The best free plans La Mercè in Barcelona
The Mercè festivities are here! From Friday, September 22 to Monday, September 25, Barcelona prepares for the parades, giant parades, human towers, correfocs, sardana dances, concerts and lots of art.
Once again the festival program is packed with cultural activities for all audiences. From the Aerobús Blog, we propose a selection of free activities for these four days. Check the complete guide to the Mercè here.
New show: Drone
This year, an innovative show has been added to the festival line-up that will illuminate the sky of Barcelona: Geometrics 200. It is an exhibition of 200 drones flying over the city and forming figures related to nature and the need to take care of our planet.
Date: 24 September
Where: Playa del Espigón del Gas, Pg. Marítim de la Barceloneta
Time: from 10 p.m
Mercè’s tradition
The traditional essence of the festival will once again be very present in this edition, with giant parades, traditional parades, sardana dances or habanera concerts.
If you walk through Barcelona, don’t miss the castelleres, on Saturday and Sunday morning, or the fire festival, with the children’s firecracker and the opening of the Porta de l’Infern, on Saturday night.
Museums: Free tour
During the Mercè festivities, the possibility of visiting most museums and emblematic buildings for free is offered. These are some of the museums that you can visit taking advantage of the open doors of La Mercè: Museu de la Música, Museu Marítim, EL Born CCM, Museu del Diseny, Museu d’Història, Museu Picasso, Cosmocaixa, Caixaforum, Museu Santa Mònica, Biblioteca Pública Arús, Fundació Miró, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Monastir de Pedralbes, Museu Blau and others.
Also, take the opportunity to visit buildings such as the Sagrada Familia, which has raffled off tickets for a free visit, the Botanical Garden, the Poble Espanyol or discounts offered by the Barcelona Aquarium.
The best concerts
La Mercè offers more than 100 free concerts spread throughout the city of Barcelona organized by the BAM, the Via Culture Action and Mercè Music. This edition there are four new spaces: Can Fabra, Menéndez y Pelayo, Pg. Dels Til·lers and Plaça Reial. Check all the Mercè 2023 concerts.
The Gastronomic Festival
Gastronomy cannot be missed in the main festival either through the Terra i Gust festival or the Sustainable Food Festival. Tastings, showcookings, workshops, awards, concerts… This year it celebrates its third edition and invites us to enjoy music, food and drink in a more conscious way, with quality proposals that contribute to caring for the planet with sustainable practices.
You will be able to taste dishes prepared by renowned restaurants in the city. The drinking part is provided by Barcelona Beer Festival, which has selected four craft beers and you can taste natural wines from l’Olivera, a project located in Can Calopa, in Collserola.
Where: Parc de la Ciutadella
El Piromusical
Like every edition, the pyromusical bids farewell to the main festival, this time with the soundtrack of Sónar to celebrate its 30th anniversary. During the almost 30-minute show, 50 musical hits will play while you enjoy the fireworks.
Date: On Monday 25 September
Where: Avenida Maria Cristina (Montjuïc Fira)
Time: from 10pm
If you are in Barcelona this weekend you will enjoy hundreds of activities day and night. Remember that Aerobús takes you from Barcelona Airport to the city center in just 35 minutes. Our service works 24 hours a day, every day of the year.