BARCELONA · SPAIN
The city Gaudí never finished.
Gaudí's basilica and his mosaic parks, the medieval Gothic Quarter, tapas and the Mediterranean, with day trips out to Montserrat, the Costa Brava and Girona.
Only here
You'll find these nowhere else.
Tapas and beach days you'll find all over Spain. Gaudí's basilica, his mosaic park and the serrated peaks of Montserrat belong to this corner of it.
Gaudí's masterwork
La Sagrada Família
Gaudí gave the last decade of his life to it, and it is still rising more than a century after he died, the only great cathedral the world has watched go up in real time. Inside, the columns branch overhead like a stone forest and the stained glass throws colour across the floor that shifts as the sun comes round.
- 1 Barcelona: Sagrada Familia Entry Ticket with Audio Guide
- 2 Barcelona in 1 Day: Sagrada Familia, Park Guell,Old Town & Pickup
- 3 Barcelona: Sagrada Familia Skip-the-Line Entry Ticket & Tour
A garden of mosaic
Park Güell
Gaudí's hillside park is built from broken tile: the serpentine bench that ripples around the main terrace, the mosaic dragon on the steps, the gingerbread gatehouses at the foot of it. From the top the city falls away to the sea, and no two metres of it repeat.
- 1 Barcelona: Park Güell Admission Ticket
- 2 Barcelona: Park Guell Guided Tour with Skip The Line Entry
- 3 Barcelona in 1 Day: Sagrada Familia, Park Guell,Old Town & Pickup
The serrated mountain
Montserrat
An hour inland the plain breaks into a wall of rounded stone pinnacles, with a Benedictine monastery wedged halfway up. People come for the Black Madonna, for the boys' choir that has sung here since the thirteenth century, and for the cogwheel train up to the ridge walks above.
- 1 Montserrat Half-Day Tour with Tapas and Gourmet Wines
- 2 Barcelona: Montserrat Tour with Cog-Wheel & Black Madonna
- 3 Montserrat & Cogwheel Train, Gourmet Wine Tasting & Tapas/Lunch
The one everyone books
Where almost every first trip starts.
More people book this than anything else in the city. If your time is short, start right here.
The classics
Barcelona's Most Popular Tours
Sagrada Família, Park Güell, Montserrat, the old town. The names that fill most first trips to the city.
Where to begin
Start with the essentials.
Sagrada Família, Montserrat, Park Güell, the tapas trail and a day out on the Mediterranean. The pillars of a first Barcelona trip, and the best way to do each.
Gaudí & Modernisme
Gaudí never drew a straight line.
Seven of his buildings carry UNESCO World Heritage status, and most stand a few Metro stops apart: the dragon-scale roof of Casa Batlló, the rippling stone front of La Pedrera, the spires of the Sagrada Família. A guided visit skips the queues and reads the details you would walk straight past.
- 1 Barcelona: Casa Batlló Entry with Self-Audioguide Tour
- 2 Barcelona: Park Güell and Gaudí House Museum Entry Ticket
- 3 Barcelona: La Pedrera Night Experience
The Catalan table
Tapas, vermouth, and a very long lunch.
Eating is the other reason people come. Small-plate crawls through the bars of El Born and Gràcia, vermouth poured straight from the barrel, a market breakfast at La Boqueria, and the cava cellars of the Penedès an hour out of town. A good guide gets you the tables locals would rather keep quiet.
Read the guide: the best tapas & wine tours →Out of town
Three day trips worth the early start.
Catalonia is far bigger than its capital. The mountain monastery of Montserrat, the coves of the Costa Brava and medieval Girona are each an easy train or coach ride from the centre.
The waterfront
The city turns to face the sea.
Barcelona was built with its back to the Mediterranean and then spun around to meet it. Catamarans and old wooden sailboats leave Port Vell for runs along the shore, paddleboards put out from the Barceloneta sand, and from the water the whole skyline lines up behind you, Sagrada spires and all.
Cruises & sailing trips →By place
Six ways into the city, and out of it.
Sagrada Família for Gaudí at full height. Park Güell for the mosaics and the rooftops. The Gothic Quarter for the medieval lanes. Then Montserrat for the mountain, the Costa Brava for the coves, and Girona for the day you want the city behind you.
By activity
However you'd rather spend the day.
Gaudí tours if it's the architecture. A boat if you want the skyline from the water. Tapas crawls and cooking classes for the food, flamenco for the night, a bike or a walk for the streets in between.
Plan it
Three perfect days.
Never been? Here is a long weekend that hits the essentials without a wasted hour.
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