Barcelona's top events in February

Barcelona is absolutely buzzing this February! In just one single weekend, we’ve got the Carnival, the big festival honouring the city’s patron saint, La Merce, a Raye concert, and Valentine’s Day all hitting at once. La Cotorra has the digest of those and all the other must-see city events happening this month.

If you’ve been missing that St. Petersburg-based orchestra led by the rebellious Greek conductor, you’re lucky—they’re headed to Spain! They are bringing the symphonic suite ‘Ring Without Words,’ based on Richard Wagner's ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen.’ There are no vocals here, just a super well-thought-out musical drama.

MusicAeterna is easily one of the most impressive orchestras around today. They don’t just play classical music; they completely reinvent it. People love Currentzis for his hyper-emotional style that feels almost like performance art, along with his fearless artistic choices. There are still some tickets left, but they’re running out! 

It's an exhibition of Spanish wine where you can meet with producers from every corner of the country. The lineup is packed: we’re talking wine tastings, masterclasses from the pros, deep dives into market trends, rare wine reveals, and debates on the hot topics in winemaking today.

While it’s mostly made for the industry professionals, wine lovers haven’t been left out—you can snag a one-day ticket for €50 and get access to the open tastings!

This year’s Llum BCN light art festival, organised by the Barcelona Institute of Culture, is hitting a huge milestone: its 15th anniversary! The lineup is ambitious, featuring 12 light installations from world-famous artists along with 18 creative projects from the city’s top design, art, and architecture schools. While the main action is centred in the Poblenou district near Parc de les Glòries, you’ll also find stunning installations lighting up iconic buildings all across the city.

The best part is that the festival is totally free. It’s the perfect evening plan if you want to see Barcelona in a brand-new light—quite literally. To make things easy, the Llum BCN website has routes so you can hit several spots in one go.

This exhibition dives into a vibrant era of Catalan art between the start of World War I and the end of World War II. It was a time when everything was happening at once—post-impressionism, modernism, cubism, and surrealism were all evolving side-by-side.

You’ll see how some artists focused on the raw human drama of the time, while others used their art as a safe escape from the chaos. Ultimately, it's a look at how they tried to make sense of a world that was changing way too fast. The collection is impressive, featuring 100 different paintings, graphic works, and sculptures.

An exhibition dedicated to the 425th anniversary of the Gegants del Pi — massive figures that are the stars of almost every Barcelona street festival—has just opened right in the heart of the Gothic Quarter. The very first giant appeared back in 1601 during a religious procession at the Basilica of Santa Maria del Pi. Since then, these figures have survived wars, bans, and long stretches of being forgotten, always finding their way back to the city streets.

The exhibition dives into the history of the four legendary Gegants del Pi figures using archival documents, old-school illustrations, and years of deep-dive research. Put together with the Associació d'Amics dels Gegants del Pi, this project is a rare chance to see exactly how this iconic tradition was built and kept alive for centuries.

Not a cultural event, but definitely a stunning one: February is usually when almond blossom season hits its peak in Barcelona and the surrounding areas. You can spot individual trees in parks like Carmel and Castell de l'Oreneta right in the city.

However, if you're looking for that perfect photo op against a sea of pink flowers, you can head out to Terra Alta—a district in Tarragona—in just a couple of hours.

A solo show from an emigrant comedian with a Belarusian background who’s made a name on shows like ‘Cultural Difference,’ ‘Open Mic,’ ‘Stand-up on TNT,’ ‘Prozharka,’ and ‘Roast Battle.’ In her brand-new program, Irina talks about health, personal complexes, setting boundaries, and the quirks of interacting with people.

British girl band The Last Dinner Party only dropped their first single back in 2023, but they’ve already won over millions of fans with their mix of Kate Bush-style theatricality and raw punk energy.

After performing at Primavera Sound 2024, they’re heading back to Barcelona on February 11th to show off their second album, From the Pyre, which just came out in October 2025. This new material sticks to sophisticated arrangements and melodic ambition, and you can hear a new level of depth and confidence in their sound.

A major Catalan entertainment since the 19th century has been eating calçots—those long, sweet onions that are nothing like ordinary onions. They’re always served with a legendary sauce made from bell peppers, tomatoes, and nuts.

At the Kvartirnik, Nuria (a Russian-speaking Catalan) and her mom are going to teach guests the traditional local way to prepare both the onions and the sauce. They’ll also show you the proper technique for eating them and, of course, which wine pairs perfectly with the onion!

A massive city-wide festival in honour of Santa Eulàlia, the co-patron saint of Barcelona (also known as La Laia). It’s basically a non-stop showcase of Catalan culture, featuring parades of giants, street processions, traditional dances, and concerts in the plazas. You'll also see the jaw-dropping castellers building their famous human towers in the middle of the crowd. If you love a bit of excitement, don't miss the Correfoc on the evening of Saturday, February 14—it’s a wild fire run with pyrotechnics and "devils" dancing through the streets.

