VISITING

1. September 11th This is Catalunya's national day when, rather than celebrating a major victory from the past, they consider a resounding defeat. In 1714, Barcelona was besieged for over a year by troops loyal to the Spanish king Felipe V. Despite their best efforts, the citizens of the Catalan capital were finally defeated and this marked a significant turnaround in the fortunes of Catalunya, with its major institutions and language outlawed. As such, many Catalans use this day to reflect on the past and consider what future they want for their home. It's a public holiday here and you will likely see some Catalan cultural traditions played out on the streets such as castellers (human castles, where daring groups climb on each others' shoulders to see how high they can build a 'castle', always topped off by a small, amazingly courageous child).

2. Football season kicks off Considering that the FC Barcelona stadium is the most visited 'museum' in the city, it comes as no surprise that the start of the Spanish league at the end of August is greeted with much anticipation andexcitement here. If you've timed your visit to coincide with a home match for the mega football team and have any interest at all in the beautiful game, then you absolutely must go and see them play (ticket details on the official FC Barcelona website here in English). If there isn't a match on, you might have luck with basketball, ice hockey, roller hockey, handball or the second Barça team (Barça Atletic, which is where some of the first team players cut their teeth before being called up), as FC Barcelona has teams that play all of these sports as well. Otherwise, a trip to the 'Camp Nou Experience', including multimedia centre, gives you a chance to visit the changing rooms, to see the six cups that were famously won by the football team in the 2009-09 season and to spend your holiday pocket money in the huge store at the end of the tour.

3. La Mercè The end of summer is generally marked in Barcelona with this week-long festival commemorating the city's official patron saint, Mercè, whose saint's day is September 24th. Unfortunately, in recent years, the festivities have tended to be affected by rain at inconvenient times, but with lots going on, it doesn't necessarily dampen people's spirits for having a good time. There are free concerts, exhibitions, parades, traditional Catalan events and street stalls, all rounded off with a big firework display. To find out where and when things are happening this year, visit the website of the city council here.