Over the last years, Halloween has been gaining popularity in cities and entire countries which have its own traditions. In the case of Barcelona, for example, the traditional festivity is the ‘castañada’. During these dates, do not miss the chance to discover these cultures with City Tour Worldwide.
Halloween, even though it has already been consolidated in our country, is an ancient traditional Celtic festival especially celebrated in English-speaking countries on the eve of All Saints’ Day. As it is said, in the past, people opened flames at the mountains in order to get rid of evil spirits and dressed up as witches and demons to scare the souls of the dead. In the last few years, this festival has been spread around the world and nowadays lives together with the own traditions of each culture.
In Barcelona and throughout Catalonia, the traditional festival is the ‘castañada’, an event in which families traditionally met on the eve of All Saints’ Day to pray for the dead while eating chestnuts, sweet potatoes and ‘panellets’ and drinking ‘moscatel’ –sweet wine.
Today, this celebration is not intimate anymore and has become a festivity celebrated with family or friends. Even schools, city halls and associations organise ‘la castañada’ for young and old.
If you want to eat just roasted chestnuts or sweet potatoes, you will find around the streets of Barcelona stands where you will be able to buy them. Take the Barcelona City Tour Hop-On Hop-Off service and enjoy these sweets. You will find stands in Ciutat Vella (Ronda de Sant Antoni, Pla de la Boqueria, La Rambla, etc., hopping off the bus at the stop 1 of the West Route), in the Eixample (Pau Claris and Av. de Paral·lel, stops 19 and 5 of the West Route), at Plaça de Sants (stop 13 of the West Route too) and at many other points.
Furthermore, visit any bakery and discover the wide range of ‘panellets’ of different flavours: the original ones, with coconut, pine nuts, almonds, coffee, chocolate…
Do not miss the chance to taste these Catalan sweets during your visit with the official tourist bus of the city.
