By Harry Nara · Last updated
- The Kings arrive by boat at Port VellTuesday 5 January 2027
- Reis, the day the presents are openedWednesday 6 January 2027
- Where
- Port Vell and the parade route across the city
- Tickets
- Free
- Time of year
- January
- Dates
- Around the same dates every year
Fixed to 5 and 6 January every year and it does not move. The city publishes the exact parade route and the road closures in late December; the arrival at the port has for years been in the late afternoon with the parade setting off a couple of hours later.
Visitors arrive with the wrong mental model and it costs them the best part of the trip. In Spain the presents are not opened on Christmas Day. They are opened on the morning of the sixth, brought overnight by the Three Kings, and the evening before is the biggest children’s night of the year. The Kings arrive in Barcelona by boat at the old port in the late afternoon, the mayor greets them, and then a parade of enormous floats crosses the city for about three hours throwing tonnes of sweets into the crowd. If you are in Barcelona in early January, this is the thing to be there for, and a great many people fly home two days before it.
What the Cavalcada de Reis actually is
The eve of Epiphany, and in Spain it is the climax of Christmas rather than an afterthought to it. The three kings of the nativity story are the ones who bring presents, they do it overnight on the fifth, and children leave shoes out and something for the camels. Barcelona stages the arrival as theatre: the Kings come in from the sea, dock at the Moll de la Fusta by the old port, are formally welcomed by the mayor and speak to the children who have come down to meet them. The Cavalcada then sets off, a long procession of illuminated floats, musicians, dancers and costumed retinues, and it works its way across the city over roughly three hours, finishing near the Magic Fountain on Montjuïc. Sweets are thrown the whole way. The next morning the shops are shut, families are indoors, and the city is as quiet as it ever gets.
Where to watch the Cavalcada de Reis
- The port for the arrival, and this is the half most people skip. The Kings come in by boat in the late afternoon and are received at the Moll de la Fusta with a crowd of children in front of them. It is a smaller, warmer, more legible event than the parade, and it happens a couple of hours earlier, so you can do both. Arrive an hour ahead for a position near the water.
- Anywhere on the middle of the route, rather than the start. The beginning of the parade is where everyone assumes they should be and it is correspondingly packed. The floats take about three hours to work across the city, so a spot halfway along gets you the identical procession with far more room, and later, which suits anyone travelling with children.
- The Montjuïc end, for the finish. The procession closes near the Magic Fountain, which gives you the parade and a good deal of theatre in the same place. It is also the end of a long evening for the performers, and it shows, in a good way.
- A balcony, if you are offered one. Barcelona is a city of balconies and the parade is watched from them all along the route. If your accommodation is on the route, you have the best seat in the city and no crowd at all.
- A neighbourhood cavalcada rather than the main one. Most districts run their own smaller parade on the same evening, and towns along the coast do too. They are shorter, calmer, closer up, and children get considerably more sweets.
Tickets and what it costs
Nothing charges. The arrival at the port, the parade and the neighbourhood processions are all free and unticketed, and there is no grandstand to book. What you should budget for instead is the shutdown: the sixth is a public holiday, most shops and a lot of restaurants close, and the fifth winds down through the afternoon. Anyone planning to eat out on either day should book, and anyone planning to shop should do it before. The one thing worth buying is a tortell de Reis, the ring-shaped cake sold by every bakery in the days beforehand, which has a small figure hidden inside and a dried bean; whoever finds the bean pays for the cake.
Official information and booking: www.barcelona.cat/nadal/en
Getting there
For the arrival, Barceloneta and Drassanes on the metro both put you a short walk from the Moll de la Fusta. For the parade, the route changes slightly from year to year and the city publishes it with the road closures in late December, so check before fixing a spot. Expect wide closures across the centre from the late afternoon, expect metro stations on the route to be exit-only or shut at points, and do not plan on a taxi anywhere near it. The metro runs late on the night. The morning of the sixth is the opposite problem: a holiday timetable, a very quiet city, and almost nothing open.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Assuming Christmas Day is the big one
It is not. The gift-giving night is the fifth and the gift-opening morning is the sixth, and that is when Spanish families are together and the country stops. Visitors who build their trip around the twenty-fifth and fly out on the second miss the whole of it.
Going to the parade and skipping the arrival
The boat coming into the port with the Kings on it, and the crowd of children waiting, is the better of the two events and it happens a couple of hours earlier. There is no reason to choose, and most visitors never learn it is there.
Standing at the very start of the route
It is the densest point by a wide margin. The same floats pass every part of the route over about three hours, so a position halfway along is more comfortable, easier to reach and no worse a view.
Planning to shop or eat out on the sixth
It is a full public holiday. Shops are shut, a lot of restaurants are shut, and the ones that open fill early. Do the shopping before, and book anything you intend to eat.
Not looking up when the sweets start
The floats throw a serious volume of hard sweets into the crowd, and adults standing at the front with a camera to their face take them in the head. Children go home with bags of them. Bring one.
Other Barcelona events
Frequently asked questions
What is the Cavalcada de Reis?
The Three Kings parade, held on the evening of the fifth of January. In Barcelona the Kings arrive by boat at the old port in the late afternoon, are welcomed by the mayor, and then lead a procession of illuminated floats across the city for around three hours, throwing sweets to the crowd. It is the eve of the day Spanish children receive their presents.
Do Spanish children get presents on Christmas Day?
Traditionally no. The Three Kings bring them overnight on the fifth of January and they are opened on the morning of the sixth. Some families now do both, but the sixth is still the main event, and it is a public holiday. Visitors who assume the twenty-fifth is the peak have the calendar wrong by a fortnight.
What time does the parade start?
The Kings have for years arrived at the port in the late afternoon, with the parade setting off a couple of hours after that and running for roughly three hours to finish near the Magic Fountain on Montjuïc. The city publishes exact timings and the route in late December, so check before choosing a spot.
Where is the best place to watch?
The port for the arrival, which is the calmer and more charming half and comes first. Then anywhere on the middle of the route for the parade itself, rather than the start, which is where the crowd concentrates. If you have children, a neighbourhood cavalcada is smaller, closer and produces far more sweets.
Is anything open on the sixth of January?
Very little. It is a public holiday, shops close, many restaurants close, and the city is unusually quiet. Book anywhere you intend to eat and do any shopping beforehand. Museums vary, so check individually rather than assuming.
What is a tortell de Reis?
The ring-shaped cake eaten on the sixth, sold by every bakery in the days beforehand. There is a small figure hidden inside and also a dried broad bean. Finding the figure is good luck and gets you a paper crown; finding the bean means you pay for the cake.
Sources
- Ajuntament de Barcelona, Christmas programme
- Barcelona Turisme, official visitor site
- Ajuntament de Barcelona, parade road closures
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2027. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.