Barcelona seesights: 20 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Barcelona

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The Best Tourist Attractions in Barcelona

Barcelona is a city that truly has it all. Beaches, landmarks, gastronomy, watersports, culture, and history, there’s always something new and exciting to do here. Whether you’re a history buff, a football fan, or an adrenaline seeker, Barcelona has got you covered.

With a wealth of things to do comes the problem of not wanting to miss a thing on your trip. There’s simply so much to do here, and never enough time to squeeze it all in!

So, we’ve put together our list of the best tourist attractions in Barcelona for you to choose from on your visit.

Apart from the main sightseeing hotspots, there are a few more unique things to do in Barcelona and, of course, many activities in Barcelona.

Top tourist attractions in Barcelona

1. Sagrada Familia

Many of the tourist attractions in Barcelona are designed by Gaudí. The beautiful Sagrada Familia is one of the most popular attractions in the whole of Spain. The church is famously unfinished and was designed by Antoni Gaudí, all the way back in 1883. It is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, under the “Works of Gaudi”. The Sagrada Familia is Gaudí’s signature example of his famous surrealistic, Art Nouveau architecture.

Book a skip-the-line ticket and tour.

Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

2. Park Güell

Another of Gaudí’s delights, the Park Güell, is not to be missed during your visit! It is one of the most popular outdoor attractions in Barcelona, and for good reason. It includes 12 acres of landscaped gardens, featuring surrealist architectural elements and eight acres of pine forests and olive groves.

Book your admission ticket.

Park Güell, Barcelona

3. Casa Batlló

Yet another modernist marvel to visit by Gaudí (he truly shaped the face of Barcelona!), is the Casa Batlló. The building was commissioned to Gaudí by the Batlló family in the 19^th century as their family home. Its façade resembles a fairy tale, with curves, bright ceramic tiles, and a wave-shaped roof.

Experience Casa Batlló in a unique, interactive way with this immersive 10D experience.

Casa Batlló, Spain

4. La Pedrera

Casa Milà, also known as La Pedrera, is a UNESCO-listed building found on the elegant Passeig de Gràcia boulevard. Built between 1906 and 1912 by Gaudí (who else!), its name translates to “The Stone Quarry” due to its appearance. La Pedrera is an architectural wonder, with mosaic-adorned chimneys and a peculiar, curved shape.

La Pedrera, Barcelona

5. Parc de la Ciutadella

Ciutadella Park is a green oasis located right in the centre of the city. Here you can find several attractions: a lake with a rowing boat, the zoo, and the Catalan Parliament. It is also the perfect spot to sit with a picnic in the sun and admire the scenery.

Ciutadella Park, Barcelona

6.

Tibidabo Amusement Park

Located up on the Sierra de Collserola Mountain range overlooking Barcelona, Tibidabo is another unmissable attraction. Tibidabo Amusement Park is the oldest in Spain, having been opened in 1905! Also, there are some of the best views of Barcelona from here. Right next to the park, you can also find the stunning Sacred Heart Church, which is also worth a visit.

Tibidabo Amusement Park is the oldest in Spain

7. Arc de Triomf

Barcelona’s answer to Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, this architectural masterpiece should earn a spot on your list. Designed by Modernist architect Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas, it opens the walkway down to the Parc de la Ciutadella. The Arc de Triomf was designed as the main access gate for the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition.

Arc de Triomf in Barcelona

8. Barcelona Cathedral

The Barcelona Cathedral was first built way back in the 13^th century but has had its current façade since the 19^th century. It is a masterpiece of neo-gothic architecture that is visible from all over the city. We recommend a trip inside to marvel at the interior design of the Cathedral too.

Barcelona Cathedral, Barcelona

9. Camp Nou

The Camp Nou is home of the world-famous footballing giants, FC Barcelona. It is also the largest football stadium in the whole of Europe! Book the Camp Nou experience tour, which includes a tour of the grounds, as well as a trip to the museum. In here you can marvel at their many trophies and medals!

Camp Nou experience in Barcelona

10. Passeig de Gràcia

For any shopaholics, this is the place for you! Passeig de Gràcia is regarded as Spain’s most expensive street, lined with luxury brands such as Chanel, Prada, and Louis Vuitton. Amble through on your way to Casa Batlló and La Pedrera, which both take their home on this iconic avenue.

