Things To Do In Barcelona

Barcelona is a city that everyone who likes to travel should visit at least once in a lifetime. To me Barcelona for Spain is the same as Florence for Italy. The place where art was blooming at all times and where imagination rather than established rules created this city. Mostly because of Gaudi and other architects. In this article you will find the 16 most amazing things to do in Barcelona.

La Sagrada Familia

Of course, I want to start with the most famous place in Barcelona – La Sagrada Familia. This basilica is a highlight of all of Spain and not just Barcelona. The cathedral is the creation of Gaudi on which he worked for more than 40 years. And dedicated the last 12 years of his life just to La Sagrada Familia.

It is truly the most amazing building that I have seen, and it is not because of the many small details that just overwhelm everyone who sees them, but because the unusual, completely new style. The basilica is full of the very brave ideas that Gaudi brought to life.

Everyday tons of tourists are visiting La Sagrada Familia. To get inside the basilica you need to book a ticket online (better to do it in advance). You can get the cheapest ticket just to visit the main hall or you can get a ticket with an access to one of the towers. I strongly recommend the second option, since the view that opens at the top of La Sagrada Familia is incredible and you might as well see it.

Every ticket has a visit time, so just show up a bit earlier and go to the line. At the entrance your bag will be checked, and you will receive an audio guide. Since I was carrying our drone in my backpack, the guard confiscated it for the time of visit and gave me a ticket with retrieval number for confiscated things. After the excursion I just picked the drone up at the entrance (if you have the same situation, don’t lose the ticket).

After the seeing the basilica don’t forget to go to the basement where there is located a museum. The museum will help you understand how the basilica was built and how it should look at the end. You also can see some of the Gaudi stuff and my personal favorite the model of La Sagrada Familia made out of strings and ballast.

The whole excursion took us around three hours. Why so long? It is simply that there are lots to see and you just don’t want to leave this place too fast knowing that you won’t be back soon.

Price:  25€ (without the tower); 32 € (with the tower);

Hours:  Monday – Sunday : 9 AM to 7 PM;

Location: Carrer de Mallorca, 401, 08013 Barcelona, Spain;

Park Guell

Another creation of Gaudi is an amazing, and I would say almost magical, park Guell. If you have read about Gaudi, you know that Guell was a friend and a patron of him.

Park Guell was built to be a closed area where rich people would live, but for one or other reasons that never happened and this place became a park. Until recently the park was free of charge for everyone. But now the most famous part with Gaudi buildings are closed and you need to buy a ticket to go inside.

The ticket costs 10 Euros and if you want to visit the park you better book a ticket at least a day in advance. Although I really think that without the ticket you can see almost as much. Just go to the gates at the bottom of the park and you would see almost everything through the gate bars.

Price:  10€;

Hours: Monday – Sunday: 8:30 AM to 6:15 PM;

Location: 08024 Barcelona, Spain;

Casa Mila

To understand this place and all its beauty you should get the ticket and visit the inside. However Casa Mila is another Gaudi building, and to visit all of them you would have to say goodbye to a large amount of euros.

The highlight of this building is its roof. On the top of the building there is a walking pass between architectural wonders created by Gaudi. After Gaudi finished his job, Casa Mila wasn’t popular and beloved by people of Barcelona. Somehow, they didn’t like it and some architects compared it to a garage. Perhaps Gaudi style wasn’t always understandable or perhaps people just opposed new things.

Although nowadays this building is as precious to the people of Barcelona as other Gaudi creations. And many tourists are coming to Barcelona to see Casa Mila.

Price:  22€;

Hours: Monday to Sunday: 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM; reopens 7 PM to 9 PM;

Location: Passeig de Gràcia, 92, 08008 Barcelona, Spain;

Casa Batllo

Amazing, beautiful, cute, unbelievable, magical place! I definitely could live in a building like that. In my opinion, Casa Batllo is the best work of Gaudi, except La Sagrada Familia of course.

If you are trying to choose which Gaudi building to visit, then start with Casa Batllo. Although if you are on a tight budget you still should see it even if it’s only the façade.  The façade itself is amazing and I spent more than half an hour just starring at it with an open mouth.

