Barcelona
Barcelona is one of the most popular tourist stops in Spain and all of Europe, and it's easy to see why. With its well-known architecture, fantastic museums and top-notch football, not to mention its reputation for being a party city, it's no wonder visitor flock to Barcelona.
Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, and even if you speak Spanish you might be confused by the city's signage. The two official languages are Spanish and Catalan, and most the signs you'll see will be in Catalan. The work of Catalan Art Nouveau architect Antonio Gaudí is everywhere, including the Park Güell and the Sagrada Família (which remains unfinished to this day). He is also responsible for the street lights around the La Plaça Reial!
What to do
There's no shortage of museums in Barcelona, including the Museu Nacional d'Art de Cataluyna (MNAC) in the Palau Nacional, which boasts the best collection of Romaneque art anywhere, the Museu d'Història de Catalunya (MHI), which explains Catalan history (very important to understand), a Joan Miró Museum, and a Picasso Museum, which is good if you prefer his pre-cubist work. For more of a living museum experience, check out L'Aquarium, Europe's second-largest aquarium, where you can walk through a glass tube and have sea life swimming all around you without getting wet.
If you're a sports fan, you'll know that Barcelona boasts one of Europe's great football clubs, FC Barcelona. Camp Nou, where they play, is the biggest stadium in Europe and also houses shops and a museum of the club's history. Matches almost never sell out, and seeing one in Barcelona could make for a great story - as long as you don't accidentally start chanting anything about rival team Madrid. Be sure to read up at The Offside before you go so as to prevent any mishaps.
Barcelona's beaches aren't what draw most people to the city, but the nightlife just might be. Be sure to get out and be seen on La Rambla, the most famous boulevard in Barcelona.
Getting there
You can book a flight to Barcelona (code: BCN), and the airport is only 10 km away from the city. Once you're there, getting around by train is hassle-free with a Eurail Pass that will be suited perfectly to your trip, no matter what countries or how many countries you'll visit.
Where to stay
Barcelona has plenty of hostels which will keep sleeping in the city from breaking the bank. If hostels aren't your style, there are many hotels in Barcelona to choose from as well.
Attractions in Barcelona
Address: La Pedrera, Provenca, 261-265, 08008 Barcelona Spain
One of the most famous residential properties in landmark-filled Barcelona, Casa Milà is one of the more striking designs by the city’s signature architect, Antoni Gaudí. Better known to locals as La Pedrera, which means ‘the quarry’ in Catalan, the building is part of a citywide collection of structures called “Works of Antoni Gaudí” that have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Completed in 1910, Casa Milà is an apartment building with a striking exterior that some people compare to sand caves or to a bee hive. In spite of the fact that many of these prized apartments are currently occupied, parts of the interior of the apartment building are available for touring. The apartments all face two interior courtyards that are decorated with murals, but the highlight is the rooftop. The views of the neighborhood are excellent, but the entire floor has been made into a Gaudi exhibition as well. There is a reproduction of the sea serpent bench from the Park Guell here, among other things.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Audio tours are available for €3 extra.
Admission: €8 for adults, €4 for students and children
Address: Las Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona’s La Rambla, or the also-common plural form, Las Ramblas, is the central boulevard in the heart of the old city, rambling 1.2 kilometers from Plaça Catalunya in the north to the Christopher Columbus monument at the main cruise ship dock, Port Vell, in the south. With only two total lanes for cars on the wide tree-lined street, Las Ramblas has sidewalks on the edges and a large pedestrian island in the center, which becomes the city’s most notable outdoor area during good weather.
Las Ramblas is hard to miss when visiting Barcelona because it helps connect many of the major tourist sights, but it’s also very much an attraction on its own. It’s a place for strolling, but with all the florists, pet dealers, and other vendors combined with the “living statues” and other entertainers, sometimes inching along is the top speed. Thanks to this situation, Las Ramblas is also notorious for its pickpockets, so extreme care should be taken.
During the day the entire street is pleasant and entertaining, but after dark the section close to the port becomes very seedy. Prostitutes and more serious thieves are a part of the nocturnal scenery so it’s probably best to avoid the lower section late at night.
Hours: Always open
Admission: Free
Address: Carrer d'Olot, Barcelona, 08024
The best-known attraction in the Gràcia district of Barcelona is this unusual and cartoonish municipal park known as Park Güell. Completed in 1914 and designed by the city’s signature architect Antonio Gaudi, this hillside park was originally meant to be similar to an English garden park (one reason the English word “park” is part of the name), but under Gaudi’s control it ended up being something far different and far more wonderful.
The main entrance resembles something you might expect at Disneyland. There is a multi-colored dragon near the bottom of the hill, while further up the main attraction is a giant rounded bench in the form of a sea serpent. Two houses are on the grounds, one of which was owned and occupied by Gaudi himself during the construction of the park. The Gaudi house contains unusual furniture designed by the architect, and can be visited for a small fee.
Even though it’s not clustered among Barcelona’s other main attractions, Park Güell is one of the city’s major tourist attractions. The Lesseps Metro stop is the closest to the park, but city buses will get you much closer. Private tour buses all go by the park, usually in conjunction with a tour of Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia church, which is visible from the park.
Hours: 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. in summer, and until 6 p.m. in winter
Admission: Free, but a small fee applies to see the inside of the Gaudi house
Address: Rambla de Mar Barcelona Spain
The harbor area at the base of the famous La Rambla street was little more than empty warehouses and industrial buildings before the run-up to Barcelona’s 1992 Olympic-hosting gig, but things have changed. Now, Port Vell is a modern retail and entertainment complex that has become one of the city’s major attractions.
There are a wide variety of things stationed at Port Vell, but the Barcelona Aquarium is the most notable. Claiming to be the largest in all of Europe, this aquarium has over 300 species spread through 21 separate tanks. About a dozen sharks can be seen from a glass tunnel in the most popular exhibit, which features sea life of the Mediterranean.
There are lots of retail shops in the Port Vell Mall area, as well as restaurants, bars, cinemas, and even an Imax theater. Two popular museums have also moved into this busy complex. The Maritime Museum has interactive displays where visitors can board and even row an old slave ship. And the Catalan History Museum displays the storied past of this region that considers itself more Catalan than Spanish.
Hours: The exterior walkways are always open, but individual places keep regular hours
Admission: Free for most of it, but the attractions charge admission, and the Aquarium is rather expensive
Address: Calle Mallorca 401, 08034, Barcelona, Spain
La Sagrada Familia (which means “the holy family” in Catalan, not Spanish) is a large Roman Catholic basilica, which has been under construction in Barcelona since 1882. The original concept and design were that of the city’s most famous architect, Antoni Gaudi, who worked on the Sagrada Familia for over 40 years until his death in 1926.
Funding for construction comes only from donations and entry fees from visitors, so the pace of completion inches along and will likely continue for decades. The exterior is amazing and easily visible for free from the streets around the gated complex. Paying the admission charge will enable you to tour a somewhat dry museum in the basement, as well as the interior of the church itself where you can climb the very crowded stairs to the top, or stand in a long line to ride the elevator up there.
The views from the top are good, but you can’t linger for long when it’s crowded, which is almost always is. The interior of the church is really an empty shell/construction site, so the most interesting part will be the breathtaking exterior for many years to come. Audio tours are available for €3.50.
Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. October to March, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. April to September.
Admission: €8 for adults, €5 for students, minors, and other discount card holders
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For more Barcelona travel information, be sure to check out BootsnAll's Barcelona Travel Guide.
