Barcelona to light up for Christmas on Passeig de Gràcia boulevard on November 23

Barcelona will turn on its annual Christmas lights on November 23 at 6:30 pm with a special ceremony on Passeig de Gràcia boulevard. The event will also mark the 200th anniversary of the famous street. 

This year, for the first time, the Passeig de Sant Joan boulevard will also have Christmas lights during the whole festive season. The newest additions have been presented just a few days before the actual ceremony and are inspired by comics and Kawaii's aesthetics, which means 'cute' in Japanese and is associated with pop culture. 

On that street, the lights in the center of the boulevard will be hanging vertically, while on the sidewalks, they will be hanging horizontally. 

"We want neighbors at home to look up and enjoy the Christmas lights, like any other passerby," Juan and Alejandro Mingarro, designers of the lights, said to media outlets on Wednesday. 

"Lights on the sidewalks will also have a calmer beat, while those in the center of the road will be more impactful for cars, so they can be visible from far away," both added. 

These new lights will light up from the Arc de Triomf to the Plaça Tetuan Square. 

The lights have been designed by the Barcelonian studio Brosmind after being chosen by the city council for their "innovative and differentiated" proposal. 

Schedule 

Once the ceremony on Passeig de Gràcia takes place on November 23 at 6:30 pm, the lights will be on every day during specific hours to save energy, following last year's reduction measures. 

From Sunday to Thursday, the city will turn the Christmas decorations on from 5:30 pm to 10 pm, extending it to 11 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.  

On special days like December 31 and January 5, the lights will remain on until 1 am. 

They will remain up until January 6, 2024. 

Streets to visit 

Some of the most decorative streets in the Catalan capital are Via Laietana, Plaça Urquinaona Square, Plaça Catalunya, Balmes Street, Aragó Street, Gran Via, and Paral·lel Avenue.  

Others include Avinguda Diagonal Avenue, or La Rambla Boulevard. 

Overall, there are 104 kilometers of streets decorated with Christmas lights across Barcelona.

Barcelona's commerce and markets councilor, Raquel Gil, considers the Christmas lights a "key" element for businesses during winter festivities.   

In all, lighting up Barcelona for the holidays will cost the city almost €2 million. 

Barcelona Christmas Tour 

Once again, Barcelona Christmas Tour will be available for all those willing to discover the lights on a roofless bus driving around the Catalna capital. 

The 80-minute tour will pass in front of unique landmarks in Barcelona, such as Casa Batlló, la Pedrera, Recinte Modernista Sant Pau, Sagrada Família, Arc de Triomf, Colombus monument, among others. For the first time, it will also drive through Passeig de Sant Joan Boulevard. 

Tickets (€15 for those aged 13 and over and €10 for those aged 4 to 12) are already on sale online and the route is available from November 24 to January 4 from Monday to Sunday. 

There will be four buses available each day, two at 6:30 pm and two more at 8:30 pm, and on December 24, 25, 31 and January 1, there will not be any service. 

Passeig de Gràcia's 200th anniversary 

Passeig de Gràcia, one of Barcelona's most known and visited boulevards, is celebrating its 200th anniversary. The iconic wide tree-lined boulevard filled with luxury, art, and power holds years of history in its buildings, pavement tiles, and sculptures.

In these 200 years, Passeig de Gràcia has undergone several changes and seen the city's most important people walk along it. But how did Passeig de Gràcia become the street it is today? 

Listen to our Filling the Sink podcast episode to learn more about it.