Marco Crisciotti Barcelona celebrates La Mercè 2025 with concerts, parades, and fireworks. The highlight: 20,000 free tickets to the Sagrada Família, Gaudí’s iconic unfinished basilica.
From September 23 to 28, 2025, Barcelona once again transforms into an open-air celebration for La Mercè, the city’s beloved annual festival. It’s a week when music floods the streets, fire and light take over the night sky, and traditions both ancient and playful claim center stage. Yet among all the spectacles, one opportunity stands out: the Sagrada Família is giving away 20,000 free tickets to visit Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece.
How to get free entry to the sagrada família
The free visits are scheduled between September 19 and 24 (except on the 22nd and 23rd). Simply showing up won’t do—tickets are distributed through a lottery. Anyone interested must register on the basilica’s official website before September 14 at 9 p.m., selecting a preferred day and time slot. The draw takes place on September 15, and winners receive confirmation by email.
The rules are straightforward. One entry per person. The registration form is available only in Catalan or Spanish. The free pass does not include access to the towers or guided tours, nor can it be combined with the purchase of regular tickets. Still, those who win will be free to wander through the vast nave, step into the Chapel of the Assumption, and admire the three-meter-tall (almost 10 feet) sculpture of the Wedding at Cana. Each ticket also comes with a complimentary digital audio guide.
Considering that the Sagrada Família is almost always crowded and that paid tickets—normally priced around $30 (€28)—sell out fast, this feels like an extraordinary gift to locals and visitors alike.
The heartbeat of La Mercè
Of course, La Mercè is much more than the basilica. Every corner of the city becomes a stage. The festivities begin with the Pregó, an opening speech delivered from the balcony of City Hall. Then come the correfoc, where “devils” and fire-breathing dragons race through the streets in a wild dance of sparks. The castellers build dizzying human towers that seem to defy gravity, while papier-mâché giants parade to the rhythm of drums and folk dances.
In parks and up on Montjuïc, street performers and circus artists fill the air with laughter and acrobatics. Music, meanwhile, is everywhere. The BAM Festival brings indie and world sounds, while Mercè’s free concerts ensure that from plazas to boulevards, the soundtrack of Barcelona never pauses.
A grand finale of fire and water
The festival reaches its climax on September 28 with the piromusical, a dazzling combination of fireworks, light, and water at the Magic Fountain. This year carries added emotion: after two years of silence, the fountain roars back to life, reclaiming its role as the closing heartbeat of the celebration.
For one week, Barcelona never sleeps—a city suspended between tradition and spectacle, between faith and revelry. And this year, Gaudí’s temple opens its doors in gratitude, as if to remind everyone that even the grandest works are, at their core, meant to be shared.
