There are many things to see and do in Barcelona, one of those cities that fall in love every time you visit it, no matter how many times. Gaudí's Barcelona, the genius of modernism who with many of his masterpieces has become a reference in the world or that of Lluís Doménech i Montaner, another of his favorite architects. Getting lost in the Gothic Quarter, going for tapas on the Born, enjoying the beaches of Barceloneta, walking or running along the seafront, getting distracted by Las Ramblas or climbing to Montjuïc or Tibidabo, are just some of the many things to do .
Barcelona we can say that it is the city we have visited more times and of course, it is one of our favorites. We wanted to make a list of the 75 things to see and do in Barcelona, especially if it is your first time to the city. We start!
1. Go up to the roof of La Pedrera or Casa Mila, to see the magical and original forms of Gaudí in some places such as chimneys.
2. Visit the castle of Montjuic, an old military fortress located on the mountain of Montjuic and with some incredible views of Barcelona.
3. Take a photo of the bridge of Calle del Bisbe, which connects the Generalitat with the Casa dels Canonges in the Gothic Quarter, one of the typical postcards of Barcelona.
4. Devour some great tapas in the restaurant Tapas, anem de tapes, in the Born district.
5. Visit or attend a concert at the Palau de la Música Catalana, one of the greatest exponents of modernism and one of the most beautiful concert halls in the world.
6. Stroll through the Park Güell, a beautiful garden imagined by Gaudí and one of the essential places to visit in Barcelona. One way to avoid running out of space is to book a guided tour of the park or reserve this ticket in advance.
Park Güell
7. Go hollow to visit the increasingly touristy Mercado de la Boquería, with a beautiful mix of colors and smells of its fresh products.
8. Enter the Monastery of Pedralbes, in Gothic style with a beautiful cloister. Nor can we miss visiting the church and the Chapel of San Miguel.
9. Have fun at the Tibidabo Amusement Park, the oldest in Spain. Do not forget to climb to its old attractions such as the Plane or the Talaia, while enjoying incredible views of the city.
10. Visit the Gothic-style Barcelona Cathedral with several essentials such as: the Crypt of Santa Eulalia, the Cloister, the Choir, the Terrace and the Chapel of the Holy Christ of Lepanto.
11. Take a walk through some of the corners of the most beautiful towns and cities in Spain in the Spanish Village, one of the best things to do in Barcelona. You can book the ticket in advance here.
12. Visit the National Museum of Art of Catalonia in the spectacular National Palace of Montjüic, with one of the most important collections of Romanesque art in the world.
13. Step on the lawn of Camp Nou booking a Camp Nou Experience. We will also visit the museum and many parts of the FC Barcelona Stadium, one of the most legendary teams with the most followers in the world.
14. Go eat or drink in the historic restaurant of Els 4 Gats in the Gothic Quarter, where intellectuals, writers and painters of the time like Picasso or Gaudí met and one of the best restaurants to eat in Barcelona.
15. Marvel at the facade and enter Casa Batlló, one of Gaudí's masterpieces.
Casa Batlló
16. Have a drink on some of the terraces of the beautiful Plaza Real, with the arches that surround the arcaded square and the street lamps designed by Gaudí.
17. See Barcelona from the Collserola Tower, with panoramic views that make it one of the best viewpoints of Barcelona.
18. Remember the novel The Cathedral of the Sea while we visit the beautiful Basilica of Santa María del Mar in gothic style. A great option to explore the scenarios where the plot of this book is set is to book this tour with a guide in Spanish.
19. Go up to the terrace of Las Arenas Shopping Center, to have magnificent views of Plaza España and the entire Montjuïc area. Without a doubt, one of the best tips for traveling to Barcelona.
20. If we have little time we can book a complete tour of the city, considered one of the best excursions in Barcelona, which will allow us to tour and get to know the main tourist points of the city with a guide.
More things to see and do in Barcelona
21. Observe the Columbus Monument with the right arm extended and the index finger pointing towards the sea. Of course, we must bear in mind that it does not point to America since it is in the opposite direction and It is not necessary Get on the iron figures of the lions at the bottom to take a picture.
22. Find the Plaza de Sant Felip Neri, one of the most beautiful squares in the city, in the Gothic Quarter.
23. Disconnect from the city walking through the Parque de la Ciutadella, with several monuments and a beautiful lake.
24. Go shopping on the Portal de L'Angel, near Plaza Catalunya, and one of the most commercial streets in the city.
25. Stroll through the Gothic Quarter, the old town of Barcelona, full of charming corners and one of the best things to do in Barcelona. A good way to learn more about the history of this neighborhood is to book this tour of the Gothic and Palau Güell with a guide in Spanish.
