Corpus

Every June, Barcelona fills with history, symbolism and popular culture to celebrate one of its oldest and most authentic festivals: Corpus. With more than seven centuries of history, this celebration, strongly revived in recent years by the city council, the Cathedral and the Federación de Entidades de Cultura Popular y Tradicional de la Barcelona Vella, once again fills the city's courtyards, cloisters, squares and streets with elements that are pure heritage: l’ou com balla, floral carpets and the majestic procession.

L’ou com balla: poetry in motion

The most distinctive element of Barcelona's Corpus is also one of the most enigmatic. Since at least 1636, the dancing egg has crowned flower-decorated water jets in courtyards and cloisters. More than twenty spaces will host this delicate, ephemeral display, which combines play, contemplation and symbolism.

Photo by 19bProduction / Shutterstock / FOTODOM

Where can you see the dancing egg?

Archivo Histórico de la Ciudad - Casa del Ardiaca (c/ Santa Lucía, 1): Thursday 4, from 09:00 to 20:00, with an open day; Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 10:00 to 19:30.

Ateneo Barcelonés (c/ Canuda, 6): Thursday 4, from 11:00 to 20:00.

Archivo de la Corona de Aragón-Palacio del Lloctinent (c/ Condes, 2): from Thursday 4 to Sunday 7, from 10:00 to 19:00.

Capitanía General (paseo de Colón, 14): Thursday 4 and Friday 5, from 16:00 to 20:00, and Saturday 6 and Sunday 7, from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 20:00.

Rubió i Lluch gardens (c/ Hospital, 56): from Thursday 4 to Sunday 7, from 08:00 to 20:00.

Barcelona Cathedral (pl. Seu, no number): Thursday 4, Friday 5 and Saturday 6, from 10:00 to 19:30, and Sunday 7, from 09:00 to 13:00.

Museo Frederic Marès (pl. Sant Iu, 5): Thursday 4, Friday 5 and Saturday 6, from 10:00 to 19:00, and Sunday 7, from 11:00 to 20:00.

Palau de la Virreina (La Rambla, 99): Thursday 4 to Sunday 7, from 10:00 to 20:00.

Courtyard of the Museo Marítimo (av. de las Drassanes, no number): Thursday 4, from 10:00 to 20:00.

Cloister of the Puríssima Concepció basilica (c/ Roger de LLúria 70): from Thursday 4 to Thursday 11, from 08:00 to 13:00 and from 17:00 to 21:00.

Col·legi Escolàpies Llúria (c/ Aragó, 302): from 29 May to 7 June, from 08:00 to 18:30.

Calle de la LLibertat: Sunday 7, from 10:00 to 18:00.

Centro Cívico Can Deu (pl. Concordia, 13): Thursday 4, from 09:00 to 21:00.

Centro Cívico El Sortidor (pl. del Sortidor, 12): Thursday 4 and Friday 5, from 08:30 to 22:00; Saturday 6, from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 21:00.

El Centre de Gràcia (c/ Ros de Olano, 9): from Thursday 4 to Sunday 5, from 10:30 to 13:30 and from 16:30 to 21:00 (Saturday and Sunday too).

Espacio Albert Munsons (c/ Alzina, 9): from Thursday 4 to Sunday 7, from 10:30 to 14:30 and from 16:30 to 20:30.

Oratory of Sant Felip Neri de Gràcia (c/ Sol, 8): from Thursday 4 to Saturday 6, from 11:00 to 13:00 and from 17:00 to 20:30; Sunday 7, from 11:00 to 20:00.

Sant Martí park (plaza de Ignasi Juliol, no number): Saturday 6, from 10:00 to 19:00.

Sant Àngel Custodi parish church (c/ Vilardell, 50): from Thursday 4 to Sunday 7, from 09:00 to 21:00.

Santa Maria del Taulat parish church (c/ Pujades, 210): from Thursday 4 to Sunday 7, during the parish church's opening hours.