Price: 25€;

Hours:  Monday to Sunday: 9 AM to 9 PM;

Location: Passeig de Gràcia, 43, 08007 Barcelona, Spain;

La Rambla

It is a tree – lined pedestrian street that connects the Columbus monument and Placa de Catalunya. The street became very popular with tourist and it is crowded almost all the time when the weather is good.

With the popularity of this place lots of cafes and souvenir shops opened, as well as the pickpockets. So be alert and watch your wallets.

No wonder it became very popular. The walk among the trees is very pleasant, especially in hot weather. Here you can get your portrait drawn by a street artist or just buy a pretty painting. Get a drink or a lunch at a cozy café and enjoy watching people walking by or a street performance.

Price: free of charge;

Hours: 24/7;

Location: la Rambla, Barcelona;

Gothic Quarter

Narrow medieval streets full of popular bars and cool boutique stores, vendors that sell leather stuff and flowers, old stone buildings – all of this indicate that you are in the Gothic quarter.

There are lots of places to visit starting with the cathedral of Barcelona and finishing with the museum of the history of Barcelona. But take your time and just walk among these narrow streets, get into a bar and have a drink or two. Buy yourself a new hat or a leather wallet and just enjoy this part of Barcelona.

Price: free of charge;

Hours: 24/7;

Location: Gothic Quarter, Barcelona, Spain;

Picasso Museum

The Picasso museum is a wonderful spot for those who are into Picasso. It is a great place to learn how Picasso’s style was changing in different periods of his life. The art is laid out in a chronological order, so you can see how early Picasso is different from the latest work. A big plus is that the museum provides an explanation of how Picasso’s life affected his work and his style.

There are not many famous paintings inside but it is still a great place to learn about Picasso. The museum building itself is worth visiting. This museum is located close to the Gothic quarter and it is a nice place to end your day.

Price: 12€ ( Reduced price – 7€ );

Free-of-charge times: Thursday afternoons from 6.00pm to 9.30pm; First Sunday of each month; Open Door days: 12th February, 17th May and 24th September;

Hours:  Tuesday to Sundays: From 9am to 7pm; Thursday: From 9am to 9.30pm;

Location: Carrer Montcada, 15-23, 08003 Barcelona, Spain;

Mercado De La Boqueria

Mercado de la Boqueria is a famous indoor market with all kinds of meat, fresh seafood, vegetables and fruits. It seems that you can find everything here, any kind of spices, nuts or candies.

This is the place where locals buy food, but I highly recommend for tourists to visit this market. Just take a food tasting trip to Mercado de la Boqueria and you won’t regret it. All the food here is super fresh and you can feel the taste of Barcelona.

Price: free of charge;

Hours: Monday – Saturday: 8 AM to 8:30 PM; Sunday – closed;

Location: La Rambla, 91, 08001 Barcelona, Spain;

Cathedral Of Barcelona

The Cathedral Of Barcelona is located in the Gothic quarter and it is worth visiting. If you really want to feel the atmosphere of this place, it is best to come during the mass on Sunday. It is obviously free and at that time there are not so many tourists. At all other times you’ll have to buy a ticket to get inside.

Although I must say, there is nothing special inside the cathedral of Barcelona, the most beautiful part of it is the façade. You can get comfortable on the steps that leads to the patio in front of the cathedral and relax.

Price: 7€ , and 5€ for groups. If you visit Barcelona Cathedral during the free entrance period, a visit to the roof as well as the chorus cost an additional 3€;

Hours: Monday – Friday: 8 AM – 12:45 Pm, 1 PM – 5:30 PM, 5:45 PM – 7:30 PM; Saturday: 8 AM – 12:45PM, 1 PM – 5 PM, 5:15 PM – 8 PM; Sunday: 8 AM – 1:45PM, 2 PM – 5 PM, 5:15 PM – 8 PM;

Location: Pla de la Seu, s/n, 08002 Barcelona, Spain;

Ciutadella Park

Ciutadella park is a cute place with many benches and plenty of walking space. The park has a kid’s area and a pond but the highlight of it is a majestic fountain with huge sculptures at the back of it. At both sides of it there are steps that will take you on the viewpoint which is located at the back of the sculptures.

