From Cerdà’s legacy to tomorrow’s urban solutions, 3 to 5 November
Cities are now home to most of the world’s population and, with it, to its greatest challenges: environmental, social, economic, cultural and governance-related. These are complex challenges that call for taking on responsibilities, sharing efforts, opening dialogue and learning from one another. Because a city’s model is built day by day, and it is built above all by those who live in it: people who love their city and want it to grow in the service of their prosperity, today and tomorrow. At this gathering, Barcelona opens its doors to everyone who shares that same ambition, to exchange experiences, draw inspiration from what already works elsewhere in the world and turn good ideas into real change. A global conversation that finds its natural setting here, in a city that has been rethinking itself for more than a century and a half.
The world’s great gathering of cities
From 3 to 5 November, Fira Barcelona Gran Via hosts a new edition of the Smart City Expo World Congress, regarded as the largest and most influential international event dedicated to cities and urban innovation. Since its first edition in 2011, it has brought together public officials, companies, researchers and entrepreneurs every year around a shared goal: making cities better places to live.
This year, more than 27,000 professional visitors from 138 countries are expected, along with over 1,100 exhibitors, 600 speakers and representatives from more than 1,000 cities. This edition’s theme, Urban Solutions, Real Impact, focuses on moving from vision to action.
Topics that concern us all
The programme is organised around major themes: technology, energy and environment, mobility, governance and economy, inclusion, infrastructure, housing and the blue economy. Running alongside are the Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress, now in its sixth edition, the Tomorrow.Blue Economy World Congress and a new summit dedicated to housing.
Beyond data and screens, the congress addresses very everyday questions: how we get around, how we breathe, where we live and how we make sure no one is left behind.
Practical information
- Dates: 3 to 5 November 2026
- Venue: Fira Barcelona Gran Via, Av. Joan Carles I, 64 (L’Hospitalet de Llobregat)
- Getting there from our hotels:
- Walk to Plaça de Catalunya: just a few minutes from both hotels. From the Palacete, you can also use Universitat station.
- Metro L1 (red line) to Espanya.
- At Plaça Espanya, take the FGC (lines L8, S3, S4, S8, S9, R5 or R6) one stop to Europa|Fira, directly connected to the Gran Via venue.
- Programme and accreditation: www.smartcityexpo.com
Cerdà, the visionary who started it all
The congress coincides with a very special anniversary. 2026 marks 150 years since the death of Ildefons Cerdà, born in Centelles in 1815, creator of the Eixample and regarded as the father of modern urban planning. Cerdà was far more than a designer of streets: he studied people’s living conditions, ventilation, density and public health. He even coined the word urbanización (urbanisation), and in 1867 published his General Theory of Urbanisation, a work that places him among the great thinkers of the city.
This year, Catalonia commemorates him with the Univers Cerdà programme, and Barcelona holds the title of UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture until 13 December. For anyone visiting the city these days, exploring the Eixample through Cerdà’s eyes is the best possible introduction to everything that will be discussed at Gran Via: a city designed for people, long before the words “smart city” existed.
Your stay, with the soul of a home
Between sessions, meetings and visits to the fair, rest becomes part of professional success. Our hotels welcome you with the warmth of a family devoted to hospitality for eight generations and deeply rooted in our beloved city of Barcelona.
Hotel Continental Palacete stands on Rambla de Catalunya, right in Cerdà’s Eixample, just steps from Passeig de Gràcia and the modernist Quadrat d’Or. Staying here means living inside the work of the great urban planner, with the elegance of the Versailles Suite as our hotel’s emblem. Hotel Continental Barcelona, on La Rambla next to Plaça de Catalunya, is the perfect place to feel the historic and social pulse of the city.
Barcelona awaits you
Come and imagine the city of the future, and discover the one that already exists by strolling through its streets. Book your stay at www.hotelcontinental.com and experience Smart City Expo from a place where you will feel at home.
