THREE-DAY BASIC ITINERARY

If I had only three days in Barcelona I would visit:

Day 1: Ciutat Vella

This is the oldest and most historic part of the city. You can start sightseeing from Plaza Catalunya and go down the Rambla. To the east there is the Gothic district and to the west the Raval. This area of Barcelona has been settled for over 2000 years. If you pay close attention to your environment while walking in this area, you can notice how history is stratified.

The city was founded by the Romans and was encircled by Roman walls until medieval times. You can see a map of where the Roman walls used to be at this link. Parts of these walls are still standing to this day and are often incorporated into more modern buildings. The remains are more or less visible; one of the best places to get a clear view of them is here where a Roman wall is now the base of a more recent building, and here where Roman columns were rediscovered at the beginning of the 1900s while renovating a medieval building.

Going forward in the timeline, you can see the Catedral de Barcelona and the countless other medieval churches and buildings in Gothic style which give the district its name.

And finally, from modern times, you can see the Mercado de Santa Caterina, Plaza Reial and Palau Güell.

I recommend getting a guided tour of the district and then walking and exploring it at your own pace.

Day 2: Gaudí and Gràcia

When talking about Barcelona, Gaudí is surely one of the first things that comes to mind.

The buildings that everyone visits are Palau Güell, Casa Batlló, Casa Milà and the Sagrada Família.

The Sagrada Família is definitely the most impressive of them all and a must-see in Barcelona.

From my POV, the buildings are nice but if you only look at them you will miss 75% of the beauty. Gaudí was a madman and his works were totally revolutionary for the time he lived in, so all his works also carry the story of how society reacted to them and how he challenged authority, which I personally like more than the buildings themselves. In addition, his work is full of symbolism and red herrings.

It is not possible to grasp this symbolism at first sight. For this reason, I recommend also booking a guided tour of Gaudí’s work. Entering the Sagrada Família is worth it but not a must. If you decide to enter, you have to book the tickets many weeks in advance.

Gràcia is a district of Barcelona that has been less touched by tourists and preserves its local population more than other areas. You can take a stroll in the area. Plaza del Sol is an amazing spot for a beer and tapas. There are second-hand and vintage shops in this area.

Day 3: Plaza Espanya and Montjuïc

You can start this day at Plaza Espanya and go up Montjuïc, passing by the Montjuïc Magic Fountain, the National Museum of Catalan Art (which is also worth visiting inside, but nothing special) and going up to Montjuïc Castle.

In this area you can also see the Cactus Garden.

This is all doable in half a day. Fill the rest of the day with anything that inspires you.

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Work in progress! From here down, this guide is still a work in progress: I have not yet described most of the places the way I would like to and a ton of places are missing. The is also incomplete – there are many places I want to add – but is totally usable.

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MORE PLACES TO VISIT

Palm Trees in Plaza Reial

This is a piece of niche trivia and a fun fact. Below Plaza Reial there is no soil but the rubble of the buildings previously standing there. Because of this, the palm trees standing in the square are actually in huge planters rather than in soil.

The plants are constantly overgrowing their living space and need to be replaced. To avoid the cost of replacing these palm trees, the city hall has a rental agreement with a provider that takes care of swapping palm trees in the square as needed.

So essentially, the palm trees in the square are rented and they get swapped as they overgrow the planter where they are standing.

Monument to Columbus

More Gaudí

Besides what is mentioned in Day 2, Gaudí left his mark with several other creations that are scattered in the city.

Among Gaudí’s first works are the Modernist Lampposts you can find in Plaza Reial and in other spots around the city. Most people don’t know that these lampposts are by Gaudí.

Another place worth visiting is Park Güell. Tickets are always sold out, so book in advance.

Some other buildings by Gaudí: Finca Güell, Casa Vicens and Bellesguard.

Carrer Consell de Cent

The city council is pursuing an effort to make the city less car-dependent and, as part of this effort, they are gradually opening streets primarily to foot traffic and reducing the space allocated to cars.

A beautiful example is Carrer Consell de Cent, which is a very long street that has been entirely transformed.

It is highly recommended to take a walk on this street to see what a city could look like if we removed cars.

A must, especially if you come from a car-dependent place.

Camp Nou

Whether you are a football fan or could not care less, it is worth considering going to a Barcelona match. Amazing energy.

Bogatell Beach

If you come during the summer, or really in any season besides winter, Bogatell Beach is where you want to go. It is not far from the city center but is usually far less crowded than other beaches like Barceloneta; the crowd is usually better and there are amazing chiringuitos where you can have a drink or eat something after the beach.

CUISINE

Spain is top notch for food. Barcelona is no different: it is absolutely infested with crazy good places. On the other hand, Barcelona is very touristic and is equally riddled with places that just aim at tricking tourists into sitting at their table.

If you just sit in a random place, especially in the touristic areas, you will most probably not taste the real cuisine. And if you do, you are going to pay a multiple of what a local place would charge.