To be frank, we didn’t have this place on our bucket list for Barcelona. We accidently found this park during a walk and it happened to be a great place to visit. You can check my drone video from Barcelona, in which the first part was shot in this park and decide for yourself if you want to visit it.

Price: free of charge;

Hours: everyday: 10 AM – 10:30 PM;

Location: Passeig de Picasso, 21, 08003 Barcelona, Spain;

Arco De Triunfo De Barcelona

Not that I liked the arc that much (it is very pretty though), but the walking path to the arc is just stunning. It is a wide space with the trees alongside. Pay attention to small details like the streetlights.

It is a very lively area with kids running around, couples holding hands, families having fun and street performers playing music and dancing.

Price: free of charge;

Hours: 24/7;

Location: Passeig de Lluís Companys, 08003 Barcelona, Spain;

Guell Palace

Guell Palace is another Gaudi building that he built for his patron, Guell. The palace is located on the side of La Rambla, so you can check it out while enjoying your walk through La Rambla.

It is a great place for a photo shoot and to learn about architecture. At the entrance you will receive an audio guide that has a detailed explanation of each room. It is a bit long for my liking, but you surely will learn a lot.

Be sure to get to the top floor, where you can overlook the whole space and take pictures of the great view.

Price:  12€;

Hours:  Monday – closed; Tuesday to Sunday: 10 AM to 8 PM;

Location:  Carrer Nou de la Rambla, 3-5, 08001 Barcelona, Spain;

Columbus Monument

The Columbus Monument is located at the lower end of La Rambla. It is one of the tallest monuments I have seen – 60 meters. Of course, you know who Christopher Columbus is and that his monument was constructed in honour of his first voyage to North America.

At the bottom of the Columbus monument there are a few beautifully done lion monuments that you can ‘climb’ for a nice photo. I highly recommend going around the monument and taking pictures from different sides. This is a beautiful area and every angle will add something new to your photo collection.

Price: free of charge;

Hours: 24/7;

Location: Plaça Portal de la pau, s/n, 08001 Barcelona, Spain;

Temple Of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus (Tibidabo)

One of the places you must see while visiting Barcelona is Temple Of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus. The temple is located on the hill, outside Barcelona, but nevertheless, it is quite easy to get there.

You can read the whole review of Temple Of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus here.

Even from the center of Barcelona you can see the silhouette of this church and even from so far away it is beautiful. We spent the whole morning getting to the temple Of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus and exploring inside and around.

A big plus for tourists that you are allowed to get to the very top of the temple right to the Jesus monument’s feet. The view from up there is breath-taking and if you don’t have a fear of hights, you should absolutely do it.

Check my drone video of Barcelona here.

Price: free of charge to get inside the church, but to get to the top of the church is additional 2€;

Hours: everyday: 11 AM – 6 PM;

Location: Cumbre del Tibidabo, 08035 Barcelona, Spain;

Relax On One Of The Barcelona Beaches

Of course, it would be weird if you went to Barcelona and didn’t walk along the sea at least once. Barcelona has nice and well-maintained beaches and it is a pleasure to spend an afternoon walking along the coastline or relaxing on the sand.

There are usually lots of vendors on the way to the beach and you can get snacks or even an alcohol drink (that is what we did). The food there is good, and the prices are reasonable.

Although, be prepared that there will be a huge amout of locals and tourists around, especially if the weather is nice. So it is not for you if you are looking for isolation.

Price: free of charge;

Hours: 24/7;

Location: Playa de la Barceloneta, Spain;

Pinchos

Just like tapas are the specialty of Granada, Barcelona claims pinchos are their bar food. While they aren’t free (Granada tapas get a point there) they are not really expensive. All pinchos are is a slice of bread topped with something. It can be grilled meats, vegetables, fried seafood, anything at all. Of course some are fancier than others, but almost all pinchos will be between 1-2 euros each.

The best place to go to get pinchos is the famous pinchos street, Carrer de Blai. Cody has written a guide about pinchos in Barcelona if you want more information.

Price:  1-2€;

Hours: 24/7;

Location: Carrer de Blai, 08004 Barcelona, Spain;

Things To Do In Barcelona