Stroll through the Gothic Quarter, one of the best things to do in Barcelona.
26. Enter one of the many souvenir shops on Las Ramblas and buy a miniature of the Park Güell dragon as a souvenir of your time in the city.
27. Look both ways when you reach the Plaza Sant Jaume: we will see the buildings of the City Hall of Barcelona and the Generalitat de Catalunya face to face.
28. Visit the Picasso Museum, with one of the painter's most important collections, especially of his youth, where he spent an important time in his life.
29. Choose an accommodation near the center of Barcelona. We have been to several hotels in Barcelona, in one of our last getaways we stayed at Le Méridien on the Ramblas. If we want something cheaper, we also recommend the Caledonian, near Plaza Cataluña and with a metro station next door. The quality / price ratio of both are perfect.
For more information on the best hotels and neighborhoods you can consult this post of where to stay in Barcelona.
30. Listen to an opera or a concert at the Teatro del Liceo, the oldest in Barcelona. One of the best things to do in Barcelona.
31. Sunbathing or just walking along Barceloneta Beach, not forgetting that it has an area for gymnastics and various sports.
32. Go up to the Temple of the Sacred Heart, with an air to the Sacre Cour of Paris, located in Tibida, with one of the best visits from Barcelona from its top.
If you prefer to forget about preparations or have little time, you can book the best tours and excursions in Spanish in Barcelona
If you prefer to forget about preparations or have little time, you can book the best tours and excursions in Spanish in Barcelona33. Discover the neighborhood of Poblenou, open to the sea, an area full of bars, restaurants, shops and with a lot of atmosphere both day and night.
34. Cross the bell towers of Plaza España at night, until you reach the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc to see its show of lights and water at night.
35. Find a second-hand book, magazine or comic, on a Sunday morning at the Mercado de Sant Antoni, located in a modernist building that they are currently refurbishing.
36. Enter the Sagrada Familia, Gaudí's masterpiece and one of the wonders of the world. We can do it by booking a guided tour and thus avoid queues.
The Holy Family
37. Get lost in the narrow streets of the Barceloneta neighborhood until you find a tapas restaurant with fresh fish like La Peninsular.
38. See the lighting and the change of lights of the Agbar Tower (does not go unnoticed).
39. Discover Barcelona from the sky with the Montjuïc cable car that will take us from the port area to the Montjuïc Castle.
40. Find the Botero Cat. Lately he has been seen on the Rambla del Raval ...
More places to see in Barcelona
41. Climb up to the Carmel Bunkers in Turó de la Rovira. A place with a history of the Spanish Civil War with one of the best viewpoints of Barcelona.
42. Do some running, rollerblading or cycling along the promenade. Barcelona is one of the cities that is creating more bike lanes and fostering this less polluting transport.
43. Smelling the fresh products of the Santa Caterina Market, with a wavy and colorful roof, with a restaurant like the Cuines Santa Caterina in which to taste their products.
44. If we have one day left, we can take a trip to Montserrat, to see the original forms of the most famous mountain in Catalonia. We can't stop seeing the Brunette, a black virgin carved in the twelfth century.
For more information you can read this post on how to go from Barcelona to Montserrat.
45. Distracted, without losing sight of the portfolio, in Las Ramblas, one of the most beautiful walks in the world and one of the places to see in Barcelona.
Las Ramblas
46. Shopping in more exclusive stores along Paseo de Gracia, one of the most important commercial areas of Barcelona.
47. Find a bargain among the stalls of the new Encants Vells Market, one of the best things to do in Barcelona.
48. Don't forget to see Casa Amatller while we look at the facade of Casa Batlló, right next to it. Or the nearby Casa Lleó Morera, two of the most beautiful modernist buildings in Barcelona.
49. Going out for a party or having a drink at the nightclubs and bars of the Barceloneta Promenade and the Olympic Village. Full of terraces on the beach, Opium Barcelona or Shoko are some of the most famous.
50. Reach the beautiful Plaça del Rei in the Gothic Quarter, surrounded by Gothic and Renaissance buildings, one of the best places to see in Barcelona. It was the residence and seat of the government of the counts of Barcelona and the kings of Aragon.
