On 23 April Catalonia takes to the streets to buy books and roses. It is not a fair: it is a whole day on which the city becomes an open-air bookshop, with authors signing on every corner.
Falls on a Friday
Source: barcelona.cat, checked on 5 September 2026.
Updated: September 2026
Sant Jordi is the festival of the book and the rose: tradition says you give a rose and a book, and the result is the biggest book-selling day of the year in Catalonia. Thousands of bookshop and publisher stalls take over La Rambla, Passeig de Gràcia, Rambla de Catalunya and the main streets of every neighbourhood and every town.
The other tradition is the signings: the authors of the moment tour the stalls all day and the queues for the most popular wrap around the block. Publishers post signing schedules a few days ahead; tracking down a specific author is half a sport.
Log what you buy, your progress and the quotes you underline. Free, no account needed to start.
Start for freeBy mid afternoon the centre is impassable. Early morning the stalls are up and there is room; at dusk it breathes again.
Gràcia, Sant Andreu, Sants or Poblenou have their own stalls, with the same new releases and without the crush of the centre.
Each publisher posts its signing schedule. If you want someone specific, arrive early: queues are long.
Sant Jordi 2027 runs 23 Apr 2027 at Calles y plazas de Barcelona, Barcelona.
At Calles y plazas de Barcelona, Barcelona.
Yes, admission is free.
It is not an official holiday in Catalonia (people work), but the city lives the day on the street and many head out at lunchtime or in the afternoon.
Yes: like at book fairs, Sant Jordi is one of the exceptions to fixed book prices and stalls apply a 10% discount.