Las Ramblas is another popular street to explore in Barcelona

Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona

Check out our other posts about exploring Barcelona

• Where To Stay In Barcelona: Our Barcelona Accommodation Guide
• Hidden Gems of Barcelona
• Cheap Tapas Bars in Barcelona
• The Most Unusual Museums in Barcelona
• Street Art in Barcelona

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• Apartment Barcelona

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Barcelona Attractions: list, description

Amazing and unique, proud and independent, resilient and passionate – all this is just a small part of the definitions given by writers, poets, politicians, businessmen and tourists to the capital of autonomous Catalonia, Barcelona.

Content:

Barcelona Climate

Barcelona: a little bit of everything…

Barcelona Attractions

A small memo to a tourist

Attractions

Barcelona on the map

Located on the Mediterranean coast, just 120 kilometers from the majestic Pyrenees, Barcelona, ​​with a population of just over 1. 5 million people, is a dream destination for millions of tourists from all over the world. It is worth noting that the capital of Catalonia is the second city in all of Spain in terms of population, naturally, after Madrid.

Montjuic Castle

Barcelona Climate

Thanks to the mild Mediterranean climate, the temperature in Barcelona does not drop to 0 degrees Celsius at any time of the year . In winter, the city is warm, but it often drizzles with light rain. True, the greatest amount of precipitation in the capital of Catalonia falls in October. The swimming season in Barcelona is long: the comfortable water temperature in the Mediterranean Sea lasts from the beginning of May until the end of September – the beginning of October. True, if the vacationer’s plans include an active holiday near the sea coast, he should purchase a tour to Barcelona no later than mid-June, or at the beginning of autumn. At the height of summer, city and provincial beaches are packed to capacity, and even during the season it can be difficult to simply walk through some of the most interesting areas of Barcelona due to the huge number of city guests.

Barcelona: a little bit of everything…

The city was built on five hills, each of which was named after a neighborhood in Barcelona. It is also interesting that the name Barcelona has not only the city, but also its province, in which, according to rough estimates, almost 5,000,000 people live today.

National Art Museum of Catalonia

It would be very difficult and for a long time. The thing is that the official version, which is accepted in Madrid, is somewhat different from the one that proud Catalans can tell the guests of the city.

Most tourists go and fly to Barcelona not to find out about the dates when the city was conquered by the Visigoths, Moors or French, but to see with their own eyes a luxurious city in which, surprisingly, literally “next door”, there are unique attractions and ultra-modern skyscrapers made by high-tech architects. And in order to tell about all the ups and downs, the captures and liberations of the city, about the struggle of the Catalans for independence, it will be necessary to create a whole work. Although, in fairness, it should be noted that those who are interested in the history of Barcelona, ​​from ancient times to modern history, will be able to find information in special books on the history of Spain and its autonomy of Catalonia.

Church of Sant Francis de Sales

These books were published in huge editions, some of them are considered outright lies in Barcelona, ​​and the second, most likely written by the Catalans themselves, deserving attention and trust. Most importantly, in Barcelona you can not enter into disputes with the indigenous population or question the legend of the appearance of this city on the map of the ancient world. After all, according to her, Barcelona was founded by Hercules himself, and this happened 4 centuries before the advent of Rome!

The above, perhaps, is the most important thing that a tourist needs to know about the birth of the most beautiful (this is how the Catalans consider it) city in Europe. This is such a city of contrasts and its area, in which everything is its own: national cuisine, and its own language, and its historical and architectural monuments, and its own football club, which has recently “brought terror” to all clubs not only in the Old World, but also the whole world. Such a wayward and freedom-loving character of the inhabitants of Barcelona must be remembered by the traveler if the paths lead him to this fabulous city, a city that is listed in many tourist brochures as an open-air museum city.

Spanish village

Barcelona sights

No matter how trite it may sound, it is more difficult to list all the sights of Barcelona than those sights that you will not find in this, of course, beautiful and cozy, despite the large population, city . Before you go to see the monuments of history and architecture of the capital of Catalonia, you need to carefully read the tourist brochures that are offered not only by numerous agencies, but also by hotels in Barcelona. They will necessarily indicate that the largest number of interesting sights are concentrated in three districts of the city: Montjuic, Eixample and, of course, in the Old Town .

