Barcelona is the capitol city of the Catalan region of Spain. Located along the southeastern coast of this enigmatic, semi-autonomous region, Barcelona is one of Europe’s most unique cities and one of Spains top destinations.

When it comes to visiting Barcelona, there’s a few reasons that ultimately stand out above the rest. Besides its gorgeous weather and nice beaches, Barcelona is known for being the greatest hub of tapas style food in the world. Any trip to Barcelona should be built around eating as much of this incredible food as humanly possible.

In addition to its famous cuisine, Barcelona is unique due to its architecture. The stunning and eclectic architecture provides a gorgeous backdrop to the city. And, Barcelona’s favorite son, Antoni GaudÍ might just be the most celebrated architect in the history of the world. His buildings are all magical, awe-inspiring, modernist works that transport you to fantastical realms through expressionism rarely seen in architecture. These places are true pieces of art that you can walk around inside and experience in ways that most artwork simply cannot compare.

Finally, Barcelona is known for is fantastic traditional music, such as the Catalan Rumba and their famous dance the Sardana. Make sure any trip to Barcelona is a stool built upon these three main pillars, tapas, architecture and music/dance.

Where to Stay in Barcelona

Olívia Plaça Hotel

The Olívia Plaça Hotel isn’t necessarily the fanciest hotel you can find in the city. There are higher end hotels for sure, but Olívia Plaça is by no means lacking in anyway. It has large, comfortable rooms, a great staff, and a decent bar and restaurant. And, while there are higher end hotels in the city, there is nowhere that we’ve found that combines its unbeatable location, high standard of class and reasonable price. The best part by far, though, is its location. It is truly located in one of the best, and most centrally located regions of the city. It is a short walk from almost everywhere in the city.

Casa Gracia

Casa Gracia is technically a hostel since they do offer shared rooms, but really it is so much more. If you are not looking for a true hostel experience they do offer regular hotel rooms that are truly luxurious at unbeatable prices. The hotel is simply stunning, gorgeous, unique and charmingly old world all at once. The best part of the hotel though is the amenities. There is a shared kitchen that you can use if you want to cook, there is a fantastic and lively bar, and finally there are nightly shows that are free for guests like classical Spanish guitar and Flamenco dancers. The nightly entertainment are truly unique experiences that add so much to one’s stay.

Things to do in Barcelona

Eat Tapas

We will write an entire section on where you should eat in Barcelona, so check below for specifics on which restaurants to make reservations at, but rest assured that you should plan on eating tapas style whenever possible while visiting Barcelona. Tapas, for those that don’t already know, are small plates meant to be shared where a group of people will order multiple plates of “tapas” and share in enjoying small tastes of sometimes as many as a dozen items off the menu. It is baked into the culture in a way that is all encompassing and inescapable. Nearly every bar will sell small plates of tapas style food, most restaurants specialize in tapas and it can be found offered at street carts, markets and stands around the entire city. In fact, some of the best tapas in the city are not found in restaurants, but rather standing around a crowded bar.

Some terms you should know before you order:

Raciones: On some menus you will often find that dishes are marked with two separate prices – one for tapas and one for raciones. Raciones are simply the same dishes, merely larger. They are ideal for those that are particularly hungry or for larger groups.

Pintxos (Pinchos): Oringally a concept derived from Basque culinary culture, pintxos are basically bite sized tapas. They are always served atop small pieces of bread or toast. Sometimes they are referred to as Montaditos. Many bars that serve pintxos simply display ready made plates along the bar. Just ask the waiter for a plate and start loading up on pintxos. Save the toothpicks sticking out of the items as this will be how the waiter determines your bill at the end of the meal.

Platos Combinados: When seen on a tapas menu, this often refers to a plate that contains a combination of a standard set of tapas from that particular restaurant.

“La Cuenta”: This is how you will ask for the bill at the end of your meal. Don’t try to pay for each tapas as you go if you are ordering at a bar. It is expected that you will settle up at the end.

Some Common Tapas Dishes That You Should Know:

Pan con Tomate: A bruschetta-style dish consisting of sliced bread rubbed with tomato and drizzled in olive oil and salt.

Patatas Bravas: Roasted or fried potatoes, much like french-fries served covered in a garlic aioli and a spicy ketchup.

Padron Peppers: Shoshito peppers blister fried in a skillet with olive oil and topped with flakey sea salt

Croquetas: Breaded and deep fried, bite-sized dishes that consist of a creamy, cheese center called béchamel sauce, typically combined with a meat like ham or a vegetable like spinach.

Chipirones: Deep fried baby squid.

