In Barcelona, culture does not fade away at nightfall. The slight drop in temperature that occurs at the end of summer days —if heat waves allow it— is embraced by museums, cinemas, theaters, and other facilities in the Catalan capital, which take advantage of the thermal respite to extend many of their activities.
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The Museu d’Història de Barcelona recently presented Vespres amb Història, urban and literary routes through the city and guided visits in the different museum spaces that start as dusk approaches. The proposal integrates the Born de nit itineraries, which this year will cover a wide range of themes. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from July to September, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., one can delve into the witch hunts that criminalized hundreds of women during the modern era through night walks, or into Barcelona’s colonial memory, covering everything from 1700s consumption fashions to the influence of the indianos in the city’s construction.
Outdoor cinema sessions at the CCCB, Montjuïc Castle, the beach, Canòdrom, or the Can Framis museum
The terrace of the Museu d’Història de Catalunya is another space that fills with cultural buzz when the light dims. Besides the 1881 per Sagardi restaurant, since the beginning of the month it has hosted the Nits d’Estiu, turning its rooftop into a concert hall with privileged views of the port. There are still tickets available for performances by Maria Hein (7/22), with songs ranging from urban impulses to more pop coordinates, and Gregotechno (7/29), the project of Marc Vilajuana and Alejandro Narés combining Gregorian chant and techno.
The CaixaForum boasts the Nits d’Estiu on Wednesdays in July, enriching Barcelona’s nighttime offerings with plans for all audiences. On the 21st, the day will be dedicated to magic, with proposals including illusionism and object theater. These will unfold in different museum spaces from 6:30 p.m., when the evening will open with the Gumbo Jazz Band, but the highlight will be at the Auditorium at 9 p.m. with the show Aluzina, by magician Nacho Diago. Illusionists such as Gran Cassanyes, Maga Gisell, Pere Rafart, and Naikari la Maga will also attend, and the performance Els banyistes by Clédat & Petitpierre can be witnessed.
The night of July 29, on the other hand, will be devoted to rock & roll, featuring La Perra Blanco, Doc & the Mads, Mario Cobo, and the proposal led by Velvet Candles, with a cappella vocal harmonies. At 7 p.m., CaixaForum will also schedule guided tours of the old Casaramona textile factory, ending on its modernist rooftop. Meanwhile, biodiversity will bloom on August 6 in every corner of CosmoCaixa through games, challenges, cinema, and monologues as part of the Cosmonits. Children will be able to explore fossils, insects, or microscopic worlds in various workshops, and for adults, there will be documentary film screenings and scientific talks.
Macba is not far behind and also invites visitors to its facilities at the end of the day. Since June, it has been possible to visit for free on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 6 to 8 p.m. with the Vespres Macba. The CCCB’s Pati de les Dones will, in turn, host its open-air cinema Gandules again. The journalist specialized in fantastic genre Desirée de Fez has designed a program complementing the exhibition El culto a la belleza, with titles such as The Neon Demon (7/28) or Helter Skelter (7/29), which will be screened at 10 p.m.
Cinema and night go very well together, both in classic theaters and in the open-air initiatives that proliferate in the summer months. One of the most popular is Sala Montjuïc, which this year returns to the Santa Eulàlia moat of Montjuïc Castle, with sessions preceded by a concert until August 5, although tickets sell out fast. In Barcelona, Sitges, and Arenys de Mar, the Cinema Lliure a la Platja is held, which is free but requires arriving early to get a spot. Another Barcelona venue with its own cycle is Canòdrom, which on Fridays in July turns its stands into seats, with a well-stocked lineup of critical thought through films like Entre las higueras (7/17) or Ghost in the Shell (7/24). Apolo joins the cinema fever with CineClub 113, which transforms La (3) into an open-air theater on Mondays in July and August. Here the offer focuses on musical documentaries like La Salsa Vive (7/20) or En La Caliente (7/26). There is also the Mecal Air festival, which at the Can Framis museum pays tribute to short films every Friday in July and August.
Similarly, screens have proliferated in the courtyards of shopping centers. L’illa Diagonal programs box office hits like Hamnet (7/23) or Calle Málaga (7/30) every Thursday in July in its gardens, with tickets for 4.50 euros. Likewise, the Finestrelles in Esplugues de Llobregat offers open-air cinema with free screenings every Saturday until September. These proposals devoted to the seventh art add to the Pantalla Pavelló cycle at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, or Pantalla Barcelona Districte Cultural, with 45 free sessions in 13 venues spread across the city’s ten districts.
This nighttime programming even reaches monuments like La Pedrera, which allows visitors to tour its spaces under moonlight with La Pedrera Night Experience, or attend concerts by emerging voices from the city’s main music schools with the Talents Jazz festival, which ends on July 31. More unique buildings that have set out to keep Barcelonans awake with culture are Palau Güell, which opens its rooftop to performances by students from the Taller de Músics with Les nits del Palau, or Casa Batlló, which offers night tours and live music of multiple genres with its Noches Mágicas. A magic that extends to the free visits organized through its cloister –until September– by the Pedralbes Monastery, with L’hora màgica on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., for its 700th anniversary.
At the Barcelona Classic Festival Nights, the music of Hans Zimmer, James Horner, and John Williams, authors of the soundtracks of Pirates of the Caribbean or Indiana Jones; or Ennio Morricone, behind the scores of Casablanca, will star in the upcoming sessions at the Palau de la Música. Additionally, one can attend the last performance of the Juliol a la Fresca festival at the Ateneu Barcelonès. It is Zafira, which on July 21 at 8 p.m. will embark on a journey through the sound traditions of Greece, Pontus, and Asia Minor.
There is also plenty of nighttime theater. Terrats en Cultura, for example, allows access all July to rooftops generally not open to the public and, at the same time, to have a great time attending a play or monologue. Meanwhile, the Terrassa’t cycle, based at the Centre Cívic Casa Groga, will close on July 23 at 8 p.m. with the tap dance and circus show Davant el dubte, balla!, by the company Dj Capuzzi & Señorita X. Parking Shakespeare also returns to the Estació del Nord park with a version of Hamlet until August 3. These plans add to the extensive programming of the Grec Festival.
Finally, you can go to the Fòrum and look up at the sky today at 10 p.m. to see the DroneArt Show: Harry Potter, with more than 1,200 drones dancing to the soundtrack of the most successful young wizards saga. Of course, with a ticket. A proposal that completes the musical offer of these months, with festivals ranging from Barts at Poble Espanyol to Les Nits Occident, the Share Festival, or the Brunch, illuminating Barcelona’s night with culture.
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