After a marathon twentieth edition – two weekends with an avalanche of concerts that left you dazed – Primavera Sound returns to the usual format of a weekend in the Parc del Fòrum, Primavera a la Ciutat apart, of course. It will take place from June 1-3, 2023 with headliners such as Depeche Mode, Blur, FKA Twigs, Kendrick Lamar, Skrillex, Halsey, Calvin Harris, Pet Shop Boys, New Order and Rosalia, among many, many more.

We have just celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Olympic Games and yes, that’s right, they changed many things, but this 2023 we also celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sónar, the festival that put Barcelona on the map of world electronic music, when many still thought it was a thing of four modern people. Can you believe it? Neither do we, because it cannot be that thirty years of avant-garde music have passed so quickly and because this means that we are already in that distant future that we were trying so hard to imagine.

And what does this future look like?

It’s been 20 years since The Libertines debuted with ‘Up the bracket’ and they are celebrating with a new album and headlining the Vida Festival, which returns to the Masia de Cabanyes in Vilanova i la Geltrú from June 29 to July 1, 2023. The Londoners, British representatives of the garage music revival of the early 2000s, lead a lineup that has already confirmed other international artists such as Suede, Whitney, Spiritualized, Julieta Venegas and Jorge Drexler, and also closer to home, such as Xoel López, La Casa Azul and Queralt Lahoz.

Fans of Catalan music will be able to see the sun rise again in the early morning of July 2 in Canet de Mar. This year there are several artists repeating from last year such as Stay Homas, Miquel del Roig and Suu, in addition to those who are already classics of the festival as Els Catarres and Buhos, and new additions such as Joan Dausà, The Tyets and 31 FAM.

Chris Isaak, Fito Páez, Zahara, Gustavo Santaolalla -who scored the soundtrack of ‘The last of us’- and Soft Cell are some of the artists confirmed by the former Jardins de Pedralbes festival, which in what would be its eleventh edition is now called Alma – Festival Jardins de Pedralbes after having to move to Poble Espanyol. From July 10 to July 27, 2023.

If you are thinking about summer and you are in the mood for sun, party and, above all, lots of music, this is your festival. For the fifth consecutive year, the Reggaeton Beach Festival returns to Barcelona and this year it will be held on July 22 and 23. The Fòrum Beach hosts a weekend party to enjoy the most popular singers in the urban music charts. At the moment, Ozuna, Sech, Eladio Carrión and Arcángel are confirmed.

The Porta Ferrada Festival, the dean of festivals in Catalonia and one of the classics of the summer on the Costa Brava, celebrates its 61st edition during the months of July and August in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, with great international and local figures such as Wilco, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, Xavier Rudd, Ludovico Einaudi, Blaumut, Niña Pastori and Jorge Drexler, among others.

The Mas i Mas Festival, the festival that fills Barcelona’s August nights with music, celebrates its twentieth anniversary with 162 performances in different venues such as the Jamboree, the Tarantos/Sala 2, the new Sala 3 of the Jamboree, and also at the Palau de la Música and Paral-lel 62. As always, jazz is a strong point of the festival, with names like Jerry Bergonzi, Bill Charlap, Michael Kanan, Jordi Rosssy and many others, but also highlights such as Hip Horns Brass Collective and the program in tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Sala Zeleste and Laietana music, as the tribute to guitarist Jordi Bonell that will serve as closing.

Daylight electronic music lovers are in luck. Brunch Electronik celebrates this year’s festival in three days from August 11 to 13, two in the Parc del Fòrum and one in the Joan Brossa Gardens in Montjuïc. And it does so with a luxury line-up: electronic heavyweights such as Jeff Mills, Marco Carola, Nina Kraviz, Carl Cox and Underworld, and pop groups such as Hot Chip and Playback Maracas headline a line-up designed to dance from 3 pm to 3 am.

A revitalizing experience on the tenth floor of the Hotel Majestic: you have Barcelona at your feet, with views ranging from Tibidabo to Montjuïc, passing by Torre Glòries, Sagrada Familia and Casa Batlló. In addition, it is just the right size to avoid overcrowding and the atmosphere is relaxed and romantic.

The menu covers everything you would expect from a luxury terraceo -tartar, hamburgers, ceviche, poke, pasta…- with the guarantee of Nandu Jubany, who creates extraordinary tapas -the blinis with smoked salmon and the Parmesan Oreo are spectacular- and dishes as suggestive and fresh as the octopus with saffron potato and Pico de Gallo vinaigrette.

The sunsets here are magical.