The old town is often called the Gothic Quarter by locals and guides. Most of the buildings that can be found in the area were built in the early 14th to late 15th centuries. The first thing to visit in the Old Town is, without a doubt, the Cathedral, which is recognized, according to a survey, as the most beautiful cathedral in all of Spain. This cathedral was built in honor of St. Eulampia: do not be surprised if you meet living white geese in this temple, it is their color that is meant to symbolize the purity of the martyr. In the Eixample district, which was rebuilt relatively recently – at 19th century, the tourist will be able to see the amazing work of Gaudí. Manor Guell, Mount Tibidabo, Casa Batllo, the modern Camp Nou stadium – it is simply impossible to count everything in one material. It is just as impossible as it is to get around all the museums in Barcelona in a few days.

House Terrades

In order to see all the amazing monuments of history and architecture, visit Plaza Catalunya, walk along the picturesque La Ramba and visit the legendary Picasso Museum, which, by the way, is also considered the best museum in all of Spain It will take at least 10-12 days. And this is if we forget about the entertainment that can be found on the beaches of Barcelona and in city restaurants, bars, discos and nightclubs.

Barcelona: a little reminder for the tourist

If a travel lover’s long-standing dream has come true and he has flown to Barcelona, ​​he should definitely familiarize himself with the city’s transport network. If you do not plan trips on sightseeing buses, the easiest way would be to use the metro, which can deliver the guest of the city to almost any place. In total, there are 11 metro lines in Barcelona, ​​however, as in all public transport, people with disabilities can move around in it.

Arc de Triomphe

You can taste the national cuisine in Barcelona, ​​without fear of getting poisoned, in almost any restaurant or cafe. But the best establishments are those in which … there are long queues. No one will regret if they lose half an hour of precious time to stand in line: in such a restaurant or bar, the cuisine is truly excellent and varied. However, literally everything in Barcelona can be described as “the most beautiful”, “the most wonderful” and “the most amazing”.

Barcelona Attractions

Barcelona on the map

Zamosc

Milan

Rome

Florence

Amalfi

Assisi

Alberobello

Venice

Girona

Berlin

Munich

Paris

Athens

London

Torun

Vatican

Tallinn

Obidos

Prague

Budapest

Barcelona attractions.

Where to go and what to see

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Barcelona is a seaside city located in the northeast of Spain. This is the capital of Catalonia. If you visit Barcelona at least once, you will never forget about this place. You will definitely want to go back there again.

There are such sights, thanks to which feelings of happiness, celebration and inspiration come, which we take with us forever. The sights of Barcelona are very different and unique. It is divided into three parts: the Old City, the Seaside part and the New City. So what to see in Barcelona?

Park Güell

In the 19th century, such an architectural concept as the garden city gained popularity. Therefore, in 1900, Eusebi Güell bought about 65 hectares of land near Barcelona in order to make this place as similar as possible to such a garden. Guell himself divided the entire area into 62 plots, so that later people would buy and build private mansions, but his idea failed – only 2 plots were bought. But one of the buyers was the famous architect Gaudi, and now there is a museum in his honor in this place, and before that he lived here for about 20 years.

Interestingly, the workers were told to collect various colorful pieces of tiles, plates and other rubbish. All of this laid out a parapet and a staircase that led to the terrace. Subsequently, this trick became a godsend for many masterpieces of architects.
In Park Güell you can see the symbol of Barcelona – a mosaic lizard. And at the entrance you will be greeted by “gingerbread” houses with very attractive icing on top. Also, not far from the entrance there is a beautiful hall with 86 columns, and due to the fact that the acoustics here are very good, musicians continuously play various instruments here.

Another feature of the park is its paths, along which you just want to get lost, because they lead from the very center through many architectural masterpieces and through the crowns of trees. These paths were the last thing Eusebi did in the park.

The object is worth a visit not only for the masterpieces of Gaudí, but also for the excellent views of Barcelona that open from here.

Park Güell, Barcelona

Sagrada Familia

This cathedral is considered the hallmark of Barcelona. It is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. For every foreign tourist, this attraction is a must-see place. Every year thousands of curious travelers from all over the world come there.

This temple is considered one of the greatest creations of Gaudi, although the creator did not have the main idea. He edited the view of the building throughout the work. Antonio himself planned to finish the basilica in 10-15 years, but according to forecasts, the completion of construction is scheduled for 2026. The final height of the basilica should be 170 meters.