Enjoy the Works of Antoni Gaudí

Gaudí is one of the most unique and exciting architects to ever live. His modernist style, perfected throughout his life which ended while he was still working on his last and most glorious masterpiece in 1926 is stunning and enjoyable even to those who do not typically enjoy or know much about architecture. Below are what I would consider his can’t miss works in order of importance:

La Sagrada Familia

This is Guadí’s masterpiece, the cumulation of his entire life’s work poured into one brilliant church. Guadi worked endlessly on this tremendous cathedral and unfortunately died early in its construction at the age of 76 when he was tragically hit by a streetcar. The cathedral, who’s construction began on March 19th, 1882 is still under construction today. It is nearly finished and you can tour the entire inside of the cathedral, but there are still some external areas surrounded by scaffolding and a large crane that is still being used to complete the main tower. The cathedral is supposed to be completed in the next 5-10 years, which will end up with a total construction time of 145-150 years. The results have been well worth it. This is undoubtedly the most stunning and simply awe-inspiring cathedral you will walk into in all of Europe.

Make sure when you go that you don’t miss the museum below. It is incredibly poorly marked and easy to miss. After you leave the church turn left before exiting the grounds and walk down a long ramp to get to the museum.

Park Güell

Pronounced “Park Gway,” construction on this stunning public park was began in 1900 and was completed in 1914, while achieving UNESCO World Heritage status in 1984. The park was originally part of a commercially unsuccessful housing site designed by Count Eusebi Güell, after whom the park was named. After Güell succeeded in only building two houses (the two main buildings you see at the entrance of the park), he eventually convinced Gaudí to buy one, which he did and eventually where he lived until his death in 1926. For the rest of Gaudí’s life this park became a canvass where he could experiment with geometrical shapes and architectural elements. Today it is a gorgeous, hillside park that is an essential stop on any Barcelona itinerary.

Casa Batlló

This UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the result of an extravagant remodel by the Batlló family who bought the home in 1903 and quickly commissioned the famous architect to turn this centrally located Barcelona city house into their dream home. Josep Batlló, a wealthy textile industrialist, wanted to create a house that stood out like none other on the prestigious Passeig de Gràcia, where they lived. The result was stunning, Guadí took the family’s direction to incorporate their love of the sea with his characteristic Art Nouveau style, and delivered such a stunning remodel, completed in full in just two years, that it immediately won the Barcelona City Council award for the city’s best building. The tour of the house is somewhat expensive (around 30EUR), but it is really great to walk through the building. If you are just a casual tourist, you do not need to pay extra for the higher level entrance tickets that add special entrance to other rooms in the house. Exploring the main regions of the home, open to everyone is more than enough.

Casa Milà

Popularly known as La Pedrera, is one of the best examples of Gaudí’s use of stone to create daring, natural appearing features. Celebrated for its undulating stone façade and intricate wrought iron balconies, this innovative structure is equally enjoyable from outside as it is from the tour you can take inside. Many of the rooms in this large tenement have been preserved just as they were in the 1920s when they were in use. It’s well worth your time to pop in and check it out.

Casa Vicens

Gaudí’s first great house is celebrated for its daring use of colors and its distinct Moorish influence.

Palau Güell

Gaudí designed this perfect mixture of classic opulence and modernist style for his friend Count Eusebi Güell.

Colònia Güell

Once again, Count Güell commissions Gaudí to build one of his industrial colonies where he wanted to provide excellent living conditions for the workers on his compound.

If you don’t have the time or desire to see them all, make sure you at least check out La Sagrada Familia, Park Güell and Casa Batlló.

Check Out One of Barcelona’s Famous Food Markets

Barcelona has many large food markets scattered throughout the city. These are some of the best places to grab food from local vendors. From fresh seafood, cheese, meat, exotic dishes like freshly cracked sea urchins, fruits, vegetables and even many sit down counters where you can order tapas and seafood dishes, you will not be at a loss for places and things to eat. One of our favorites is Mercat de la Boqueria, which is located just off the famous boulevard, Rambla de Canaletes and has been the site of food stalls since 1217. This old depot is filled to the gills with some of the best and most reasonably priced food in town. One of our favorite spots, if you can grab a spot at the counter is El Quim.

La Rambla, is Barcelona’s most famous street, and its well worth strolling this nearly one-mile long pedestrian boulevard that stretches from Plaça Cataluyna to Port Vell as well.

Have Coffee or Breakfast With a Panoramic View

Located right on Catalonia Square, there is a department store on the east side of the square, just across the street called El Corte Inglés. If you enter that department store and take the elevator to the top floor, there is an excellent cafe and cafeteria where you can get an excellent cup of coffee and a great breakfast or lunch. The best part though is that this simple cafe has the best view in all of Barcelona. And, best of all, you can enjoy this view for the cost of a single coffee, practically nothing compared to what most places with a view like this would cost you.

While in Barcelona the only way to order your coffee is as a cortado. The cortado is a style of coffee that is exclusive to Catalan and it is quite possibly the best way to make it. It’s like a mix between an espresso and cappuccino. It’s basically an espresso shot with milk but less than what is in a cappuccino, so it’s basically a stronger tasting cappuccino. Try it and you’ll thank me later.

