BabaMap guide · Barcelona
From 10 to 20 September 2026, Poblenou holds one of Barcelona’s longest neighbourhood festivals: eleven days of parades, giants, castellers, correfoc and activities for all ages, with Rambla del Poblenou as its spine. Here are all the children’s and family activities in the programme, sorted by day and time.
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It is an eleven-day festival with over a century and a half of history, and it shows in the format: there is no single stage but a festival spread between Rambla del Poblenou, the neighbourhood squares and the associations’ own venues. Most of the family programme is packed into the two weekends; midweek the pace drops and what remains are the associations’ activities, smaller and calmer.
🎪 Popular Catalan culture is the thread running through it: parades, giant figures, a castellers gathering, dawn drum rounds and a correfoc. If you are going with children who have never seen giants or human towers, this is one of the festivals where you see them best, because they come down the street and you do not have to find a spot inside a venue.
See the Festa Major del Poblenou on the mapNearly half the children’s programme falls on two days. Saturday the 12th is the fullest of the whole festival: the Lloro del 36 parade sets off at 11 am from the Rambla roundabout, the plastic-arts morning starts at the same time, and at 11.30 am the children’s hot chocolate in Parc del Centre runs straight into Arcàdia’s family concert at midday. At the same hour, water games at the Flor de Maig. In the afternoon, La Xemeneia’s children’s session (4 pm), clowns and puppets with 3/4 de Quinze (6 pm) and the opening-speech parade (6.30 pm). Saturday the 19th is the other one: workshops and circus at 11 am in the courtyard at Rambla 83, water inflatables at 4 pm, and El Batec del Taulat, which lines up and parades at 5 pm and erupts at 7.30 pm.
🎪 Both Saturdays overlap around midday: if you are with children who tire easily, pick one square and stay there. Parc del Centre del Poblenou holds the hot chocolate, the concert and the workshops without moving, and it has shade and soft ground.
The September sun still bites, and the festival plans for it three times. Two are free and need no booking: the Flor de Maig water games on Saturday the 12th, 12 to 2 pm during the musical vermouth, and the Barri del Parc ones on Thursday the 17th, 5.30 to 7 pm in the Jardins de la Carretera Antiga de Mataró. The third is the only paid item in the whole children’s programme and the only one you must book.
💬 It runs in two time slots and places sell out, so book as soon as they open: it is the most in-demand activity in the programme. Swimsuit on before you leave, flip-flops, towel and a full change of clothes, and sunscreen even in the afternoon. If your child cannot swim yet, you go in with them.
ℹ️ 📍 Plaça de Josep Maria Huertas Claveria. Saturday the 19th, 4 to 7 pm, in two slots. Advance booking essential at canfelipa.com; limited places.
See placeThe last day opens with the most eye-catching thing for children: the 45th Poblenou Giants’ Gathering lines up at 10 am at Can Saladrigas and sets off in procession at 11.30 am. It is the morning plan, you can join it along the way, and there is no need to be there from the start. In the afternoon, clowns and hot chocolate in Plaça de Sant Bernat Calbó (6 pm), and at 8.30 pm the closing parade before the fireworks.
See Can Saladrigas on the map🗺️ There is an hour and a half between the closing parade and the fireworks: that is the window for an early dinner if you want to reach the beach while there is still space.
The two big set pieces both involve fire, and they are very different plans. The correfoc is a street event, with devils, sparks and firecrackers right along the route: intense, loud and not for every child. The closing fireworks go up by the sea, on the seafront promenade, and can be watched from a distance and from the sand: the easiest one to enjoy with small children, though it falls late.
🎪 For the correfoc: long-sleeved cotton clothing, a hat, closed shoes and ear protection if your child is noise-sensitive. With the youngest, watching from a clear corner works better than joining the route. For the closing fireworks, bring a blanket or towel to sit on the sand and arrive early: the beach fills up.
🗺️ Exact times and routes are in the programme above and on the map in the app: that is where last-minute changes appear first.
Poblenou is flat with wide streets, which makes it one of the easiest neighbourhood festivals in Barcelona to do with a buggy. The spine is Rambla del Poblenou, running from Gran Via down to the sea: almost everything that happens outdoors happens on it or a block or two away. The neighbourhood squares and the associations’ venues take care of the rest, and from any of them the beach is a short walk.
Eleven days leave room to choose, and the most useful choice is weekday or weekend. The two weekends hold the big events — parades, castellers, correfoc, the closing fireworks — and the crowds with them: with little ones, noise and crowding are the real factor. Midweek you get the associations’ activities: workshops, storytelling, entertainment, smaller and at more reasonable hours if bedtime matters.
Mum to mum: the beach is this festival’s ace. Bogatell and Mar Bella sit at the bottom of the Rambla, so you can string a morning on the sand together with an afternoon parade without taking any transport. To get there, metro L4 (Poblenou and Llacuna) or the tram along Diagonal. In September the midday sun still bites: water, a hat and sunscreen, and for street activities in the afternoon, expect little shade.
From 10 to 20 September 2026, in the Poblenou neighbourhood (Sant Martí, Barcelona). Eleven days spread across two weekends, with the closing fireworks by the sea on the final Sunday.
Everything that happens on the street — parades, giants, castellers, correfoc, the fireworks — is free. Some activities inside the associations’ venues (theatre, cinema, dances) charge admission; in the programme above each activity carries its price or a free label.
It depends on age. With children who cope with noise and crowds, the weekends bring the showiest events: giant parades, the castellers gathering and the closing fireworks. With younger or noise-sensitive children, weekday afternoons are far easier: those are the associations’ activities, in small spaces and at earlier hours.
Yes, but come prepared: long-sleeved cotton clothing, a hat, closed shoes and ear protection if your child is noise-sensitive. There are sparks and firecrackers right along the route, so with the youngest it is better to watch from a clear corner than to join in. Check the programme above for the separate children’s correfoc, which is gentler.
By metro, line L4: the Poblenou and Llacuna stops leave you on Rambla del Poblenou or a block away. The tram along Diagonal and several bus lines also serve it. From the Rambla, Bogatell beach is less than a ten-minute walk.
Want to see where each Festa Major del Poblenou activity lands?
Open the Festa Major map