# La Mercè long weekend in Barcelona: stay for the 24 September festival or escape by train Eight getaways for La Mercè: three plans to enjoy the main festival in the city and five outings, almost all by train, to places where 24 September is an ordinary day. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/barcelona/getaways/merce-long-weekend · Revisado: 2026-11-13 Origen: Barcelona - [Two nights at the Parador de Cardona, inside the castle, with the Salt Mountain and Solsona](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/cardona/itineraries/two-nights-inside-the-castle-cardona.md) (2 nights, Cardona): On 24 September it is a holiday only in Barcelona, so in Cardona it is just another day and the castle has its usual visitors. If the getaway falls on a Monday, expect the castle and the Salt Mountain to be closed on Mondays that are not holidays there. - [Two nights at the Cava & Hotel Mastinell, in Vilafranca, with the cava cellars of Sant Sadurní by train](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/penedes/itineraries/two-nights-in-a-cava-winery-by-train-penedes.md) (2 nights, Penedès): At the end of September the Penedès harvest is finishing its last weeks and the vines of the Camí del Vi are still laden. You get there on the direct R4, and in the Penedès the 24th is a working day: the cellars open on normal hours. - [A ring made by you, grill and Park Güell](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/barcelona/itineraries/bronze-ring-and-park-guell.md) (Day itinerary, Barcelona): For those staying for the festival: an indoor workshop in Gràcia, away from the centre, while in Sant Jaume they raise castells. Park Güell entry is timed and on the days of La Mercè it sells out sooner: buy it in good time. - [Sunset sail and rice at Can Solé](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/barcelona/itineraries/sunset-sail-and-rice-dinner-barcelona.md) (Day itinerary, Barcelona): At the end of September the sun sets around half past seven, so the sailing boat leaves in the late afternoon and the Can Solé rice arrives at a normal hour. Seeing the city in festival from the water is worth the booking; Can Solé is closed on Mondays. - [Cookie workshop and tablao with children](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/barcelona/itineraries/chocolate-cookies-and-flamenco.md) (Day itinerary, Barcelona): The Chocolate Museum is in the Born, a walk from the Plaça de Sant Jaume, where on the 24th the city's castells teams perform. Workshop in the afternoon and an early tablao: dinner at 18:00, with the show at 19:15, leaves time for the evening festival. - [Sitges: seafront promenade and rice](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/sitges/itineraries/sitges-promenade-and-rice.md) (Day itinerary, Sitges): Sitges celebrates Santa Tecla on 23 September, its smaller main festival, with giants, castells and children in the leading role. The R2 Sud drops you there the day before La Mercè; the village museums are closed on Mondays. - [Codorníu: cellars by train and lunch in the tower](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/penedes/itineraries/codorniu-cava-cellars-by-train-sant-sadurni.md) (Day itinerary, Penedès): The R4 train gets you out of the festival in fifty minutes, and in Sant Sadurní the 24th is a working day, with the cellars in full activity after the harvest. The underground train tour is indoors: it works if it rains too, which at the end of September it does. - [Montserrat: cable car and Sant Jeroni](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/montserrat/itineraries/montserrat-cable-car-and-sant-jeroni-from-manresa.md) (Day itinerary, Montserrat): At the end of September temperatures drop and the climb to Sant Jeroni becomes pleasant again. You get there without a car: R5 from Plaça d'Espanya to the Aeri station. If you want to hear the Escolania, check its calendar first: it does not sing on Saturdays or during its holidays. ## A festival that belongs only to Barcelona La Mercè is Barcelona's main festival and 24 September is a local holiday, in the city only. That is what makes this long weekend different: you have the day off, but in Sitges, the Penedès or Cardona it is a working day. Wineries and museums keep their usual hours and there are no more people than on any other day. If you add an adjoining weekend you get three or four days; if the 24th falls midweek, it is a single day for a plan nearby or for staying for the festival. ## Staying for the festival During La Mercè the city fills with free events: concerts in squares and parks, giants, correfocs and, on the last day, the piromusical, which changes venue from year to year. At midday on the 24th Barcelona's castells teams raise human towers in the square of Sant Jaume, in front of the Town Hall and the Generalitat. Arrive early if you want to see anything: the square fills well before the first tower. Each year's programme is published on the council's website. Between events, there are plans that fit. A ring-making workshop in Gràcia fills a morning away from the crowds. With children, the cookie workshop at the Chocolate Museum is ten minutes from Sant Jaume and the flamenco tablao has an early show. At dusk, a sailing boat from the Port Olímpic shows you the city from the sea. ## Getting out without touching the car If the festival is not for you, Barcelona has a network of trains that takes you out in under an hour. The R2 Sud goes to Sitges, which the day before, on the 23rd, celebrates Santa Tecla, its smaller main festival. The R4 takes you to Sant Sadurní and Vilafranca, in the heart of the Penedès. The Ferrocarrils R5 leaves Plaça d'Espanya for Montserrat and stops at the foot of the Aeri. With two nights, the Mastinell hotel, inside a winery, can be done entirely without a car. ## Grape harvest and first rains The end of September is the close of the grape harvest in the Penedès: there are still grapes in the vineyards and the harvest work shows in the cellars. It is also the time when the first autumn storms return, which in Barcelona can be strong and short. Have a plan under cover: the Codorníu cellars are toured by train underground, and the Salt Mountain at Cardona is a mine gallery. ## Limited places in the city and in the cellars In the city, Park Güell has timed entry, the sailing boat eleven places and the tablao fixed shows. In the Penedès, Mastinell is small and cellar visits go in timed groups. The Cardona Parador fills its Saturdays early; if there is no room, the getaway works midweek. And for Montserrat, buy the Aeri ticket beforehand or the combined one with the train, which is sold online. ## Getting around on those days During La Mercè there are streets closed in the centre, especially around Sant Jaume and the concert stages. The metro and Rodalies are the way to get around, and on the night of the correfoc it is best to avoid the car in Ciutat Vella. If you are leaving by car, set off the evening before, before the closures begin. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### What is on in Barcelona on 24 September? It is the day of La Mercè, a local holiday in the city. At midday Barcelona's castells teams perform in the Plaça de Sant Jaume, and in the days around it there are concerts, correfocs and the piromusical. ### Is it a holiday outside Barcelona? No. Only in the city. In Sitges, the Penedès, Montserrat or Cardona it is a working day, with wineries and museums on their normal hours. ### Where can you go by train during La Mercè? To Sitges and Garraf on the R2 Sud, to Sant Sadurní and Vilafranca on the R4 and to Montserrat on the Ferrocarrils R5 as far as the Aeri. All are an hour or less away. ### What can you do with children during the festival? The castells at Sant Jaume and the giants, and in between a cookie workshop at the Chocolate Museum. To get out, the train through the Codorníu cellars, where under-eights go free.