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Sundays at noon (or thereabout) the locals have a tradition of gathering in the square in front of the Barcelona Cathedral for some traditional Catalan circle dancing called La Sardana.

A small orchestra gathers on the steps of the cathedral and the dancers form a circle in the square.


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There are instructors there to teach those who want to learn and the main circle gets quite large


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If you want to join in the dance you go into the circle and drop you coat and/or bags in the center of the circle and join hands.


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Soon you see smaller circles of dancers popping up.


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These appear to be family groups or groups of friends.

The music is traditional Catalan and very pleasant to listen to.

Initially the square was jammed with tourists, but after the first few dances many wandered off to see other things and the remaining dances were less crowded with onlookers.

Cynthia and I both tried our hands at learning the dance, but we couldn’t quite get it right…but it was sure fun to watch!

It’s a shame that the one time we visit Barcelona that the cathedral is being renovated. The scaffolding is not as picturesque as the front of a Gothic church would have been as a backdrop…

Here’s a fairly representative Youtube video

Barcelona – La Sardana
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