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If you happen to visit Barcelona during Easter then you will enjoy a Spanish version of Easter. Easter week in Barcelona is called 'Semana Santa' meaning holy week. The holy week begins from Palm Sunday known as Domingo de Ramos in Spain. This year the Palm Sunday falls on 1st April 2012 and Good Friday falls on 6th April.

The holy week will end on 8th April is called Lunes de Pascua or Dilluns de Pasqua (Easter Monday). Easter holiday is an interesting and cultural period in Barcelona due to the Christian traditions that dictate Easter should be adhered to and celebrated. Locals living in Barcelona usually leave the city because their families live in nearby towns and villages. Researchers have estimated that around 600,000 people leave the city, no wonder this mass exodus is called operation "Salida". It means operation exit.

Easter will come with a warm and gentle spring, a season which tourists can immensely enjoy during the parade. Many Easter-related parades are held in Barcelona. Since it is a holiday, be prepared to see a huge crowd when waiting for the parade. These parades are organized by the "Cofradias", meaning brotherhood of lay people. These are men and women blessed especially by the church to organize the processions. The Easter parade is called "Pasos", it means steps or passage. One of the largest and oldest procession takes place in the community of Hospitalet de Llobregat (metro blue 15). It can be dated back to 1977 and plenty of people participate in the procession annually. But I recommend assisting to the processions in Barrio Gotico, near Barcelona Cathedral on Viernes Santo, Holy Friday.

Easter is also the perfect time to enjoy some of the local food. Christians don't eat any meat on Good Friday, which is why seafood is eaten more this time around. The most popular seafood during Good Friday is Cod. If seafood is not your thing then you can wait till Monday to enjoy the variety of dessert made especially for Easter. You can stop by bakeries and chocolates shops that will have all the Easter treats like Mones, Bunyels, Torrijas, Rosca de Pascua, Pestinos and who could forget the Mona de Pascua.

The last dish is a unique Catalonian culinary tradition. It is a cocoa cake with chocolate topping, in the form of a big doughnut. Originally the empty space in the donuts was used to fill boiled eggs but now a variety of other decorations are used. This is why Easter in the capital of Spain is going to be an interesting one because you will get to see and enjoy Spanish tradition and food.

Looking for accommodation during your easter holidays?

Just click here to get the best Barcelona accommodation deals and apartments Barcelona. Enjoy your holidays!

MNAC, short for the National Art Museum of Catalonia, is one of Barcelona's most celebrated art galleries as it is home to the biggest collection of Catalan art in the world. Located in the Palau Nacional in Montjuic Hills, it was inaugurated in 1990. Originally used as a pavilion for the World Fair hosted by Barcelona in 1929, it has to be closed for renovations and was reopened in 1997.

If you are an art enthusiast, at National Art Museum of Catalonia, you will find art exhibited at its best. From the 11th century in the form of paintings, the articles displayed here are simply outstanding. You can also enjoy the huge assortment of ivory or wood sculptures featured here all the way from the Gothic era to the contemporary art. Art faced many transformations during this time, from neoclassicism to realism and finally modernism.

Housing the biggest collection of frescoes filling the rooms, the National Art Museum of Catalonia safeguards valuables from the vestibules of 29 churches so as to protect them from any damage. In addition, in the National Art Museum of Catalonia, you will also find smaller yet spectacular collections of Barouque and Renaissance.

If you have been into coin collection since your childhood, you are in for a big surprise. National Art Museum of Catalonia has a numismatics section that includes a collection of 134000 coins, medals and paper money with some as old as 6 century BC. Not only are these items antique, they are associated with some of the most momentous moments in history.

Enlightening you on all types of art, National Art Museum of Catalonia has sections that are individually dedicated to drawings, prints, posters and photography. The notables of the museum also include the huge paintings, panel paintings, carvings, metal and enamel works that dates back to 13th century.

Displayed in the National Art Museum of Catalonia are the eccentric fusions of figurative arts and their typologies and techniques that never fail to catch the eyes of the tourists. The National Art Museum of Catalonia also shows the evolution of the 'Virgin Mary' in European structure.

Not just dedicated to ancient art, here you will also find Catalan arts from the more recent 19th and 20th century. You will also find out about the different tendencies and art movements that were initiated in different points in time for various purposes.
For those who wish to learn more about the Catalan art, there is a library and archive and this National Art Museum of Catalonia also holds temporary exhibitions in order to spread mass awareness about the art form. In short, a trip to National Art Museum of Catalonia can be the experience of a lifetime for anyone.

Where to stay?

I recommend to book online accommodation Barcelona in advance.

How to arrive:
The MNAC is located in front of Plaça Espanya: Metro Red Line 1 and Green L3
• Buses: Bus Parc de Montjuïc (Av. de Maria Cristina-MNAC)
50 (Av. De l'Estadi/Piscines Picornell)
13 (Av. Marquès de Comillas/Poble Espanyol)
55 (Museu MNAC/Museu Etnològic)
37, 57 y 157 (Pl. Esanya-Av. Paral•lel)
fins a Pl. d'Espanya 9, 27, 30, 37, 56,57, 65, 79, 109, 157, 165
• Bus Turístic MNAC
• FGCL8, S33, S4, S8, R5, R6 (Espanya Station)