Carnival 2025: where and when to celebrate in Catalonia?

With flamboyant food fights, parading parties, excessive eating, and somber sardine burials, Carnaval is back!

The shortest month of the year brings with it one of the longest celebrations of the calendar; Carnaval, as it's spelled in Catalan, or Carnival in English, will be celebrated in different Catalan cities and towns this week. 

‘La Merengada’ food fight, the Extermination Parade, and the Burial of the Sardine are just some of the fantastic high jinks Catalans will get up to this week. 

This year, the carnival will kick off on Thursday, February 27, also known as Fat Thursday with the arrival of the Carnival King, King Carnestoltes, and it will last until the following Wednesday, March 5, which is Ash Wednesday.  

Throughout the week, there will be around 40 different parades happening across the different neighborhoods of the Catalan capital alone.

Check out the Catalan News guide below to make the most of these exhilarating festivities. 

Thursday, February 27

‘Fat Thursday’ marks the beginning of the celebrations and is the day when people are encouraged to indulge in fatty foods, such as botifarra d'ou (egg sausage) and truita (omelet) or coca de llardons (pork crackling cake).  

As far as festivities are concerned, Thursday is a great day to get your carnival groove on. In Vilanova i la Geltrú, a coastal town south of Barcelona, there will be what locals call 'La Merengada' - a massive meringue food fight. Children (and more than a few adults) will gather at 5:30 pm in front of Blanch bakery on Avinguda Francesc Macià, 43, to partake in the annual sticky dessert hurling ritual. 

Later in the evening, there will be 'Arribo' parades all over Catalonia as the king or queen of Carnestoltes "arrives" to take part in the fun. 

Sitges, north of Vilanova i la Geltrú on the Garraf coast, and a rival of Vilanova for who has the best carnival celebrations, is famous for its opening parade, but Barcelona and other towns will have their own ones too. 

The show in Sitges starts at 7.15 pm at La Fragata.

In Barcelona, the cosmic-themed arrival parade for Queen Belluga kicks off at 5:15 pm. But watch out! Normally the parade starts down La Rambla boulevard, but due to the ongoing works, the fun will all go down in the Sants area, with the parade starting at Plaça Bonet i Muixí.

Friday, February 28 

Towns like Vilanova i la Geltrú celebrate the 'Arribo' on Friday, not Thursday, as do several Barcelona's districts, some of which will have their own smaller parades, as Les Corts's festivities, which start at 5:00 pm at Plaça de Comas. 

In Raval, the parade Ravalstoltada will start at 6:00 pm at the Rambla de Raval. 

Friday in particular is a big deal for schoolchildren in Catalonia as it is a day they'll be sure to dress up for parades in their hometowns. This comes, of course, after a week of very specific attire at school: pajama day, mismatched socks day… you get the picture. It's also one of the nights you're most likely to see adults out in costume at a club or bar. 

Saturday, March 1 

On Saturday, several parades will take place all over Barcelona throughout the day.  

In the Eixample district, the LGBTIQ+ collective’s parade will start at Pl. De Universitat square at 5:30 pm. 

Meanwhile, in Solsona, Carnival is done differently. On Saturday, the traditional 'mata-ruc' donkey-killing ceremony will take place. This, thankfully, is not as appalling as it sounds: it's only a fake donkey that's hung from the church bell tower. 

The expression ‘mata-rucs’ was once used disparagingly about the residents of Solsona, but has now been reclaimed, and on Saturday, an ‘Honorary Mata-rucs’ will be proclaimed. Head to the very aptly named Plaça del Ruc square at 7:30 pm to witness this peculiar tradition. 

Sunday, March 2

Sunday is a big day for parades as there is usually more than one in the same city or town on this day. 

For those whose clothes didn’t get dirty enough at 'la merengada', there will be a candy-throwing war known as 'la Comparsa' on Sunday in Vilanova i la Geltrú. 

In the city of Sant Celoni, the traditional ‘Ball de Gitanes’ will take place on Sunday on the Plaça de la Vila square. The dance dates back to 1767, although it is pagan in origin and was traditionally performed in the Catalan Vallès region.  

In Sitges, there will be a parade for children at 12 noon, and another for adults at 7.30 pm. 

Monday, March 3

Monday is usually the day of rest after a weekend of Carnival madness, but this is not always the case! In Roses, a town on the Costa Brava, it's actually the last day of Carnival. Unlike the rest of Catalonia's sardine burials, Roses is on Monday. The town will also be hosting an 'arrossada popular' rice meal for the community.

Tuesday, March 4

In some places, such as Vidreres near Girona and Ponts near Lleida, Tuesday (‘Mardi Gras’ in much of the Carnival-celebrating world but just Carnival Tuesday or 'Dimarts de Carnaval' here) is the day locals eat 'ranxo' stew, a special meat and vegetable stew made from the ingredients residents bring to the town square.  

Also not to be missed is Sitges' Extermination parade on Tuesday night, one of Catalonia's most popular Carnival processions. Beginning at 9 pm, expect to party all night.  

Before that, Sitges are putting on a kids’ carnival parade at 12 noon. 

Wednesday, March 5

Carnival comes to a close with the symbolic burial of the sardine ('enterrament de la sardina') on Ash Wednesday, or 'Dimecres de Cendra', as revelers put an end to the period of excess before Lent.

In the Catalan capital alone, Ciutat Vella, Sants-Montjuïc, Les Corts, Horta-Guinardó, Nou Barris, Sant Andreu, and Sant Martí will all be burying sardines - more than enough fish funerals for Barcelona residents and visitors to pick from!