🎨 When October colours Barcelona with creativity, the Barcelona Design Week (BDW) returns to turn the city into the great showcase of international design.
From 14 to 25 October 2026, the Catalan capital will host the 21st edition of this unique event, which will transform iconic spaces such as the Museum of Design of Barcelona (Disseny Hub Barcelona) in Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion or the Palau de la Música Catalana into meeting points for designers, architects and lovers of good taste.
At The Sun Places, we want you to experience this event with maximum comfort, staying in our exclusive luxury apartments, located in emblematic areas such as Passeig de Gràcia or Plaça Catalunya. Get ready for eleven days of design, trends and avant-garde gastronomy.
🖌️ Barcelona Design Week 2026, celebrating its 21st edition, will take place from 14 to 25 October 2026 and is expected to bring together more than 75,000 design professionals and enthusiasts from around the world.
Organised by the Barcelona Creativity & Design Foundation, with the support of Barcelona City Council, BDW is the must-attend design event in Spain and one of the most important Design Weeks on the international calendar alongside Milan and London.
For eleven days, the city will be filled with exhibitions, installations, conferences, workshops, product presentations and parties that will explore the relationship between design and the great challenges of our time: sustainability, artificial intelligence, the circular economy and the future of architecture.
The theme of this edition, "Revalue", invites us to rethink our environment and to consider design as a key factor for innovation and improving our quality of life.
The programme is structured around several axes: OFF BDW, with free activities open to the public; the official programme, with conferences and round tables; and UNDERGROUND BDW, an experimental section for emerging proposals.
📅 When is Barcelona Design Week?
Barcelona Design Week will take place from Wednesday 14 to Sunday 25 October 2026.
Eleven intensive days in which the city will be transformed into a great design stage open to all audiences.
The official programme of conferences and round tables will be concentrated mainly during the first days of the week, while OFF BDW and open activities will extend throughout the event.
Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 will be especially dedicated to family activities and open days at the city's main museums and design centres.
The official venues will open their doors at varying times, generally from 10:00 to 20:00, with some evening events lasting until midnight.
The awards ceremony for the FAD Architecture and Interior Design Awards, one of the most prestigious awards in the sector, will be held during design week, specifically on Thursday 19 June as part of BDW.
Tickets for the keynote conferences are already on sale through the official website, and it is recommended to purchase them in advance, as they sell out weeks before the event each year. Meanwhile, most OFF BDW activities are free, although some require prior registration.
📍 Where is Barcelona Design Week located?
The epicentre of Barcelona Design Week will be, once again, the Disseny Hub Barcelona, home of the Museum of Design of Barcelona, located at Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, 37-38.
This iconic building, designed by architect Oriol Bohigas and the MBM team (Martorell, Bohigas, Mackay, Capdevila and Gual), was inaugurated in 2014 and has become the heart of design in Barcelona.
From this nerve centre, activities extend to more than 50 associated venues throughout the city and its metropolitan area: from the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Montjuïc, a masterpiece of the modern movement, to Cosentino City Barcelona on Avinguda Diagonal, passing through such emblematic spaces as the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Picasso Museum or Gaudí's Torre Bellesguard.
If you stay with The Sun Places in the El Born neighbourhood or near Las Ramblas, you will reach most of the venues in less than 15 minutes by public transport.
Plaça de les Glòries is perfectly connected: the Glòries metro stop (L1) and numerous bus lines will leave you at the foot of the Disseny Hub.
In addition, many of the activities are concentrated in the 22@ District, the technological and cultural innovation neighbourhood that connects Poblenou with Clot, an area that also houses some of the city's best restaurants and galleries.
📜 History of Barcelona Design Week
The history of Barcelona Design Week is intrinsically linked to the city's design tradition, a city that has been at the forefront of graphic, industrial and interior design for over a century.
BDW was created in 2006 by the Barcelona Creativity & Design Foundation, heir to pioneering institutions such as the FAD (Foment de les Arts i del Disseny), founded in 1903, and the Barcelona Centre de Disseny (BCD), created in 1992 on the occasion of the Olympic Games.
Since its first edition, the design week was born with the ambition of placing Barcelona on the international map of design weeks, a format already successful in Milan (Salone del Mobile) and London (London Design Festival).
The first edition was held in June 2006, with a modest programme but already featuring the Disseny Hub as the central venue.
Over the years, BDW gained weight and prestige, attracting design studios from around the world and consolidating itself as a benchmark in southern Europe.
In 2025, the festival celebrated its 20th edition under the theme "Creative Resilience", a nod to the capacity of design to adapt and reinvent itself after the challenges of recent years.
In 2026, BDW reaches its 21st edition, coinciding with a magical year for Barcelona: the city is UNESCO World Capital of Architecture and the Gaudí Year 2026 is celebrated, the centenary of the death of the modernist genius.
This confluence has raised the bar of the design week even higher, which this year includes special collaborations with the French Institute of Barcelona, the exhibition "The Weight of Things" by Mathilde Pellé, and dozens of activities exploring the relationship between architecture, sustainable design and new technologies.
🧑💼 Who organises Barcelona Design Week?
