{"id":735,"date":"2016-11-21T16:35:19","date_gmt":"2016-11-21T16:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bonplan_en.anakena.info\/?p=735"},"modified":"2020-03-23T16:23:54","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T15:23:54","slug":"merce-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/merce-holiday\/","title":{"rendered":"La Merc\u00e8: a gigantic and unmissable festival in Barcelona"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>True to its reputation, Barcelona is one of Europe&#8217;s party capitals, and the city outdoes itself for la Merc&egrave;, the most popular celebration of the year.<\/p>\n<h2>La Merc&egrave;: Catalonia&#8217;s biggest festival<\/h2>\n<p>\nLa Merc&eacute; is celebrated every year since 1902 and takes place around the 24th of September. It is a tribute to the Virgin Merc&egrave;, the patron of Barcelona.<\/p>\n<p>It also celebrates the changing season, just like <a title=\"Sant Joan: f&ecirc;te, feux de joie et solstice d&rsquo;&eacute;t&eacute;\" href=\"\/sant-joan-holiday\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sant Joan<\/a>. In the case of la Merc&egrave;, it&#8217;s Autumn that the city is welcoming in with great pomp.\n<\/p>\n<h2>La Merc&egrave;, a typically Catalan festival<\/h2>\n<p>\nLike many other festivals during the year, la Merc&egrave; is a time for Catalan people to celebrate their traditions. The streets fill with <a title=\"La sardane catalane: quelques pistes pour entrer dans la danse\" href=\"\/sardana-catalana-dance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sardana<\/a> dancers, human towers (<em>castellers<\/em> in Catalan) and plenty of other surprises.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/08\/la-merce3.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6620 size-full\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/08\/la-merce3.jpg\" alt=\"la merc&egrave; castellers\" width=\"628\" height=\"418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/08\/la-merce3.jpg 628w, https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/08\/la-merce3-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 628px) 100vw, 628px\" \/><\/a>\n<\/p>\n<h2>Concerts, spectacles and fireworks<\/h2>\n<p>\nThe whole city is out! <a href=\"\/montjuic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Montju&iuml;c castle<\/a>, Trinitat park, the parc de la Citudella, the Fabra i Coats factory and even the Bogatell beach hold the greatest number of shows.\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Advice:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barcelona.cat\/lamerce\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Check out the programme by clicking here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\nMore than 2000 events are planned every year. And they&#8217;re all free!<\/p>\n<p>Street art, concerts, fireworks competitions, circus shows, exhibitions, wine tastings, and open houses in some cultural centres&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>La Merc&egrave; is also a chance to see a parade of gigantic puppets: <em>els Gigants.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n<h2>Useful information<\/h2>\n<h3>Where to go?<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"\/tradition-castells-human-towers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Castellers<\/em>:<\/a> you can witness these impressive human tours on the Pla&ccedil;a Sant Jaume.<\/li>\n<li><em>Correfocs<\/em>: These demons and monsters running the streets with fireworks and sparklers can be dangerous for children, which is why the Barcelona authorities organise some safe <em>correfocs<\/em> at the start of the evening before the grown-up <em>correfocs<\/em> begin later in the night. The <em>correfocs<\/em> take place around the Via Laietana. Maybe avoid wearing your best clothes, just in case!<\/li>\n<li>Parade of giants: on the Pla&ccedil;a de la Merc&egrave;, in front of Barcelona cathedral and on the Pla&ccedil;a Sant Jaume.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/08\/la-merce2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7621 size-full\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/08\/la-merce2.jpg\" alt=\"la merc&egrave; pla&ccedil;a espanya\" width=\"478\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/08\/la-merce2.jpg 478w, https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/08\/la-merce2-300x215.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 478px) 100vw, 478px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Getting around<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Given the number of activities and the huge numbers of participants, we strongly advise against trying to travel by car or taxi during the festival of la Merc&egrave;.<\/li>\n<li>The metro runs 24hours and there are extra transports available for getting to the F&ograve;rum park or Montju&iuml;c.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>People with reduced mobility<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The biggest events in the festival of la Merc&egrave; are adapted for people with reduced mobility. You will find ample information on the subject on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barcelona.cat\/lamerce\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">la&nbsp;Merc&egrave; Barcelona website<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>It is advisable to arrive 30 to 45 minutes before the beginning of a show to have time to find a space.<\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>True to its reputation, Barcelona is one of Europe&#8217;s party capitals, and the city outdoes itself for la Merc&egrave;, the most popular celebration of the year. La Merc&egrave;: Catalonia&#8217;s biggest&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,57,52,56],"tags":[678,1252,705,677],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":61,"label":"Traditions"},{"value":57,"label":"Culture"},{"value":52,"label":"Leisure"},{"value":56,"label":"Parties and festivals"}],"post_tag":[{"value":678,"label":"dance"},{"value":1252,"label":"festival"},{"value":705,"label":"free"},{"value":677,"label":"music"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/11\/la-merce--4.jpg",628,465,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Pauline","author_link":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/author\/paulinelerolland\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":61,"name":"Traditions","slug":"traditions","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":61,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":57,"count":12,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":61,"category_count":12,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Traditions","category_nicename":"traditions","category_parent":57},{"term_id":57,"name":"Culture","slug":"culture","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":57,"taxonomy":"category","description":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Barcelona has a lot to offer, discover the local culture, art and architecture, traditions, typical dishes and much more!<\/span><\/p>","parent":0,"count":36,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":57,"category_count":36,"category_description":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Barcelona has a lot to offer, discover the local culture, art and architecture, traditions, typical dishes and much more!<\/span><\/p>","cat_name":"Culture","category_nicename":"culture","category_parent":0},{"term_id":52,"name":"Leisure","slug":"leisure","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":52,"taxonomy":"category","description":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Leisure in Barcelona? 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La Merc&egrave;: Catalonia&#8217;s biggest...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=735"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15414,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735\/revisions\/15414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}