Barcelona – The city that has it all!
Is there anyone on this planet that doesn’t know Barcelona?
First of all, it is the most visited city in Spain. Also, it is well connected with hundreds of flights to all major global airports and speed train railways to Madrid and other major Spanish cities. Furthermore, food is one of the best in the country, an overwhelming culture, one of the most beautiful architectures in the world, great weather and full of shops.
It is also super close to the beach. Indeed, Barcelona has its own beaches. Moreover, there are dozens of charming and cozy coastline towns nearby definitely worth visiting.
As if all this wasn’t enough, it is the Spanish door to the Pyrenees, where you can find some of the best ski stations in the country.
I’m struggling to find something that you can’t find in this city…
So if you haven’t been to Barcelona. What are you waiting for?
Barcelona in a nutshell
Get to Barcelona by plane, speed train or car. Visit loads of touristic points of interest, try some of the best dishes in the country and do some shopping. Grab a drink watching the sunset next to the ocean and get ready to party. Fall in love with the city and enjoy its beauty and elegance.
If you happen to have some extra time, rent a car and visit some of the Catalan coastline towns. Sitges, which is super close to Barcelona. If you have more time head to the Costa Brava and visit Calella de Palafrugell, Begur, Cadaques and the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres. You won’t regret it!
The details
Interesting facts about Barcelona that you possibly had no idea about
- Barcelona is the capital city of a region called Catalonia. People from here are referred to as Catalans. One of the main Catalan holidays is the Saint George Day (Día de Sant Jordi). The story tells that Sant Jordi slayed a dragon right before it ate a beautiful princess. Due to this legend, it is actually celebrated as a romantic occasion. It coincides with the national day of the book. Thus, the man gives the women a rose as a sign of love, and the woman gives the man a book as a sign of eternal love in return.
- Until the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, Barcelona had no beaches. They were artificially built for this remarkable occasion. Interestingly enough, nowadays Barcelona has 4.5km (about 3 miles) of coastline.
- The famous Sagrada Familia has taken longer to build than the Great Pyramids of Egypt. So far, it has taken around 200 hundred years and it is still being worked on…
- The only city in the world that has ever received a Royal Gold Medal for architecture. This award is given annually since 1848 by the Royal Institute of British Architecture.
- It has 12 abandoned metro stations and some say that they are haunted! Actually, a lot of tourists come to Barcelona to visit these Ghost Metro Stations.
- Home to the biggest and busiest cruise ports in Europe. It is also the home to the largest soccer stadium in Europe (Camp Nou).
- More than 20 Michelin-starred restaurants.
- The most visited city in Spain. I guess you already knew that though…
What to see in Barcelona?
You can find loads of resources on tourist attractions in Barcelona. My opinion is that sometimes navigating through such amount of information is overwhelming. Consequently, I’ll try to save you some time with my top picks divided by category.
Architecture
If there is one guy that made a difference for Barcelona and contributed to making it one of the most visited cities in the world that is Antoni Gaudi. He was a Spanish architect from Barcelona and the best-known practitioner of Catalan Modernism. Gaudi’s work is famous for its highly individualized, and one-of-a-kind style. From this many works of art, you should definitely not miss:
- The ultra-famous Sagrada Familia
- Casa Batlo
- La Pedrera
Other musts when it comes to architecture are definitely the Barcelona Cathedral and the Barrio Gótico (Gothic quarter).
Promenades
Barcelona has loads of nice places to walk. Actually, it is one of the most bike-friendly cities in Europe. It is definitely one of those cities that you get the most off by foot, so prepare those legs!
- Park Guell: amazing park designed by Gaudi. As mentioned earlier, clearly a perfect example of his one-of-a-kind style.
- El Mercado de la Boqueria: a huge local market with all kinds of foods and fresh produce.
- Paseo de Gracia: loads of shops and several buildings designed by Gaudi.
- Rambla de Cataluna: one of the main tourist attractions of the city. Loads of shops, bars and tapas places.
- Puerto Olímpico: designed for the 1992 Olympics, this port is perfect to rent a bike and cycle around.
Museums
Surprisingly enough the most visited museum in Barcelona is the Camp Nou museum or the F.C. Barcelona soccer team. Actually, I’m not sure if that actually qualifies as a museum per se, so here are my favorite ones:
- Fundación Miró Link
Where to eat in Barcelona?
Barcelona is extremely big in gastronomy. It is home to some of the best cooks in the world and has 20+ Michelin-starred restaurants. Actually, two of the best cooks in the world, the Adria brothers have some great restaurants in Barcelona. These guys owned El Bulli, who was ranked the best restaurant in the world several times.
Also, Barcelona has loads of tourists. Among other collaterals of that, there are some mediocre restaurants with high prices.
The point that I am trying to make is that choice matters and it matters a lot. So I am going to save you a lot of time and hopefully provide you with a huge culinary pleasure with a list of top options by restaurant type.
Bon Appetit!
If you want Paella
Restaurants by the beach
- El Bestial: good paella and right next to the beach (Link)
- Carpe Diem: good food and by the beach (Link)
- Agua: good paella. Remember to book and ask for the terrace if the weather supports (Link)
Sampling / Tasting menus
- Pakta: new Japanese and Peruvian fusion restaurant opened by the famous cooks Adria brothers (Link)
- 41 Grados (Link)
Japanese Food
- Koy Shunka: great Japanese restaurant and very close to the Gothic Quarter mentioned earlier (Link)
- Dos Palillos: literally translates for “Two Chopsticks” (Link)
- Taberna Wakasa
- Yashima (Link)
- Parco (Link)
Tapas
- Condal: right in the Rambla of Catalunya. It has great good but it is usually quite crowded so it’s better to book a table, if possible (Link).