In Barceloneta, on the fourth floor of the Museu d’Història de Catalunya, we find a terrace that does not need too much height to offer one of the best views of the city. The restaurant is named after the year in which, inspired by English port buildings, the Museum building was designed, 1881. The views are a dream: the entire coastline of Barcelona, from Montjuïc to beyond the Besós.

The cuisine as well: rice dishes prepared on the spot, seafood and fish from the Barceloneta fish market and grilled meats: Basque style, that is to say, direct cooking and unbeatable product.

The terrace of the Mandarin Oriental can boast of having an impeccable and unique ‘gastro’ offer. Gastón Acurio, alpha and omega of modern Peruvian cuisine, designs a fresh menu with great hits of this universal cuisine in his own way: from the classic cebiche to redefinitions such as an anticuchero beef tataki.

A perfect balance between haute cuisine and casual, with incredible views. Open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., and from Sunday to Thursday from 6 p.m. to midnight.

Let her go, to the upper terrace of The Hoxton Hotel. Now that they ask for a lot of money to go up to visit the sublime suppository of Glòries, from this rooftop you can have an unbeatable panoramic view of Nouvel’s building and everything that pays obeisance to him around. And the truth is that it takes your breath away.

There are higher terraces, but Tope has a panoramic view of impact. The fact that there is a very good taqueria, with a 360-degree view of the city, with sofas, chairs and armchairs, is the icing on the cake. Sit back comfortably, grab a cocktail and some slow-cooked tacos, and live for two days.

One of the images I remember most from the Barcelona Olympics is the trampoline jumpers ‘flying’ with Barcelona in the background. Marc Ros, creator of another jewel of Montjuïc as the Caseta del Migdia, has opened the terrace of the Municipal Swimming Pool of Montjuïc.

Open daily from 10 a.m. to midnight, with a non-stop kitchen serving salads, pizzas, sandwiches and hamburgers with one of the most spectacular views in the city. Yes, after dinner you can soak and feel the Olympic spirit.

The Barcelona Edition has an enviable location in the Born, right next to the iconic Santa Caterina Market and a few steps from some of the most emblematic places in the city, such as the Picasso Museum, the Palau de la Música or the Cathedral.

And no less enviable is the location of its rooftop: on the tenth floor of the hotel, The Roof offers a panoramic view of the sea of Gothic rooftops, where you can lazily sip a cocktail surrounded by bougainvillea. The orientation of the food is high-end Asian street food. The Rooftop is open Monday to Friday from noon to 11pm, Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 11pm.

The rooftop of the Vincci Gala hotel is strategically located a few meters from Las Ramblas, with a great panoramic view of the city. On Fridays there is a party: from 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm there is a DJ session and the outdoor space is very pleasant, with natural wood, vegetation and a beautiful infinity pool (which you can only use if you are staying at the hotel, but it helps to refresh, of course).

Trade and drink? Well. The food menu has tapas and sandwiches in the style of great landmarks – Pedralbes-style frankfurters, La Campana de Madrid-style calamari sandwiches, classic tapas… – and a refreshing cocktail menu, as well as wines by the glass at more or less affordable prices (4 euros a glass).

Every day from 12h to 23.30 h. Dinner every night from 7pm to 10pm.

In this iconic building of the architecture of the seventies, now a hotel of great gastronomic quality-price, the rooftop has two added values: the first is the natural, privileged views (I didn’t want to say it but I said it! Take ‘ranciofact’) to the Sagrada Familia, Paseo de Gracia, Tibidabo and Montjuïc.

The second, the presence of the award-winning and creative barwoman Yanaida Prado, capable of such outrageous creations as the Stone Woman, a fruity delirium with vodka and aromas of Montserrat, which pays tribute to the patron saint of our city. Every day from 5pm to midnight, with DJ on Thursdays and Fridays.

The 83.3 Terrace Bar of the Royal Paseo de Gracia hotel is the highest terrace in the Eixample, as its website proudly proclaims: you go up and you have the Sagrada Familia, the Mediterranean and the mountain of Montjuïc at your fingertips. So as not to leave everything to these spectacular views, they schedule performances by singer-songwriters on Wednesdays from 9 p.m. onwards, and DJ sessions on Saturday afternoons. The menu offers international street food dishes in orderly coexistence with the traditional tapas: ‘baos’ of ‘cochinita pibil’ next to the Iberian ham croquettes.

Rooftop opening hours: from Monday to Thursday from 5 pm to 1 am (with kitchen service for dinner) and from Friday to Sunday from 12 pm to 1 am (with uninterrupted kitchen service from 12 pm to 11 pm).