51. Shopping and tapas in the beautiful neighborhood of El Born, full of stylish and original shops, signature tapas, cafes ..., one of our favorite neighborhoods.
52. See sculptures of the genius Joan Miró as "Dona and Ocell"while we walk through Barcelona, or paintings if we enter the Joan Miró Foundation.
53. Take a boat trip to see the coast of Barcelona on the typical Golondrina, a boat that has been operating since 1888.
54. Tour the entire Paseo de Gracia from Plaza Catalunya to Calle Mayor de Gracia, with impressive modernist buildings by the architects Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
La Pedrera on Paseo de Gracia, one of the buildings to see in Barcelona
55. If we do not have much time we can take the Barcelona Tourist Bus and go down to the most tourist sites we want to visit.
56. Take a tour of the remains of the Roman city Barcino, today Barcelona, starting with the Plaza del Rey.
57. Getting lost in the Barrio de Gracia, where we will find ourselves in a different, multicultural city with original shops, plazas and terraces with atmosphere. If we can match the festivities of Grace in August, the visit will be complete.
58. Cross and rest in the beautiful Plaza Catalunya, the tourist epicenter and one of the things to see in Barcelona.
59. Stroll along Montcada Street, one of the most interesting and beautiful streets of the city, full of palaces such as those of the Marquises de Llió or the Dalmases Palace.
More things to do in Barcelona
60. Travel the four kilometers of Sants Street, full of shops of all kinds. It is considered the longest shopping street in Europe.
61. Feel the history as we stroll through El Call, the old Jewish neighborhood in the Gothic Quarter.
62. Relax and get lost in the Park of the Labyrinth of Horta, with the oldest garden in the city, beautiful statues and the labyrinth that appeared in the film Perfume.
63. Cross the Arc de Triomphe in Barcelona, near the El Born neighborhood.
64. Go up the escalators to the Olympic area of Montjüic, where we will see the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, the Palau Sant Jordi, the Bernat Picornell Pools and the Calatrava Telecommunications Tower built for the 1992 Olympic Games.
65. Visit the spectacular Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau by architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, an open-air museum. If you want to know better the history of the hospital you can book this guided tour.
Santa Creu and Sant Pau Hospital
66. Enter the Station of France although we do not take any train, with some resemblance to the Parisian station of Orsay. The prettiest in Barcelona with modernist style and art deco.
67. Get lost in El Raval, a neighborhood full of contrasts and multicultural, where students, artists and prostitutes live together.
68. Enter the headquarters of the Excursionist Center of Barcelona to see the remains of the Temple of Augustus, one of the many jewels of the Gothic quarter and one of the best free things in Barcelona.
69. Visit the monastery of San Pablo del Campo in the district of El Raval, an old Benedictine monastery and one of the best preserved Romanesque buildings in the city.
70. Relax in the Maremagnum area by crossing the drawbridge of the Rambla del Mar. There is a shopping center and restaurants, perfect for sitting and watching the transfer of boats.
71. Go to see a play or some musical in some of the mythical theaters of the Parallel such as the Teatre Apollo or El Molino, one of the things you have to do in Barcelona.
72. Book a table well in advance at the Tickets restaurant, of the well-known chefs Albert and Ferran Adrià.
73. Attend a dance show at the beautiful Mercat de les Flors in a modernist style.
74. Entertain yourself in Tallers Street, one of the old medieval streets in El Raval, where you can enter alternative stores, second-hand clothes, records, tattoos, shoes ...
75. Drink from the Canaletas de Las Ramblas Fountain and wait for the saying that says those who drink their water will return to Barcelona. We have no doubt that whether you drink or not, Barcelona falls in love and you will come back or think about coming back many times.
* Book your transfer Airport ⇆ Center or Hotel of Barcelona here
- Full Barcelona Tour
- Visit of the Sagrada Familia without queues
- Barcelona tourist bus
- Excursion to Montserrat
- Camp Nou Experience
- More excursions and tours here
If you feel like helping us complete the list of 75 things to see and do in Barcelona, add yours in the comments.
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Barcelona guide in one day
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The best offers of Flights to Barcelona here
The best hotels at the best prices in Barcelona here
Book the best tours and excursions in Barcelona in Spanish here
Book your Barcelona⇆ Airport transfer here
Book your Barcelona Pass with all the advantages here
Barcelona guide in one day
Rent your car in Barcelona at the best price here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here** All photos without a watermark have been provided by Shutterstock.