About 3 million tourists visit this attraction every year.

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

Gothic Quarter

Ask anyone what is the heart of the city, and any resident will answer you that this is the Gothic Quarter. Small streets with smells from local restaurants, balconies that overlap one another, many shops, including antiques – all this is designed in the same style, which is worth the attention of tourists. This quarter starts from Plaza Catalunya, runs through La Rambla to Via Laetana.

And it all started with a small modest town of Barcino more than 2000 years ago. Walking through the streets of this city, you can see that their width is only 2 meters. In addition to all the shops, these narrow passages are crammed into a masterpiece of medieval architecture – the Cathedral, which is the ideal of the Gothic era.

Another attraction is called New Square, although it was built in 1355. Of course, most of the details that were built at that time have not survived to this day, but four-story Roman towers and ancient Roman walls have survived.

Gothic Quarter, Barcelona

Old port

Probably, this part of Barcelona is one of the most ancient and picturesque. Here you can find a bridge that is an extension of the Rambla called the Rambla del Mar. It is a curved area that is very reminiscent of waves. As soon as you go down to the sea along the Rambla, you will be able to notice the monument to Columbus – a famous explorer, which separates the two ports – Old and New. In addition to various shops and cafes, the most important attention of tourists falls on the sea itself. And in it are splashing yachts, boats, sailors and many tourists.

Old Port, Barcelona

National Palace and Magic Fountain Montjuic

The National Palace cannot be described in three words, because it is beautiful views, beautiful architecture and incredible masterpieces of art. Interestingly, this is a museum that houses several other museums, allowing tourists to spend hours on top of Montjuic.

Upon entering this palace, visitors are greeted by the Magic Fountain of Montjuic. During the day, you can flip a coin to return to this place again, and in the evening, admire the incredible light show, which is accompanied by a water extravaganza thanks to 3620 jets.

The National Palace and the Magic Fountain form an incredible harmony and aesthetic for tourists.

National Palace and Magic Fountain of Montjuic, Barcelona

Cableway Transbordador Aeri del Port

One of the most exciting sights is the Cable Car, because many tourists dream of a trip through the air at a bird’s eye level. The path of the whole road lies from the Old Port to the aforementioned Montjuic mountain, on which the National Palace is located. In addition to being able to see extraordinary objects, white sand beaches and the whole life of Barcelona at a glance, you have the opportunity to feel in a state of flight.

Cableway Transbordador Aeri del Port, Barcelona

La Rambla

The Rambla is almost a kilometer long street with various souvenir shops, restaurants and boutiques. The boulevard starts from the area of ​​​​the Golden Platform of Catalonia, and ends near the monument to Columbus near the Old Port. This street literally divides the Old Town into two parts, and the boulevard itself is divided into 5 parts, each of which is famous in its own way. Despite the fact that this street is quite wide, the passage of any vehicles other than bicycles is prohibited here. But there are a lot of people, but there is one rule that all pedestrians adhere to. Those who are heading towards the Old Port go on the right side, and those who go towards Plaza Catalunya go on the left.

La Rambla, Barcelona

Camp Nou

The Camp Nou stadium is famous for its size and for the Barcelona football club. It should be visited not only by an avid football fan, but also by an ordinary tourist. After all, here you can not only watch the match live, but also visit the museum of one of the greatest clubs in the world. Many stars have played on the Camp Nou field and many football teams have visited. At the moment, the stadium is one of the largest in the world. Approximately 100,000 people can watch the match here.

Camp Nou, Barcelona

Plaza Catalunya

The object is a meeting center and a green part of the city. This place is great for people who have just arrived in the city of Barcelona. Here you can find the beginning of places like the Old Town, the Ramblas, and many more small streets. Although this area covers 50 thousand square meters, it is always crowded here. And it is filled not only with tourists, but also with locals who came to look at unusual granite sculptures and a couple of fountains.

Plaza Catalunya, Barcelona

Barceloneta District

Finally, a tourist should definitely visit the Barceloneta beach, which stretches for 1 kilometer. This beach is very photogenic, especially when viewed from above. It is approximately 90 meters wide and is divided into several pieces, each of which is separated from each other by stone mounds that go close to the sea.