Christmas and New Year's Eve In Barcelona

Whoever would like to spend a few pleasant days in Barcelona enjoying the Christmas atmosphere on the streets must absolutely take in several events and know about certain customs from the secular tradition, some of them quite curious.

Christmas markets: Outdoor markets where you can find Christmas trees, figures for nativity scenes, decorations for the home and other decor items, in addition to lots of gift ideas. The most famous Christmas markets are:
-Santa Llucia Fair, around the cathedral until 23rd of December.
-Sagrada Familia Christmas Fair: until 23rd of December.
-Plaza de Sants Christmas Fair: until 23rd of December.
-Reyes (3 Kings) Fair: a fair featuring toys, gifts, crafts and Christmas items. Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes (between Muntaner and Entença). From 24th of December to 6th of January.


Tio de Nadal (Christmas Uncle): Starting on the feast day of the Immaculate Conception, the 8th of December, every night families begin to "feed" a tree trunk decorated with a face on one end, which is usually covered with a blanket so it doesn't get cold at night. On Christmas Day, the wooden "uncle" is put in the fire and after being hit it with a canem, it produces sweets and nougats for the children.


Traditional dishes: The traditional dishes at Christmas time are "escudella" stock and its "carn d'olla", followed by stuffed capon or turkey. For dessert, the traditional "turron" nougats are savoured, made with almonds, hazelnuts and honey, or marzipan and candied fruit.

New Year's Eve: New Year's Eve is celebrated with meals and parties as people await the sound of the twelve bells tolling on the city's clocks. At that point, everyone eats 12 "lucky grapes" to the beat of the 12 rings as they toast with cava and wish each other a Happy New Year.

Parade of the Three Wise Men: At sundown on the 5th of January, at 5:30pm to be precise, the Three Wise Men arrive in Barcelona and for three hours they parade around the city's most central streets in their royal carriages, tossing sweets to the children along the wayside.

Come to Barcelona in December and enjoy the Christmas and New Year's Eve atmosphere! Still apartments available at the best price!

Concert of MGMT in Barcelona, Razzmatazz

The MGMT, also known as “the Management”, will storm Barcelona with their psychedelic pop at Razzmatazz in Poble Nou in Barcelona on December 16th at 21:30.

The New York duo consists of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden, both originally from Connecticut. They got together in 2002, during a sabbatical year from Wesleyan University, and became a pop phenomenon, almost involuntarily. Apparently, MGMT never seriously thought they were going to turn into huge pop-stars. Even so, they have been a smashing yet unexpected success since their inception.



They like to repeat that it was not their intention to form a band, but just come out and share albums, “hang out”, go to concerts, listen to music and compose of course, but not necessarily make their creation a profession. They share the ethic of countless garage bands, annoying parents and neighbors with electric guitars and high volume screaming, all the while having fun. However, for MGMT everything flowed with amazing ease and speed, and the music ended up getting taking them along for a ride to international fame.

In early 2005, when they first were licensed, they went on tour in the U.S. to open for “Of Montreal” (another American indie rock group) and promote their new EP “Time to pretend” and in fall 2006, i.e. four years after their college musical joke kicked off, they were signing a multimillion dollar contract for four albums with Columbia Records.

In 2007 the recorded the album “Oracular Spectacular” a skillful mix of danceable pop and psychedelic electronics. In the same year were nominated “Artists of the Day” by Spin Magazine and appeared in the top 10 “Artists to Watch” by Rolling Stone magazine. Their first album debuted at twelfth place in the UK Album Chart and quickly reached the top spot on the Billboard Top Heatseekers.

Among the best tracks on the album are hugely popular hit “Kids” and the compelling “Electric Feel”, or even the more melancholy “Weekend Wars” and “FutureReflections.”




Why don't you come to Barcelona for a few days to enjoy MGMT's concert and the atmosphere of Chrismas in Barcelona!

Biutiful with Javier Bardem, takes place in Barcelona

Biutiful, Alejandro González Iñárritu's latest film, shot in Barcelona and starring Javier Bardem, was presented over here this Tuesday and coming out tomorrow in the cinema. The film tells the story of Uxbal, a man in free fall who has to put his house in order before his time runs out.