- Tapas 24: excellent tapas. It gets quite crowded from 2 pm on so better to aim for an early lunch (Link).
- Tickets: excellent new and different restaurant. It is co-owned by the Adria brothers (Link).
Seafood
Traditional Catalan and Spanish cuisine
- Ca L’Isidre: excellent Catalan food (Link)
- La Bodega Sepúlveda: excellent Spanish food (Link)
- El Gorria: amazing Basque food (Link)
- Passadis del Pep: hidden gem (Link)
Cocktails and Music in Barcelona at night
Tired of walking, shopping, and sightseeing? It’s time for a nice cocktail! My favorite options are the following:
- W Hotel, which has a beautiful terrace right by the sea (Link)
- Dry Martini, possibly the best cocktail bar in Barcelona (Link)
- Bar Mutis. This one is secret… (Link)
- 41 Grados: great cocktail bar near Tickets restaurant, which is also owned by the famous Adria brothers (Link)
- Hotel OMM with good cocktails and music right in Paseo de Gracia (Link)
Shows and Music in Barcelona
Like most cities in Spain, Barcelona is big on cultural shows and music events. If that’s something you are interested in check:
- El Liceo for opera, ballet and classical music (Link)
- El Palau for classical music, flamenco and various concerts (Link)
- El Auditori for classical music and opera (Link)
- Flamenco Show for the best flamenco “Tablao” in town (Link)
Shopping in Barcelona
Many people go to Barcelona to do some shopping. Especially from other European cities as the flights are cheap and there are loads of shops and nice brands in the city. Some suggestions are:
- Paseo de Gracia with all possible stores you can think of
- Plaza de Cataluña with many stores as well
- Puerta del Angel with several nice smaller shops where you can buy handbags and wallets
- El Borne with most of the high-end fashion brands
Leisure and Sports
If you still have some time to kill and you didn’t get option paralysis from all the information described so far, here comes some more:
- If you like soccer, or maybe even if you don’t, it makes sense to visit the Camp Nou Stadium. It is the stadium of F.C. Barcelona, one of the best soccer clubs in the world. As mentioned earlier, it is the largest soccer stadium in Europe (Link).
- If you happen to be there during the soccer season, I strongly suggest you buy some tickets and go to a game. This will be a unique experience (Link).
- Are you into golf? Here are some good options:
- The Golf Sant Joan (20 minutes)
- Golf San Cugat (30 minutes by car from Barcelona)
- El Prat Golf Club (30-40 minutes). This one is possibly the best and most famous. It was designed by Greg Norman
- Barcelona Golf Club (40 minutes)
- Cycling around the Olympic Port is also a good investment of time (Link)
Where to stay in Barcelona?
Many people stay right in the center next to the touristy stuff i.e. Ramblas. Personally, I’d suggest you go for Example Esquerra, where you are still very centric but a bit out of all the hassle. Alternatively, Eixample Dreta is also a good option. Both options are well connected to almost anywhere in the city with the Metro.
Best cozy and charming towns in Barcelona’s surroundings
There is a multitude of options but I would suggest two different options.
If you have limited time, head to Sitges. Sitges is about 40 minutes away from Barcelona. This nice coastline town is known for its Mediterranean beaches and seafront promenade. It has a cozy old town filled with shops, restaurants, bar, and nightclubs. This is possibly the most LGBT-friendly town in Spain and it has loads of gay bars too.
If you have a little bit more time, I strongly suggest you check out the Costa Brava, which is the Spanish name of the Catalonian coast. There is a multitude of nice towns worth visiting. My top picks would be:
- Calella de Palafrugell (Calella link with details)
- Begur (Begur link with details)
- Cadaques (Cadaques link with details)
- Figueres (Figueres link with details). Hometown to Salvador Dalí. Among several highlights, you can visit the Dalí Theatre-Museum.
Check the logistics section for details on the best route from Barcelona.
The Logistics – How to get to Barcelona and move around
Getting there
It is extremely easy to get to Barcelona from abroad. There are countless flights from every major city in the world. Actually, Barcelona’s airport, El Prat is one of the busiest in Europe.
The airport is conveniently located at 15 minutes from the city center. While you can take a taxi, I’d suggest you use the metro as it works great and it is fully predictable and independent of traffic.
If you happen to be traveling to Barcelona from other cities in Spain, there are several daily flights to Barcelona from most Spanish cities at very cheap prices.
From Madrid, on top of the plane, you can take the speed train, which takes 2.5 hours door to door and has a cost of about 100 Euros for a roundtrip. Check the link below for train tickets while in Spain.
Link to RENFE: RENFE (Spanish railway system webpage)
While in Barcelona
Moving around Barcelona with public transport is super easy. There are several apps or Google maps itself which you can use to figure out your itineraries. The metro is pretty new and works very well.
Uber is not very prominent in Spain. Actually, the app that everyone uses in Spain is called Cabify, which works very similarly and I would say is a bit more luxurious than Uber is nowadays.
If you happen to have time to do some sightseeing in the Catalan coastline, I’d suggest you rent a car. You have very good deals for rental cars and this will give you total freedom and flexibility.
A few useful links or the Google Maps itineraries by car:
- From Barcelona to Sitges: From Barcelona to Sitges
- Coastline road trip through towns of Catalonia: Top towns in Costa Brava
*While I have been to Barcelona many times most of the know-how described in this post came from two amazing Barcelona locals and good friends, Marta and Monica. I would ask these two recommendations on anything… so what better than their hometown?
If you liked this post and you happen to have more time to travel around Spain, I suggest you check out our post Top destinations in Spain and Portugal
