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Three Kings in Barcelona 2027: the Cavalcada de Reis and the tortell

Last updated 26 October 2026

pere prlpz / CC BY-SA

Three Kings in Barcelona runs from Tuesday 5 January 2027 to Wednesday 6 January 2027. The Kings reach Port Vell by boat, travel through the city in a parade that evening and deliver the presents during the night. The tortell follows.

What it is

A float in the Cavalcada de Reis in Barcelona
Cavalcada Reis Barcelona 2016 - 11. Jordiferrer / CC BY-SA

During the Christmas period in Catalonia, the principal gifts are traditionally brought not by Father Christmas but by the Three Kings, Melcior, Gaspar and Baltasar, who turn up on the eve of the Epiphany. Children send them letters in the preceding weeks, and that night they put out water and food for the camels. Well-behaved children discover presents the following morning. Those who have misbehaved are supposed, in theory, to receive coal, though in practice it is a sweet fashioned to resemble it.

Barcelona greets them with the Cavalcada de Reis. The city's earliest cavalcades go back to the late eighteenth century, while the contemporary parade, staged by the Ajuntament, has taken place annually since 1942. From the 1960s onwards the Kings have come in by sea, disembarking at Port Vell, where the mayor receives them and gives them the keys to the city.

The Cavalcada

The parade starts in the evening next to the Parc de la Ciutadella and takes in roughly five kilometres of broad central streets. In recent years its route has run along the waterfront on Passeig de Colom, before turning up the Avinguda del Paral·lel and past the Mercat de Sant Antoni, ending at Plaça d'Espanya and the Font Màgica of Montjuïc. Floats, music and pages handing out sweets to spectators fill the way. The route and timings are made public annually, and they will be added to this page once released.

A number of neighbourhoods stage their own cavalcades, including Gràcia, Sants with Les Corts, Horta and Sant Andreu. These are more relaxed than the city centre for those with young children.

The tortell de Reis

The centrepiece of the day is the tortell, a ring-shaped sweet pastry that is frequently filled with marzipan or cream and decorated with candied fruit. Inside it lurk two items: a tiny figurine and a dried bean. The person who discovers the figurine becomes king or queen of the table, while whoever gets the bean foots the bill for the tortell. Each year, Barcelona's pastry shops vie to produce the finest one.

Where it is

The Kings land at the Portal de la Pau, beneath the Columbus monument, and the procession makes its way across the city centre, from the Ciutadella to Plaça d'Espanya and on to Montjuïc. A number of neighbourhoods also stage their own smaller cavalcades.

Metro: Drassanes (L3) for the arrival at the Portal de la Pau, Paral·lel (L2, L3) and Espanya (L1, L3) along the route.

What to plan around

Reis
Arrival of the KingsTo confirmTuesday 5th January 2027, afternoon; time not yet announced (16:30 in 2025 and 2026)Portal de la Pau, Port VellThe Kings come ashore, and the mayor presents them with the keys to the city.
Jordiferrer / CC BY-SA
Cavalcada de ReisTo confirmTuesday 5th January 2027, evening; route and time not yet announced (it set off at 18:00 in 2026)From the Ciutadella to Plaça d'Espanya and Montjuïc in 2026Along roughly five kilometres of the city centre, floats and music fill the route, with sweets thrown out to the crowds.
Reis
Neighbourhood cavalcadesTo confirmAround 5th January 2027, depending on the barri; not yet announcedGràcia, Sants and Les Corts, Horta, Sant Andreu and othersNeighbourhood processions are on a smaller scale and simpler to manage with young children.
Enric / CC BY-SA
Fira de Reis on the Gran ViaTo confirmThrough the run-up to the Kings; 2026-27 dates not yet publishedGran Via de les Corts CatalanesA sprawling street market of toys, sweets and presents in the countdown to the Three Kings.
Jpbazard Jean-Pierre Bazard / CC BY-SA
Tortell de ReisWednesday 6th January 2027Every pastry shop in the cityThe ring-shaped cake of the day, containing a hidden figurine and a dried bean.

In 71 days. Three Kings in Barcelona opens on Tuesday 5 January 2027 and runs to Wednesday 6 January 2027.

Everything else on

Gigs, performances and activities for all ages taking place over these two days are listed in our searchable events directory as and when organisers submit them, with the listing refreshed twice daily. Browse every event over these two days.

Practical notes

Arrive early to secure a place. The Cavalcada attracts one of the largest crowds of the year, with families staking out positions at the front of the barriers long before the floats appear.

Alternatively, follow it on television. In recent years the city broadcaster betevé has shown the arrival and the parade live.

Road closures. Streets on the route are shut to traffic and bus services are diverted, making the metro the simplest option for getting there.

The day of the Kings is a public holiday. With most shops shut, buy the tortell a day ahead. Plenty of pastry shops accept advance orders.

Where to check the programme

Programmes are published late and change. These are the sources we track, and we re-check them twice a day.

The rest of the calendar

Still to come

Already held this year

The complete festa majors guide has the full 2026 calendar, and What's On in Barcelona covers everything else in the city this week.

Event data: Barcelona City Council (Open Data BCN, CC BY 4.0) and Generalitat de Catalunya (Departament de Cultura), with festival dates confirmed against the organisers. Listings are checked for live, relevant links. Last updated 26 October 2026.

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