Barcelona Design Week is organised by the Barcelona Creativity & Design Foundation, a non-profit organisation that brings together the main design institutions in Catalonia: the FAD (Foment de les Arts i del Disseny) and the Barcelona Centre de Disseny (BCD), both based at Disseny Hub Barcelona.
The FAD, founded in 1903, is the oldest design association in Spain and organises the prestigious FAD Awards, which are presented during BDW.
The BCD, for its part, is the organisation for promoting and energising design that drives training and resources for professionals in the sector.
The direction of the festival is in the hands of a multidisciplinary team led by Isabel Roig, Director General of the BCD and founder of BDW, together with an advisory committee made up of top-level designers, architects and entrepreneurs.
The organisation has the institutional support of Barcelona City Council and the Government of Catalonia, as well as sponsorship from luxury brands such as Cosentino, Gaggenau, Porcelanosa, Roca and Cervezas Alhambra, which collaborate in the creation of exclusive spaces and experiences.
In 2026, the organisation has implemented a digital accreditation system with blockchain technology to guarantee the authenticity and security of tickets, and has developed an official app with augmented reality that allows attendees to discover the nearest activities and access exclusive content from speakers.
🌟 What Barcelona Design Week represents for Barcelona, Catalonia and The Sun Places
Barcelona Design Week is much more than a design fair: it is an economic engine, a showcase of talent and a symbol of Barcelona's creative identity.
According to City Council data, the event generates an economic impact of more than 30 million euros in the city, attracting international designers, architects and buyers who fill hotels, restaurants and luxury shops.
In addition, BDW projects an image of Barcelona as an innovative, sustainable and open city, reinforcing its position as a European design capital alongside Milan and Copenhagen.
For The Sun Places, Barcelona Design Week represents the perfect opportunity to connect with our most demanding guests, those seeking authentic and exclusive experiences.
Our luxury apartments, located in areas such as Passeig de Gràcia or near La Sagrada Familia, are the ideal refuge after a day exploring exhibitions and conferences.
We want you to experience design week with maximum comfort: designer beds, terraces with city views, fully equipped kitchens and a concierge service that will get you invitations to the most exclusive events, such as private parties of sponsoring brands or guided visits to studios of renowned designers, many of whom have been awarded the FAD Awards or the Delta Awards for Industrial Design.
🍽️ Gastronomy and special features of Barcelona Design Week
One of the most attractive features of Barcelona Design Week is its commitment to gastronomic design and culinary experiences.
During the week, the Disseny Hub Barcelona and many of the associated venues organise showcookings and commented tastings by renowned chefs, such as those from Restaurant Disfrutar (three Michelin stars) or those awarded with the Barcelona Restaurant Awards.
The Alimentaria Experience space, within the official programme, offers workshops on packaging design, food design and trends in sustainable consumption, with the participation of brands such as Estrella Damm and chef Albert Adrià.
In addition, BDW coincides with the Gràcia Vermouth Route and the calçotada season in the most exclusive restaurants on Passeig de Gràcia.
A curiosity: the festival has an agreement with the World Gastronomy Summit 2026, held in Barcelona in March, so many chefs will offer special tasting menus that reinterpret traditional Catalan dishes with avant-garde techniques.
Another special feature is BDW Kids, a children's area with sustainable design workshops for the little ones, located at Disseny Hub Barcelona.
And for lovers of luxury shopping, OFF BDW includes Open Design Editions, a route through the city's most exclusive showrooms, where you can acquire unique designer pieces, limited editions of furniture, lighting and fashion accessories, many of them created exclusively for design week.
🏙️ The perfect plan with The Sun Places for Barcelona Design Week
Thursday 15 October: Official opening and must-see exhibitions
- Start the day with a luxury breakfast in your The Sun Places apartment in the El Born neighbourhood. Then, stroll along Passeig de Gràcia and admire Casa Batlló and La Pedrera.
- In the morning, visit the Picasso Museum and then go to the Disseny Hub Barcelona in Plaça de les Glòries for the official opening and the permanent exhibition "Matter Matters. Designing with the world".
- In the afternoon, attend the inaugural conference at the Palau de la Música Catalana and dine at the La Boqueria Market to taste seasonal local produce.
Friday 16 October: Luxury trends, networking and art
- In the morning, visit the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Montjuïc, where the talk "Dentro Fuori" on lighting design organised by Davide Groppi and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation will be held.
- In the afternoon, explore the OFF BDW Programme in the 22@ District and visit the Cosentino City Barcelona showroom on Avinguda Diagonal for the presentation of material trends for 2026-2027.
- In the evening, attend the Official BDW Party at the W Barcelona Hotel (known as the Hotel Vela), with international DJs and signature cocktails.
Saturday 17 October: Rest, design shopping and closing of activities
- Take the opportunity to buy designer pieces at the Open Design Editions showrooms and visit the Disseny Hub Garden, where the finalist pieces of the Delta Awards are exhibited.
✨ Ready to experience Barcelona Design Week with The Sun Places?
📞 Contact us and let us organise your perfect design getaway. We offer exclusive services such as private transfers, VIP tickets for conferences and reservations at the city's best restaurants.
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