Local here, thanks Bets.
Tami, that'll depend on you and your kids, me personally I can't stand crowds so I'd rather see it on TV, but if you like the excitement and the buzz and don't mind standing alongside +130,000 other Barcelonans in Avinguda Maria Cristina... then be my guest. I can't deny it's not the same seeing it on TV, but again, that's me. Yes, attending this is free... so taking into account that there's a max capacity and that when it's reached the Police won't allow more people in the area, you need to be there at the very least 1 hr in advance (or more). What's like?, this was 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY7YtwvUSeg
In short, you probably have TWO mutually excluding options:
or
- Have a proper dinner in a fancy restaurant and a post-party celebration on one of the city rooftops. Alternatively, in some larger restaurants, especially in hotels, they include what's called "cotilló". This term is of French origin and proceeds from a dance in pairs of four, in the eighteenth century, where participants especially those from royalty, gathered to present socially and flirt with other dancers. Today, it means sort of like "The New Year’s party", it is a service offered after the meal by larger restaurants and hotels, including the 12 grapes, cava or champagne, a few bags of confetti, hats, necklaces, and other accessories to a costume party. Often includes live music and dancing until the wee hours of the morning. Should you want to attend one of these you better book now or else you won't find a spot.
eating the grapes
In Catalonia and elsewhere in Spain, New Year’s Eve is celebrated by eating twelve grains of grapes, one for each of the New Year's Eve chimes. When the bells ring, they begin to eat the grapes, which must be finished before the clock stops ticking. It is said that each of the chimes represents a month of the year and that each grape you eat will bring a month of luck in the new year. The origins of this tradition go back to 1909, a season of great abundance in which there was a great grape harvest. In order to sell the surplus, this ritual of accompanying the last seconds of the year with twelve grapes was "invented" -another commercial gimmick after all :). Although nowadays most people eat grapes at home with family or friends, there are many people who celebrate it in the most emblematic places, where the television networks that broadcast the bells are located.
restaurants on that night
Much like for Xmas lunch on the 25th (which is when we Catalans have 'the big celebration'), expect to pay far more than normal for dinner on the 31st. Some trendy (and no so much) restaurants are ridiculously expensive that particular night, so much so that you can go the next night and have a very similar meal for 1/5th of the price you paid the night before.