Visit the Palau de la Música

This beautiful music hall, designed by modernist architect Louis Domènech I Montaner, and built between 1905 and 1908 is well worth a short visit both to enjoy its stunning beauty and to enjoy their lovely garden cafe.

See Spanish Guitar Played in an Old Church

At the Basilica Santa Maria del Pi, they host regular masters of Flamenco guitar. The experience is really fantastic as the acoustics within the small basilica are wonderful and the setting of an ancient church lit entirely by candles really sets a mood. Check out their schedule at www.maestrosdelaguitarra.com

Use the Hop-On Hop-Off Tour Bus

Barcelona has one of the best hop-on hop-off tour buses in any city in Europe. The concept is simple. The busses run in giant loops making stops at every important monument and location in the city, where a bus stops every 15 min before moving on to the next one. You buy a ticket for a certain amount of days and at any point within those days you can jump on a bus, get off anywhere and then get back on another bus going to the next stop at any time later. The busses are great and they come with an audio tour in 16 languages if you want to pick up some historical information along the way.

Have Wine and Cava Tastings in the Surrounding Wine Region

There are plenty of tours to the vineyards that you can book, but if you are traveling by rental car it’s pretty easy to navigate as well. We took our rental car through the wine valley and had a number of great wine tastings and tours of the vineyards. Below is a list of wineries we visited and how to get to them:

We started out at Freixenet where we had a great experience trying their sparkling wines, known in Spain as cava.

From Freixenet we continued up Placa Joan Sala which becomes Carrer de la Diputacio at the rightward bend in the road. At Carrer Marc Mir/Carrer de Sant Antoni turn left then make the first left onto Carrer Industria. There you will find the Gramona winery on left. The tasting and tour here were both phenomenal.

Juve y Camps where we toured their Espiells Cellar, was another wonderful experience. From Gramona, simply go back down Carrer Marc Mir, make right at the “T” on Carrer Torres I Bages and then make the first left on Ctra Gelida. Juve y Camps is on right at first intersection.

Finally, we stopped at the nicest of the wineries in the region, Familia Torres. Some of the best wines in Barcelona can be found here.

Another places to visit if you have more time or want something more low key is Bodega Jean Leon, Codorniu, and Mastinell.

Take a Walking and Eating Tour

If you’re looking for a good food tour that includes both wine and tapas, check out Taste Barcelona. This fully guided walking tour is conducted in small groups of up to 8 people for 4.5 to 5 hours through some of the most interesting, historic and fascinating parts of Barcelona. The tour will show you some of the hidden secrets while explaining the history of the city along the way while you stop at 4 locations to try tapas and wine.

Check out these other Wine and Food Tours

The Castle WineTour

The Original Tapas Crawl Adventure

Tasting Tradition in Hidden Barcelona

Taste 5 Wines with a Sommelier

Delicious Chocolate Tour

Wines & Food Pairings with a Sommelier

Tapas & Wine at the Hidden Bodegas

Chocolate Experience

Drink Vermouth

Barcelona is mildly obsessed with vermouth, the city’s most popular aperitivo. This bittersweet drink is an aromatized fortified wine that has an almost botanical coca-cola type flavor to it. You can find many a bar that specializes in this drink, but HERE are some of the best.

Palo Market Fest

An abandoned factory turned hip new concept space featuring food trucks, pop-up bars and live music.

Montjuïc

This is a city district, developed in 1929 for an international exhibition. Today it hosts some of Barcelona’s most famous and prestiges museums as well as Barcelona’s Magic Fountain, which puts on a light and music show every evening. The view of the city from the steps of the National Museum of Catalan Art is particularly nice as well. And, at the top of the nearby hill there is a 17th-century fortress that is worth exploring if you have time.

Visit Catedral de Barcelona

This giant Gothic church is built upon an ancient Roman Temple from over 2000 years ago. The church itself is quite beautiful and the surrounding area is a great place to explore. Additionally, the surrounding area is littered with some Roman relics which are cool to check out.

Visit Santa Maria del Mar

This is yet another Gothic church, and while we are reluctant to tell people to go to so many churches as that can certainly get old, this is a truly beautiful structure and it’s worth mentioning as a quick stop.

Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site

Built by legendary modernist architect Lluís Domènech I Montaner of Palau de la Música fame, this stunning building was originally constructed as a place for people to recuperate after long hospital stays, but today is a museum and, probably more famously as the current host for Barcelona’s Fashion week.

Go See Live Flamenco Dancing

Flamenco is one of the most iconic expressions of Spanish Culture and easily their most famous style of dance. Flamenco stems from the culture of the Gitanos (Roma Gypsies) who migrated to Spain during medieval times. Whenever in Spain try to see a Flamenco performance if you can. Some of the best places to witness a performance are listed below.

Tablao Flamenco Cordobés

Tablao de Carmen

Los Tarantos

Flamenco Live Experience / Tapas & Vermouth in Barcelona