Cloister of Pedralbes monastery (bajada del Monasterio, 9): Thursday 4 and Friday 5, from 10:00 to 17:00; Saturday 6, from 10:00 to 19:00; Sunday 7, from 10:00 to 20:00, with open days on Thursday and Sunday.

Seminario Conciliar de Barcelona (c/ Diputación, 231): Wednesday 3, from 15:00 to 20:00; Thursday 4 and Friday 5, from 09:00 to 20:00; Saturday 6, from 09:00 to 13:00.

Taller Sant Camil (c/ Sales y Ferré, 60): from Thursday 4 to Friday 5, from 10:00 to 17:00.

Torre de la Sagrera (c/ Berenguer de Palou, 64-66): from Monday 1 to Friday 5, from 09:30 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 21:00; Saturday 6, from 09:30 to 14:00.

Floral carpets: art to walk on

The carpets, made with petals, herbs and new materials, once again fill streets, squares and the entrances to emblematic buildings. Ephemeral by definition, they will be undone by passing processions and dances, as tradition dictates. This year, the city council's carpet pays tribute to the Noucentista ceramicist Francesc Canyellas, bringing together art and memory.

Where can you see flower carpets?

Ajuntament de Barcelona (plaza de Sant Jaume, 1): from Thursday 4 to Sunday 6.

Basílica del Pi (plaza del Pi): Sunday 7, from 10:00 to 20:00.

La Casa dels Entremesos (plaza de les Beates, 2): from Thursday 4 to Sunday 7.

Barcelona Cathedral (plaza de la Seu, no number): from Thursday 4 to Sunday 7.

Museu Etnològic i de les Cultures del Món (calle de Montcada, 12-14): from Thursday 4 to Sunday 7.

Can Galta Cremat (calle de Arquímedes, 30): from Thursday 4 to Saturday 6.

Centro Cívico Sant Martí (calle de la Selva de Mar, 215): Saturday 6.

Sant Martí park (plaza de Ignasi Juliol, no number): Saturday 6.

Santa Madrona parish church (calle Tapioles, 10): Sunday 7.

Santa Maria del Taulat parish church (calle de Pujades, 210): Sunday 7.

Plaza de la Virreina. Sant Joan Baptista de Gràcia parish church: Sunday 7.

Plaza de Sarrià: Sunday 7.

Rambla de Guipúscoa (calle del Treball at calle de Agricultura): Saturday 6.

Seminario Conciliar de Barcelona (calle de la Diputació, 231): from Thursday 4 to Saturday 6.

Torre de la Sagrera (calle de Berenguer de Palou, 64-66): from Friday 5 to Saturday 6.

Tradicionàrius (travesía de Sant Antoni): Sunday 7.

Corpus Eve: the festival is announced through dance

On 6 June, the eve of Corpus will herald the arrival of the great celebration with a peal of bells and a grand street parade featuring the city's Gegants, Capgrossos and festive figures. Setting off from different points, they will converge on the Cathedral to share dancing, panoli and tradition.

The procession: the people's grand parade

On Sunday 7 June, the central event of Corpus will take place: the procession. Declared intangible heritage, it will pass through the heart of Barcelona with its full popular retinue: giants, bestiary figures, dances, music, and symbolic and religious elements. An all-encompassing spectacle evoking the community spirit that has characterised this celebration for centuries.

Ruta dels Gremis: remembering collective work

Corpus was not only a religious festival. For centuries, it was an expression of the social order. The guilds, as pillars of working and community life, paraded to assert their place in society. This year, that memory is being revived with the Ruta dels Gremis, an invitation to rediscover Barcelona's history through work and collective organisation.

The Corpus celebration is an open invitation to immerse yourself in Barcelona's living history, where every corner and every event offer the chance to appreciate how art, culture and community intertwine in a celebration that both looks back and looks towards the future of Barcelona's traditions.