Biutiful is a love story between a father and his children. This is the journey of Uxbal, a conflicted man who struggles to reconcile fatherhood, love, spirituality, crime, guilt and mortality amidst the dangerous underworld of modern Barcelona. His livelihood is earned out of bounds, his sacrifices for his children know no bounds. Like life itself, this is a circular tale that ends where it begins. As fate encircles him and thresholds are crossed, a dim, redemptive road brightens, illuminating the inheritances bestowed from father to child, and the paternal guiding hand that navigates life’s corridors, whether bright, bad – or biutiful.





Why won't you come to Barcelona and feel the real Barcelona! We have lots of offers of apartments for rent for all december!

Barcelona Shopping Night

White Night of fashion comes to Passeig de Gràcia



December 2nd 2010 from 20h until late in the night



Passeig de Gràcia's retail establishments are holding their first fashion White Night on Thursday 2 December, with over 50 shops taking part. There will also be design and fashion-related activities going on in the emblematic hotels and buildings on this, one of Barcelona's major high streets.

You probably never thought you would be able to savour an escudella broth made by Carme Ruscalleda outside the Hotel Mandarin Oriental or see an exhibition of customised chairs in the centre of Passeig de Gràcia.

But all that, and much more, will be possible this Thursday, 2 December, when over fifty retail establishments, the Bulevard Rosa and several hotels will be open from 8 pm to 12 am for Shopping Night, an event already held in the main capitals of Europe.

Ultimately the aim is not to make the White Night a big sales night but to position Barcelona and the Passeig de Gràcia as an international shopping destination and link that with the Christmas festivities.

Barcelona Shopping Night is therefore taking place on the same night that Barcelona switches on its Christmas lights, which will be on for 36 days at over 300 city locations and lighting up 60 km of streets.

A passport of flowers and a party


Anyone wishing to buy something at any of these shops will have to take out a Shopping Passport, a small booklet supplying the addresses of the shops that will also come in useful for the "Gimcana de les Flors" and will be available at specialist information points.

For every euro spent at one of the shops taking part in Shopping Night, buyers will receive a flower-shaped stamp and, as they accumulate these, they will be able to enter lotteries for cruises, ski-resort holidays and nights in luxury hotels.

And, besides the shops and their products, which you can enjoy at a very unusual time, at midnight this unique city location will become the setting for a big fiesta.

"David Missoni", a sculpture over six metres high and dressed in moving fabrics by dEmo, will be installed on the avenue, as a collection of unique, customised industrial items and a large design tent with fashion and design celebrities from Barcelona will be at other points.

In addition, the Mariscal and Custo exhibitions will also be opening at La Pedrera and Casa Batlló respectively, with Carme Ruscalleda serving escudella broth and Jean-Luc Figueras serving up hot chocolate and churros.


Book a last minute flight or take your car and come to Barcelona to don't miss this incredible Fashion Event! If you're looking for a place to stay, we are here for you. We can propose you a large choice of apartments really close to the Passeig de Gracia!

El Clásico 2010 FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid 29/11/2010

El Clásico Monday 29th November 2010

El Clásico 2010 FC Barcelona - Real Madrid Monday 29th November 2010, El Clásico will Kick Off time 21:00 CET Camp Nou Barcelona Match date was changed to avoid a clash with regional elections in Catalunya, the professional league (LFP).

Today, FC Barcelona’s assistant coach Tito Vilanova has slammed the Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho as well as undervalued Real Madrid’s charm. La Vanguardia quoted the Barca assistant coach as saying:
“Jose Mourinho is a football coach who never talks of football. That’s something we don’t like because stress isn’t good for anyone.

Champions Barca will host Real, who top the standings by a point from their arch-rivals after 10 games, for the match at the Nou Camp at 21:00 CET, the LFP said.

The decision had been taken to avoid "the security problems that the coincidence of the two events on the same weekend could cause," they added.

Last season's two 'Clasicos' were a key factor in deciding the outcome of a league totally dominated by Barca and Real and the same is likely to happen in this campaign.