The celebrations officially begin on February 12 at 9:45 a.m. with the raising of the city banner (Barcelona’s historic flag). After that, the town hall opens its doors. We highly recommend popping by—it’s absolutely beautiful inside and a rare chance to see the building for free.

This year, Barcelona's Carnival is pulling double duty as it overlaps with the Santa Eulàlia festival, making for one seriously busy weekend. Traditionally held right before Lent, it’s the city’s last chance to eat, drink, and be merry before the period of fasting kicks in.

The fun officially starts on Fat Tuesday February 12). In the late afternoon, you can catch the ceremonial procession of the Carnival King (Rei Carnestoltes), the Queen, and their colorful entourage. The highlight is the orange rain  (the Taronjada)—a tradition revived in 2012 that mimics the 14th-century street battles of Barcelona using orange balloons and confetti.

Just like last year, the main kickoff events are centred in the Sants district (specifically around Plaça de Bonet i Muixí and the Cotxeres de Sants), partly due to ongoing works in the city centre. The whole week of revelry wraps up on  Ash Wednesday(February 18) with the Sardine's Burial  a satirical funeral procession where the city bids an ironic farewell to the festivities.

There’s a brand-new exhibition at the Antoni Tàpies Museum called "Antoni Tàpies: The Perpetual Movement of the Wall​​​​​​," and it’s dedicated to one of Catalonia's most influential artists. This showcase takes a deep dive into four very different exhibitions that Tàpies organised during the 1950s.

By comparing these four shows, you get a much clearer picture of how his work was tied to everything from architecture and industrial design to urban space and the general lifestyle of that era. It’s a fascinating to look at how his art wasn't just resting in a gallery, but was actually in constant conversation with the world around it.

British superstar RAYE is way more than just the voice behind the viral hit WHERE IS MY HUSBAND. While that track might be stuck in your head, she is actually a three-time Grammy nominee who has written for legends like Beyoncé and Charli XCX. Her sound is a genre-blurring mix of R&B, pop, jazz, and soul, all tied together by explicit lyrics.

This February, she is coming to Barcelona. It is a chance to see one of the most talented vocalists of our time perform songs from her upcoming album, This Music May Contain Hope.

This Argentine singer, who lives in Barcelona, brings a unique blend of hip-hop, salsa, and soul to the stage. Her 2024 album Grasa was a major hit, picking up three Latin Grammys and making history as the first time a woman won Best Rap Track. Today, Peluso is one of the most vibrant and influential artists in Latin music, known for concerts that are full of vocal energy, theatrical flair, and genre-mixing.

One of the most important operas from the 19th century to the present day, this work is a perfect blend of the best musical styles of its time. You will hear the influence of Verdi in the melodies, choral parts inspired by Venetian folk music, and solo monologues that echo the styles of Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky. It also features rich orchestration in the vein of Wagner and grand dance scenes typical of French opera, all leading to a finale that set the stage for the realism of later works.

The lead role is shared by two major opera stars: Sayoa Hernandez from Spain and Ekaterina Semenchuk from Belarus.

Miles Kane, a member of legendary The Last Shadow Puppets, is coming to Barcelona to present his new album Sunlight In The Shadows. Produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, the record is a psychedelic rock and roll that blends the energy of stadium rock with the style of classic pop. Opening the show is the Barcelona-based band The Boy From The South, who bring a mix of rap, indie pop, and clever lyrics to the stage.

The concert will take place on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, at Razzmatazz.

This exhibition at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) is a key part of the museum's ongoing Art, War, and Memory program, which examines how the Spanish Civil War and the following dictatorship shaped the country’s artistic heritage.

The project highlights a dark chapter where the Francoist regime took control of thousands of artworks that had been hidden in protective warehouses by the Republican government to save them from bombing. After the war, these items were managed by the Servicio de Defensa del Patrimonio Artístico Nacional (SDPAN) and often marked with labels reading "Recuperado del enemigo" (Taken from the enemy). Many of these pieces were never returned to their rightful owners, and this exhibition uses archival documents and 136 specific works to explore issues of justice, memory, and historical truth.

The exhibition is scheduled from February 19 to June 29, 2026.

Selegey is a star of the shows Razgony and Knizhny Klub, a former resident of Stand Up Club #1, and a participant in such projects as Stand Up on TNT and Comedy Battle. His style is a combination of self-irony and experimentation. His new programme is called ‘In a World of Chaos’ — it is about the new reality we find ourselves in, without having had time to get used to the previous new reality.