Sant Jordi 2025: 500 book and rose stalls across Barcelona

April 23 is known as the most romantic day of the year in Catalonia. Instead of Valentine’s Day, Catalans celebrate Sant Jordi, a day of gifting books and roses, and spending time with loved ones.  

The feast day of Sant Jordi, the patron saint of the territory, is the “most festive workday of the year,” according to Barcelona city councillor working in culture, Xavier Mercé, as indeed the day is not a public holiday, even though it can easily feel like it is. 

The number of stalls across Catalonia this year will double those that took to the streets in comparison with how the day was before the pandemic. Barcelona will see around 450 book stalls and another 50 selling roses. 

The Book Chamber of Catalonia, the institution that brings together the guilds and associations of publishers, booksellers, distributors, and the graphic industry of Catalonia, held a press conference on Wednesday in the Catalan capital. Organizers are “optimistic” for the day to come and “proud” of the preparatory work put in. 

Passeig de Gràcia, with an enormously high density of bookshops and libraries in the surrounding blocks, will be the central node of the festivity once again, while La Rambla will also feature book and rose stalls as tradition, despite the ongoing construction works. A “Ronda Literaria”, a type of ‘Literary Street’, will stretch from the Jardins de Gràcia down to Santa Mónica on La Rambla. 

In addition, authorities have developed a new safety protocol, given the scale of the day and the amount of people expected on the streets. Organizers explained that due to the dimension of the spaces involved, this new protection plan was put in place, which coordinates with the Civil Protection authorities as well as firefighters and ambulances. 

Organizers believe that Sant Jordi this year will be another big success, and that the fact that the day falls midweek, on a Wednesday, it is expected to be another decentralized and well dispersed festivity. There will be seven locations in the Catalan capital for hosting book and rose stalls, with others set up in the central parts of cities and towns across Catalonia. 

Sant Jordi in Barcelona

In the Catalan capital, the spaces for books and roses will once again be present in seven districts of the city. 

All areas for stalls will be given more space to make things more comfortable for the public, done with the intention of decentralizing the festival and bringing it closer to as many people as possible, as well as dispersing crowds as much as possible and guaranteeing a more accessible and safer experience for both the public and stallholders.

There will be more stalls than last year, with around 500 in total. It’s expected that there will be 448 official book stalls and another 52 selling roses. In total, the Sant Jordi festivities will span across an area of more than 3,500 meters.

By district, the book stalls will be distributed as such: 

Eixample: 203

Ciutat Vella: 94

Gràcia: 23

Les Corts: 10

Sant Andreu: 5

Sant Martí: 11

Sarrià: 2

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.