How to celebrate Sant Jordi 2025 like a local?

The day everyone in Catalonia is waiting for - Sant Jordi - is quickly approaching!

April 23 is the Catalan equivalent of Valentine’s Day, and since 1995, it has also been celebrated internationally as World Book Day.

Every year, the streets fill up with people celebrating love, literature, and enjoying the festive atmosphere created by hundreds of roses and book stalls.

What is the legend of Sant Jordi?

In Catalonia, the day is named after the territory’s patron saint. According to legend, the knight Jordi saved a princess by killing an evil dragon that was terrorizing the small Catalan town of Montblanc.

From the dragon’s blood, a lush red rose bush grew, and the knight picked the most beautiful bloom to give to the princess.

Nowadays, the dragon is much friendlier, often appearing as a teddy bear or a piece of chocolate, but the tradition of giving roses remains strong in Catalonia.

Gifting a rose

On the day of Sant Jordi, Catalans head to flower shops or special rose stands that pop up for the occasion to buy a single long-stemmed red rose, typically wrapped in red and yellow colors of the Senyera, Catalonia’s official flag.

In many cases, the rose comes with an ear of wheat, a symbol of prosperity and fertility.

Traditionally, men would give a rose and receive a book in return, but nowadays, most people exchange both a rose and a book with their loved ones.

From the 7 million ones that are expected to be sold on Sant Jordi, how do you pick the right rose?

Joan Guillén, the president of Catalonia’s flower shops association, has a couple of tips: go for a wide and thick flower, green petals, and a long green stem.

Giving a book to a loved one, in Barcelona

This year, the number of stalls across Catalonia will double compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Barcelona’s city center will transform into a Sant Jordi Superblock spanning more than 3.5 kilometers, between Diagonal and Gran Via and Carrer de Balmes and Pau Claris.

Despite ongoing construction, central La Rambla will also feature book and rose stalls as tradition, and a “Ronda Literaria”, a type of ‘Literary Street’, will stretch from the Jardinets de Gràcia down to Santa Mónica on La Rambla.

In total, around 450 book stalls will be spread out across seven districts of the city, so whether you are into big crowds or a calmer Sant Jordi, there will be something for you.

Since this year’s Sant Jordi will fall on a Wednesday and the day is not a public holiday, all bookshops will be open as usual.

Throughout the day, many authors will do book signings at different locations. Check out our guide here.

Sant Jordi around Catalonia

One of the factors that makes the day so special is that it is celebrated up and down all of Catalonia.

In Girona, the day will once again be celebrated around the Rambla, where the city's bookstores will set up their stalls.

In Vic, possibly the town with the most bookshops per population in the country, all the bookshops will set up in the town’s most emblematic space, Plaça Major.

In Manresa, bookshops and florists have a traditional space, the Passeig de Pere III, in front of the Casino, with a separate area for author signatures.

In Reus, the party will be held in the most iconic square in the city, Plaça del Mercadal.

In Lleida, bookshops will once again gather in the Rambla de Ferran and the Avinguda de Francesc Macià, in the heart of the city.

In Tarragona, as is tradition, bookstores and florists will gather on La Rambla, in five sections that they have reserved there, and the organizations in the others.

In Tortosa, the book stalls will be on a route from Carrer de Sant Blai to Plaça de l'Àngel, Carrer de l'Àngel, Plaça d'Agustí Querol, Carrer de la Rosa and Plaça de la Cinta.

In Amposta, they will be concentrated in Plaça de l'Ajuntament, where the stalls of the local bookstores will set up.

In Torredembarra, stalls will set up in the square that connects the two most commercial streets, with a space marked out for bookstores and florists.

In Banyoles, they will stop in Plaça Major, in a space shared with organizations.

In Premià de Mar, organizations, florists, and bookshops will share space in Plaça de l'Antic Ajuntament, in the old town, and three streets that lead to it.

In Tremp, both bookshops and organizations set up stalls of books, roses, and handicrafts on Rambla Dr. Pearson, with local activities and authors.

In La Seu d'Urgell, the City Council plans to fill Passeig Joan Brudieu with stalls from the city's bookstores and florists, as well as a space for associations.

In Vilafranca del Penedès, the bookstores will be located on the Rambla de Sant Francesc, where they will share space with the town's entities.

In Ascó, the party will be located in Plaça de l'Església, where the City Council organizes activities.