Vida de um Estudante

Carnival in Barcelona, timed just before the Lenten fast, is spent indulging in soon-to-be-forbidden pleasures. The city streets become a stage for lively celebrations, from tortilla-making competitions to the all-singing, all-dancing Gran Rua de Carnaval parade.

Staged at Barcelona's L'Auditori, the International Percussion Festival of Catalonia is dedicated to the humble triangle, booming bass drum and everything in between. Performers from all over the world showcase their skills in both traditional and more unusual percussion instruments.

Barcelona's Half Marathon gets the city warmed up before the full marathon takes place in early March. Starting at the Passeig de Picasso street and ending at the Arc de Triomf, the 21,097-metre race attracts both professional and amateur runners.

Sweet-toothed individuals gather in Barcelona's Gràcia district for the Festa de Sant Medir. A colourful parade of floats, flags, costumes and horses winds through the streets, and literally tonnes of sweets are thrown from the decorated carriages into the crowds.

Gleaming vintage cars, dating from before 1924, parade along the Catalonian coast for crowds of spectators during the Sitges Vintage Car Rally. The antique vehicles start in Barcelona and race for 45km before winding up at Port Aiguadolc in Sitges.

Gleaming vintage cars, dating from before 1924, parade along the Catalonian coast for crowds of spectators during the Sitges Vintage Car Rally. The antique vehicles start in Barcelona and race for 45km before winding up at Port Aiguadolc in Sitges.

Gleaming vintage cars, dating from before 1924, parade along the Catalonian coast for crowds of spectators during the Sitges Vintage Car Rally. The antique vehicles start in Barcelona and race for 45km before winding up at Port Aiguadolc in Sitges.

Gleaming vintage cars, dating from before 1924, parade along the Catalonian coast for crowds of spectators during the Sitges Vintage Car Rally. The antique vehicles start in Barcelona and race for 45km before winding up at Port Aiguadolc in Sitges.

Catalan painter and sculptor Joan Miró is widely acknowledged as one of the 20th century's greatest artists. The Ladder of Escape at the Fundació Miró is the first major Miró exhibition in Barcelona for almost 20 years.

The Barcelona Marathon was first run in 1977 and has come on in leaps and bounds. Today thousands of entrants form a fast-running stream right through the city, starting and finishing on the tree-lined Avinguda María Cristina near Plaça d'Espanya.

Barcelona resounds to the clacks of castanets, fiery stomps of heels and swishes of colourful skirts. The De Cajón! Flamenco Festival brings vibrant performances to venues across the city, including the ornate Palau de la Música Catalana concert hall.

Tradicionàrius brings more than two months of live folk music to venues across Barcelona. Audiences can enjoy 17th-century songs performed at concerts, and learn new skills at workshops focusing on specific aspects of the folk genre.

The Barna Sants Festival of Song sees talented singer-songwriters perform gigs across the Sants district of Barcelona. The extensive programme spans two months and a range of venues from intimate jazz bars to the grand L'Auditori.

At Barcelona's international short film festival (Mecal), film enthusiasts can catch the best movie bites from around 3000 entries. As well as the competitive strand, there are also themed short film cycles. Screenings take place at venues across the city.

Palm Sunday is one of the most important events in Spain's Christian calendar. In Barcelona, a solemn procession of religious statues and locals carrying palm branches starts at La Seu cathedral and winds its way through the streets.

RCT Barcelona's clay courts host the Open Sabadell Atlantico, a top-ranking ATP World Tour 500 event, previously known as the Open Seat Godo. Many top names on the men's circuit compete for their share of the total prize purse.

Barcelona's most elegant music venues host the Festival Mil·lenni, a star-studded programme of one-night performances from top recording artists, choirs, opera singers and flamenco artists. Venues include the Palau de la Música Catalana, L'Auditori and the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art presents Antoni Muntadas - Between the Frames. An installation built around a series of interviews with artists, it highlights Muntada's primary interest during the 1980s: the relationships between art, society and popular culture.

Every 11 May Barcelona honours Sant Ponç, patron saint of beekeepers and herbalists, with a special market along Calle Hospital. The stalls sell natural products such as honey, perfume, herbal wine and candied fruit.

For a week in May, Barcelona celebrates the written word with a series of events and workshops dedicated to poetry. Bus windows and tube carriages are covered in verse, while poetry readings, lectures and workshops take place across the city.

The winding Circuit de Catalunya, just outside of Barcelona, hosts the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix. Feel the excitement build as powerful cars reach speeds of up to 200mph and rub shoulders with celebrity racing fans under clear blue skies.

Mesmerising strums and plucks ripple through Barcelona's large concert halls and intimate bars during the city's annual Guitar Festival. The programme never disappoints, with its mix of master musicians and groups from both Spain and abroad.

Pantalla Global (Global Screen) at Barcelona's Contemporary Culture Centre looks at the influence of the screen in contemporary society. The power of the initial format - film, has since been transferred from the big screen to today's proliferation of screens.

Barcelona's Parc del Fòrum hosts the massive five-day, open-air Primavera Sound Festival, where top rock bands, DJs and leftfield acts get everyone's hands in the air. There's no camping, so festival-goers retreat to hotels when they're all danced out.

The Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès travels from its home in Sabadell to perform its annual season at the Palau Música Catalana, Barcelona's premier classical music venue. The concerts feature one-off performances with famous classical singers and solo musicians.

