Agustín
April 22nd. On Easter Monday everyone have a nice cake called Mona de Pascua; “Mona” means Gift & “Pascua” – Ester, the godparents give this cake to the children. Traditional “mona” was round with hard boiled eggs in it where each egg represents a year of the child´s life from 2 to 12.Traditional it wasn´t a sweet cake. Nowadays this cake has evolved and you can find interesting chocolate decorations adorning it. If you don´t want to have a sweet one you can pick with meat or langoustine. This “Mona de Pascua” could be order from bakeries on Easter Sunday and consumed on Easter Monday.
Practical Advice for Travelers on Easter Period in Barcelona.
As it is a long holiday weekend, many locals will leave the city for mini holidays, but, on the other hand, many tourists will steep I so, that´s why a good planning could help (if you want a special restaurant make the reservation with time and also pre-book your tickets online for the main attractions).
Transportation: Friday April 19th: the Metro closes at 2:00 AM, Saturday April 20th: the Metro OPENS all night, Sunday April 21st, the Metro Closes at 00:00 (midnight) , Monday 22nd, the Metro Closes at 00:00 (midnight).
City buses and night buses run regularly.
The main Barcelona attraction like the: Sagrada Familila, Casa Batllo, La Pedrera, Park Guell, Camp Nou, El Aquarium, Zoo have the same schedule.
The Picasso Museum is closed on Easter Monday (April 22nd)
The Magic Fountain show will run on: Friday, and Saturday from 9:00-10:00 pm. For Easter 2019 there will be no show on Sunday or Monday
The famous Boqueria Market placed on Las Ramblas is closed most of the period (April 19th, 21st and 22nd) is OPEN just on Saturday April 20th
If you plan to shop, be aware that shops are closed on Goof Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. You have open the Maremagnum Shopping Center (with plenty of stores) placed at the port area, near to Columbus statue.
