10 reasons to get away to Barcelona this Autumn

The heat is subsiding, the days are getting shorter and life resumes its normal pace. With the beginning of autumn, Barcelona has lined up lots of great things to do and is ready to captivate you again. The city has a plethora of cultural and recreational activities in store, and reveals its warm autumnal hues that herald the arrival of new projects. Find out what to do in Barcelona with 10 reasons that make the city the perfect destination to experience a different autumn 2022. You're going to love them!

#1 A season packed with festivals, popular culture and genuine traditions

Autumn is a great reason to visit Barcelona and enjoy the city like a local. La Mercè is the most eagerly awaited festival. Held over four days, it celebrates the city's patron saint, Our Lady of Mercy, and her feast day, which falls on 24th September. To mark the occasion, the city is filled with free displays of popular culture, concerts, sporting events and fun activities for all the family. On 31st October, it's time for La Castanyada when people get together to feast on roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes. You'll see stalls selling them all around the city, and cake shops displaying the sweet treats, known as panellets. Traditionally, they are eaten at this time of year but you can learn how to make them here so you can enjoy them all year round. On 1st November, All Saints' Day, people visit the city's cemeteries to remember their loved-ones who are no longer here.

#2 Grab your spoon and enjoy our delicious seasonal produce

Autumn is the perfect season for hearty dishes: stews, vegetable soups and a wide variety of seasonal produce. Discover all the flavours and aromas of autumn at Barcelona's restaurants and enjoy pumpkins, sweet potatoes, chard, leeks from the Baix Llobregat, grapes, squid from Arenys, tomatoes from Collserola, dried fruit and nuts… or, as we're in the middle of the wild mushroom season, a tasty autumn casserole. The city's municipal markets offer you all this produce which you can use to make typical, authentic dishes like this field mushroom speciality, fricandó amb moixernons.

#3 Enjoy wine tourism throughout the province…

The grape harvest takes place in September and October when Barcelona's wineries pick the grapes to make their wines and cavas. Barcelona has five designation of origin (DO) wines out of a total of twelve in the whole of Catalonia, which provide a guarantee of quality and geographical origin. If you're a wine lover, you won't want to miss out on these wine tourism activities which you'll find throughout the province. You can learn about the traditions of a 14th-century winery at Llopart or discover sustainable wine-making methods with sea views in the Alta Alella. Do you want to discover Barcelona's wines and cavas? You can taste and fall in love with them at Catalan Wine Week, the Setmana del Vi Català , and Cavatast. Cheers!

#4 …and taste Barcelona's wines

Barcelona's DO's produce a variety of quality wines. The city is home to Can Calopa, a winery with vineyards in the Parc de Collserola. Wine is everywhere. All you have to do is visit one of the many wine shops around the city and enjoy a wine tasting. Specialist wine merchants, like Vila Viniteca, will advise you so you can choose the perfect wine for you. And if you want to enjoy wine with a delicious meal, many of Barcelona's restaurants pair their dishes with a selection of the region's finest wines. A perfect, mouthwatering plan!

#5 Find the perfect memento

Do you want a unique memento of your visit to the city? Well here's our pick of the original gifts you can treat yourself to. What about a book set in the streets of Barcelona or which reveals the city's hidden treasures? Barcelona has a long literary tradition (in 2015 it was named a city of literature by UNESCO). Bookshops that have been trading for over 100 years, like Espai Quera, specialist ones, like Ona Llibres, bookshops where you'll find every genre, such as the Llibreria Laie, or located inside historic buildings, like the Llibreria la Central del Raval which occupies the former Misericòrdia chapel, showcase some of the many authors who have made Barcelona the central character of their works. And at the museum shops you'll find design objects that will provide that unique memento of your trip. Go and get yours!

#6 You can enjoy and do sport without worrying about the heat

Autumn is the perfect time of year to do sport in the open air. If you love running, pay a visit to the city's green lungs, Montjuïc and Collserola, which will welcome you with their picture-postcard autumnal scenery. Barcelona hosts major sporting competitions at this time of year, including the Barcelona Triathlon, the Jean Bouin race and the tough endurance challenge, IronMan 70.3 Barcelona. The football season kicks off again with FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol. On the sea, the autumn breeze is the perfect companion for the Super Series Sailing Week and Golden Cup Barcelona. Barcelona's Reial Club de Polo is hosting the events on the equestrian calendar. And the roar of the engines is back with a vengeance at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. See the autumn 2022 programme and choose your favourite sporting event.

#7 Live music takes centre stage this autumn

World Music Day takes place in autumn and Barcelona is one of the best cities in the world to celebrate the event. The city's music museum, the Museu de la Música, showcases more than 500 instruments and Fanatic Guitars is a guitar heaven. You'll find a spectacular programme of classical music at the city's great concert halls: the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Palau de la Música Catalana and L'Auditori. Do you want to enjoy music in a more intimate atmosphere? You can choose from an operatic soirée at the Palau de Balmesiana or a classical music and blues concert at the Museu d'Art Modern (MEAM). You can enjoy jazz rhythms at the iconic Jamboree club, and flamenco at different venues around the city. And, of course, Barcelona welcomes big name performers to its main concert venues every year. Which one are you going to pick?

#8 Discover the treasures on display at the city's museums and galleries

If you want to sate your thirst for culture and art, a visit to Barcelona's art galleries is a great option. They exhibit amazing work by young and established artists from Spain and around the world. You'll find traditional Catalan art and the most innovative and sustainable design. Take a look at the website of the Guild of Art Galleries of Catalonia and discover them all.

#9 Painting, fashion, film, magic… this autumn, culture returns to the stage

This autumn comes with an extensive programme of entertainments, exhibitions and festivals. If you like haute couture, CaixaForum is hosting the exhibition Cinema and Fashion co-curated by Jean Paul Gaultier. The illusionist Mago Pop will leave the audience speechless at the Teatre Victoria with Nothing is Impossible. Broadway Edition. At the Museu Picasso you'll be able to see intimate snapshots documenting episodes from Picasso's life taken by the photographer Lucien Clergue. The big exhibition at the Fundació Joan Miró this autumn is Paul Klee and the Secrets of Nature. If you're a lover of architecture, don't miss the 48h Open House or the Jewish Film Festival if you're a fan of the seventh art. Check out our cultural calendar and get even more out of your break!

#10 First-hand wine experiences

Do you want to ride through the vineyards on a segway or bike? Or would you rather take part in the wine-making process and create your own cava? Discover the vineyards of the Penedès and taste its wines, sail on the Mediterranean on a sailing boat with a glass of wine in your hand, or discover the secrets of making Kosher wine at the Vinateria del Call in the Jewish Quarter. Discover all the activities, tours and unique experiences you can enjoy in Barcelona. Whichever one you choose, they're bound to create unforgettable memories of the time you spent in the city.

As you can see, autumn in Barcelona is going to be memorable. Have you got your suitcase ready?