The Catalonian Moto GP is one of the most popular rounds of the World Championship. Held at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona, it attracts holidaymakers and race fans alike. Drawing crowds of 100,000, the atmosphere is always electric.

Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu is best known as an opera venue, but don't overlook its annual dance season. Top ballet and contemporary dance troupes from around the world twirl across the famous stage in the gilded auditorium.

The Palau 100 Concert Series is the annual season at Barcelona's best classical music venue, the ornate Palau de la Música Catalana. Catch performances by renowned national and international orchestras, conductors and soloists.

SÓNAR is Barcelona's wildly popular International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia. Music lovers descend on the Catalonian capital to see exhibitions at the MACBA and CCCB by day, and rave at dance parties in Calle Botánica by night.

Bike Show BCN encompasses all kinds of pedal power from dirt track racing and BMX Freestyling, to less conventional one-wheeled monocycles and four-wheeled cyclekarts. Bike enthusiasts gather in Barcelona's Parc del Fòrum for two days of competitions, exhibitions and shows.

Every year St John's Day (Sant Joan) is celebrated throughout Spain with an explosion of bonfires, fireworks, concerts and dances. Catalonians celebrate in their idiosyncratic way and Barcelona is one of the most spectacular places to join in the fun.

Corpus Christi is celebrated in Barcelona with 16th-century tradition L'ou com Balla, translated as "dancing egg". Emptied eggshells are perched above the water jets of the city fountains, to give the illusion of them dancing in mid-air.

The Dies de Danza Festival brings its dance presentations and workshops to the streets of Barcelona. During the event public buildings, parks, streets and squares are transformed into performance spaces for professional acts.

The Contemporary Culture Centre of Barcelona (CCCB) hosts the Hipnotik hip-hop festival. The programme of concerts and workshops includes music and workshops on other street art forms, such as breakdance and graffiti.

Espai 13 at Barcelona's Joan Miró Foundation showcases themed cycles by experimental artists. For 11 months, the cycle passes through five individual exhibition phases, each spotlighting a different artist. This series is entitled The End Is Where We Start From.

The Barcelona Festival of Song showcases traditional music from Catalonia, Spain and Latin America. Talented singers, pianists, guitarists and other musicians perform free recitals at cultural venues across the city, such as the Residència d'Investigadors and the Palau Moia.

Brightly coloured, bulbous hot-air balloons from around the world fill the skies over Igualada for the European Balloon Festival. The event draws around 25,000 people, who come to the sleepy Catalonian town to see the balloons inflate then soar overhead.

The Grec Barcelona Festival, commonly known as just the "Grec Festival", is Barcelona's summer arts extravaganza and the season's most important cultural event. City venues, including the Teatre Grec and the Fundació Joan Miró, host theatre, dance and music performances.

Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu is famous for its opera and its new season is eagerly awaited every October. An informative talk about each performance takes place in the foyer 45 minutes before the curtain goes up.

The Barcelona neighbourhood of Gràcia hits the streets on 15 August to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. The streets are filled with rainbow-coloured decorations and floral art. Live music and street entertainment kick-off the week-long Gràcia Festa Major celebrations.

Barcelona's CaixaForum extends its opening hours on Wednesday evenings for the Summer Nights programme. Events take place each evening in different parts of the building. Choose between gospel choirs, theatre, electronic DJs, dance performances and more.

The Sants Festa Major takes place on and around the Carrer de Sants street in Barelona's Montjuïc district. Twelve main streets host parties and activities. When night falls, the celebrations feature music, parades and a "dance of the giants".

Catalonians celebrate their National Day with concerts, demonstrations and parades throughout Barcelona. Locals proudly hang red-and-yellow-striped Catalonian flags from their balconies and floral offerings are laid by the Rafael Casanova and Josep Moragues monuments in Ciutadella Park.

Barcelona's Mas i Mas Festival presents a vibrant and varied programme of live music each summer. Venues from the Palau de la Musica to the Luz de Gas host shows by jazz ensembles, string quartets, flamenco singers and blues bands.

The BAM Festival (Barcelona Acciò Musical) of music is an important part of the city's lively Mercé celebrations. A mixed programme of European bands and dance acts perform at mostly outdoor locations throughout the Catalan capital.

Barcelona's September fiesta honours the city's patroness, La Mercè (Virgin of Mercy). La Mercè Festival, dating back to 1902, bids farewell to summer and ushers in autumn with concerts, open-air dancing, fireworks, human towers, parades and spectacular costumes.

The annual Asia Festival showcases Asian culture with a variety of performances around Barcelona. Concerts, exhibitions, demonstrations and street theatre represent the diversity of the continent at venues including the Plaça Reial, Plaça des Àngels and the Biblioteca de Catalunya.

Catalonian vintners exhibit their finest cavas and wines at the Catalan Wine and Cava Show, held in front of the Maremagnum building in the port area of Barcelona. Savour the Alt Penedés rosés and red wines from the Priorat area.

During Barcelona's Book Fair, stalls sell antique and second-hand books along the exquisite Passeig de Gràcia. Who knows, this could be the place to find that sought-after edition of Cervantes' Don Quixote. Foreign titles, comics and prints are also on sale.

Collectors head to the Estació del Nord to scour the records and CDs on sale at the Barcelona International Record Fair. There's also an auction selling music memorabilia signed by legendary artists. Arrive early to pick up a bargain.