Barcelona dresses up for Christmas. From the end of November, the streets are filled with light, shops decorate their windows, and the fresh winter air brings scents of fir trees, moss and mistletoe. The excitement in the air invites you to take part in activities exclusive to this time of year, available only to a privileged few who will see the city from a different perspective. Find out about the exclusive activities that we recommend from Marina Port Vell to do during these dates.
Christmas cinema in the cabins of the Hotel El Palace Barcelona
El Palace, located on Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, is one of the most prestigious hotels in the city. Until 9 January, fans of the best Christmas films will be able to enjoy afternoon and evening sessions on the Rooftop Garden, the establishment’s renowned terrace. Love Actually, Home Alone, Elf and Miracle on the 34th Street are the hits you can watch from any of the four cosy double cabins fitted with tartan blankets, cushions, and hot water bottles. A treat for the senses.
Impressive tasting menu at Lasarte Restaurant at Christmas time
Chef Martin Berasategui, who recently inaugurated the event spaces at Marina Port Vell Barcelona, has prepared a spectacular tasting menu for this Christmas season that can be enjoyed at Lasarte Restaurant, which currently has three Michelin stars.
This restaurant has a semi-private dining room, and a second dining room called the Chef’s Table with capacity for 8 people, which offers the opportunity to closely follow the staging and creativity of the courses.
But if what you really wish to spend a New Year’s Eve different from all the previous ones, closing the year with the New Year’s Eve tasting menu is the best of the options, as at this awarded restaurant they deal with the products of the countryside, the sea and the seasons according to the time of the year.
Christmas and New Year’s concerts at Palau de la Música, a jewel of Art Nouveau’s architecture
Palau de la Música is a concert hall built between 1905 and 1908, and is also the only auditorium in the world to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This exceptionally beautiful monument designed by Lluís Domenech i Montaner is one of Barcelona’s great Art Nouveau’s buildings. To attend a concert in this venue is a privilege in itself, but to do so at Christmas is exceptional to say the least. On 22 December, the Gran Orquestra Simfònica offers a double programme at the Palau de la Música with Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker suite, the Christmas ballet par excellence, followed by Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.
Another of the concerts promoted by Palau de la Música during these dates is the Grand New Year’s Concert, which on this occasion consists of one of the most acclaimed productions of the last season throughout Europe, the Strauss Festival Orchestra with ballet. Five million spectators have already enjoyed the acclaimed waltzes of Johann Strauss, and why not do so in an auditorium with one of the best acoustics in the world?
Digital arts take centre stage
Christmas is a good time for new artistic proposals based on technological innovation. One of them is the one proposed by Ideal Centre d’Arts Digitals about the life of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Through an installation based on historical photographs, original films, digital environments, artistic installations, collector’s items and newly created music, the most relevant moments of the artist’s life are reproduced in an unconventional setting.
Another interesting proposal to check out during these dates is the one offered by CaixaForum Barcelona, Symphony, a journey to the heart of music. The orchestra conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra use virtual reality to create an immersive audiovisual experience that is unique in the world.
Cinema, restaurants, music and entertainment are the tip of the iceberg of the exclusive activities that Barcelona hosts to end the year and celebrate the arrival of the next one. All you need to do is close your eyes and let yourself go.