Barca won both last term, edging the match at the Nou Camp 1-0 and winning 2-0 in Madrid, and pipped Real to the title by a record 99 points to 96. Valencia were third on 71 and Sevilla fourth on 63.
Manel Arroyo, a Barca director responsible for finance and marketing, told the club's television channel they would have liked the match to have been a day earlier on the Sunday but they understood the reasons for the decision and accepted it.

"We asked for it not to be on the Saturday and we would have preferred it to be on the Sunday but we understand that the schedules of the authorities, the security services and the television companies were chock full," he said.

Barca coach Pep Guardiola, now in his third season, has led his team to victory in all four 'Clasicos' since he took charge, including a 6-2 drubbing of Real at their Bernabeu stadium in May 2009, while Jose Mourinho will be experiencing his first as Real coach.

The return match at the Bernabeu is the weekend of April 16/17 2011



Come to Barcelona with your friends to see El Clasico, the most popular match in Spain between the two best teams, and rent an apartment close to Camp Nou or in the center to feel the athmosphere of a bar!

Lady Gaga concert in Barcelona

Global phenomenon Lady Gaga performs in Barcelona in the Palau Sant Jordi, for the only concert in Spain on her Monster Ball Tour on Tuesday 7th December 2010. Tickets on sale from 6th May 2010 at Ticketmaster, Servicaixa and El Corte Inglés

Lady Gaga is a phenomenon for the media, for fans and especially for the music and fashion industries. She is able to reinvent herself like a molting animal, sometimes even dresses in dead animals, thus causing all kinds of journalists and ideologues to spend rivers of ink singing her praises and dissecting her every gesture.

It seems that the New York singer is poised to inherit the mantle of number one diva from Madonna, and more than projecting a set artistic identity, is channeling the development of a lifetime brand. Madonna, the pop musical phoenix capable of channelling society´s ethos in every moment, meet Lady Gaga, your spotlight loving successor. Of course, just as when Madonna was at the beginning of her career, and causing a pop-culture revolution, Lady Gaga has made a splash whose eventual impact can only be imagined, and is most likely underestimated by critics.

But who can blame this young woman for wanting to take the lead in an industry, by using clothing, occasional histrionics or outrageous statements? The fact is that Lady Gaga has demonstrated with her impressive ticket and record sales that she is more than just a girl wrapped in a piece of meat, and behind all the money and publicity machine, there is also a girl who takes the stage in front of thousands of people and does her job.

If you have a long weekend or few days of holidays, come to Barcelona to enjoy the city and maybe come to Lady Gaga's concert! We will find you a place to stay!

European Poker Tour Barcelona Event Underway

The current stop of the European Poker Tour is being held at the Casino Barcelona located in Barcelona, Spain. The tournament schedule will take place from November 22nd – November 27th.

The buy-ins start at €300 for several of events which is less than last year, so this should please the competitors that will participate in this tournament. There are other events with buy-ins that range from €500 to €3,000, and a high stakes No Limit Hold’em event with a buy-in of €10,000. There is also additional good news for the competitors as this year’s buy-in for the championship event has been lowered to €5,000 compared to €8,000 in last year’s event. There is also a Ladies’ event with a €300 buy-in.

The Barcelona events proved to be popular in last year’s European Poker Tour Barcelona, drawing 1,276 competitors. Each event had over 100 participants, with the championship event drawing a crowd of 479 entrants. With the sizeable turnout of competitors this translated into very good payouts for the scheduled events. The championship Main Event saw the winner collect a gigantic prize of €850,000.

The final table witnessed Carter Phillips take home the €850,000. Second place belonged to Marc Goodwin with winnings of €530,000, and in third place was Santiago Terrazas with €300,000.

This year the casino has announced the event will be taking place in an annex of the Gran Casino at the Arts Hotel, which will provide more room for the event than in previous years. With the lower buy-ins this year and especially with the lower Main Event buy-in this tournament at the Casino Barcelona should be a thrilling place to be in November.

Come to Barcelona for the Poker Tour and rent an apartment close to the Casino or more in the centre!