During this Christmas season, when people travel more inside the city, particularly in shopping areas and the city centre, we recommend that you travel on foot, by bicycle and by public transport in order to avoid traffic congestion and reduce pollution.

Furthermore, during this period in which preventive measures to slow down the spread of Covid-19 will continue to apply, Barcelona City Council is putting special mechanisms in place to prevent overcrowding and traffic jams.

Public transport measures

Once again, the metro is the best option for anyone wishing to avoid the traffic congestion associated with the Christmas period. The service will operate every day as it has been doing until now, from 5 am to midnight, except on Christmas Eve (24 December), when the service will end at 11 pm.

On New Year’s Eve (Thursday, 31 December), exceptionally and in accordance with the measures established by the health authorities, the metro’s hours of operation will be extended until 1 am.

In addition, on Christmas Eve (Thursday, 24 December), Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) buses will start their last routes at 10 pm. All other services will continue to operate with their current schedules. You can check these on the TMB website.

Special rules for pedestrian areas

Barcelona City Council has drawn up a system for the regulation of pedestrian flows at ​Avinguda del Portal de l’Àngel and its surrounding area in case it becomes necessary to apply it in order to avoid overcrowding in the area.

This system involves establishing on this street a one-way system for pedestrians in a mountain-to-sea direction. Pedestrians entering this street from any of its perpendicular streets will have to walk towards the sea.

It will not be possible to enter Portal d’Àngel from Plaça Cucurulla or Plaça Nova. A one-way pedestrian system in the Besòs-to-Llobregat direction will similarly be established on Carrer de Portaferrisa.

The one-way systems will also affect customers leaving establishments and walking onto the public highway. For this reason, traders’ associations and entities, commercial premises, public car parks and other affected organisations are collaborating in relation to this system. If these measures are implemented, each establishment’s security staff will be asked to assist where necessary.

In the specific case of the Santa Llúcia Fair, its protocol already stipulates that the organisers are responsible for access control, capacity, one-way lanes, social distancing, face mask use, etc.