In my experience, this is not the case in Madrid or in Valencia. But it is true in Barcelona.

So it is even more important that you stick to someone’s suggestions. If you can’t stick to the suggestions, at least try to sit where Catalan or Spanish speakers are sitting.

Tapas

Paella

Paella is not originally from Barcelona. Paella is originally from Valencia and is usually made with meat. On the other hand, this is definitely a dish that has been adopted by the Catalan culinary tradition and that has been revisited and evolved in Barcelona.

Paella in Barcelona is mostly made with seafood and you can find a few variations besides the classic paella de marisco: paella de arroz negro and fideuà. The first is made with the addition of squid ink while the second replaces the rice with “fideos”, some kind of short pasta.

  • Xiroi, Escriba: Two different chiringuitos 50 meters apart. Very similar. They are in Bogatell and they have a sea view which makes the atmosphere impressive.

  • El Cangrejo Loco: It is a more formal place. The service and environment are amazing and the price is good.

  • Bar Joan: This is THE place for fideos. And in general, the place to try real Catalan home cooking. It is located in the Santa Caterina market and it has a daily menu. It is a magic place to hang out. In the morning the workers from the stall stop by for breakfast and at lunch break you can see people picking lunch for themselves and their colleagues to take away. The kitchen is exposed and it is a blessing to sit at the counter and see the whole staff work like clockwork. It is also a good place to have breakfast. I have myself experienced multiple times sitting at the counter with a coffee and a bocadillo mid-morning, having next to me an old lady who is having a beer or a vermut. Recommended for anything really.

Tortilla

This is also not strictly something typical of Barcelona but this is a staple of Spanish cuisine.

  • Los Tortillez

  • El Pollo: the tortilla is insane but you have to be there early because they always run out. During the day it is more for food while at night it is more like a bar for drinks. In either case, unique environment, at night it’s more for young people than for families.

Bombas

Bocadillos and Frankfurt

Calçots

In February and March, it is very typical in Catalonia to have a calçotada. It is basically a barbecue that starts with calçots. Calçots are big spring onions which are roasted on the barbecue and eaten with your hands after dipping them in romesco sauce.

Sometimes you can find calçotadas in public squares.

I have tried it in restaurants as well but I have none specifically to recommend for this dish. If you are around and you have a local friend, ask them to invite you to this kind of barbecue.

Churros

Meat and Pizza

There are ~100k Argentinians living in Barcelona. Argentinian BBQ is by far not a typical dish from Barcelona but it is extremely easy to find top notch Argentinian BBQs.

  • La Cabrera: this is THE place for meat. A tad expensive but worth it.

There are also around the same number of Italian immigrants, which makes having a top notch pizza in Barcelona a very easy task.

TRANSPORT

The public transport in Barcelona is amazing! There are 12 metro lines, 8 suburban rail lines, 6 tram lines and countless buses, and the network keeps expanding!

Because of how good the public transport is, how small the city is and the amount of traffic and traffic lights, taking a car or a taxi in the city center is almost always a suboptimal choice.

Biking

The optimal transport in Barcelona is by bike. You can get almost everywhere without ever leaving a bike lane, and the city is fairly flat unless you have to travel north-west.

The best bikes are the red ones from the city hall. You will see them everywhere. Unfortunately, they are reserved for residents, so as a tourist you can’t rent them. So your options are just renting from private companies.

Which transport ticket to use

One standard trip on a bus or metro in Barcelona costs 2.90 euros. There are also passes for 24, 48 or more hours, but they generally end up not being worth it. What I recommend is the 10-trip ticket, which costs 12.15 euros.

How to get from the airport to the city center

In Barcelona there are 4 options to go from the airport to the city center, and it can get quite confusing.

If you are not in a rush, the cheapest way to get back to the city is by using bus 46. It runs only between 5 AM and midnight. During the night you can use the N18 or the N17 and they follow the same route. This bus costs the same as a normal bus ticket or, if you have the 10-trip card, it is counted as one of the trips.

These buses bring you to Plaza Espanya, which is fairly central and well connected by metro or bus to any destination you might need to reach.

The other options do not count as a normal trip and are more expensive.

If you are in a rush, the best option is the Aerobús A1/A2. It’s a blue bus you can take from the airport and it stops at Plaza Espanya, Gran Via and Plaza Catalunya. This is the fastest option and it runs 24 hours. It costs 7.75 euros each trip.

You can also take the metro, but it would almost always end up taking longer than the buses. To take the metro from the airport you need to pay a supplement, which brings the final cost to 5.90 euros.

Finally, there is the train. I have never taken it. It’s probably only convenient for specific locations.

In any case, consult a map.

Catalan

Resident of Catalunya learn in school both Spanish and Catalan. Unless you get further from the city into the deep Catalan region, everyone you encounter will speak both Spanish and Catalan. Most of the signs are in Catalan and occasionally in Catalan, Spanish and English.

Safety

TODO

What is the deal with all these flags in the balconies???

TODO