With so much to see and do, Barcelona is a city you’ll want to get right, be it staying at a centre-of-the-action hotel, a memorable restaurant experience, or another tick on your world monument bucket list.
It’s not presumptuous to label Barcelona (aka Barna, not Barça) one of the world’s great cities. To witness the self-assured sense of identity, borne by an effortless style, debonair dining scene and embarrassment of cultural riches, is to know you’re experiencing a special place. Shades of Spain are evident, but Barcelona is painted a Catalan red and yellow, the capital of a distinctive and individualistic region.
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It’s wise to plan ahead to make the most of your time, particularly when narrowing down the exhaustive lists of modernista (Catalan modernism) masterpieces, characterful neighbourhoods, art-jammed museums and scene-stealing restaurants that are commonly booked up in advance. The payoff can be spectacular, a flurry of otherworldly buildings and urban spaces, theatre of food and drink experiences, and distinctive culture. You’ll leave with Barna’s vivaciousness etched into your memory, along with the wish you didn’t have to waste time on sleep.
What to do
Get to grips with Gaudí
The interior of Sagrada Familíar
(Paul Stafford)
No architect’s work is so instantaneously recognisable as Gaudí’s. His buildings refuse to sit still, flowing and billowing with the unpredictable finesse of the natural world that inspired him so greatly. Start at the playful Parc Güell (€10/£8.88, daily), decked out like some fantastical candy wonderland, atop a hill with an excellent city view. That vista includes La Sagrada Familia (€26/£23, or €36/£32 with access to the towers, book in advance, daily), the undisputed champion of Catalonian attractions. Ungainly yellow cranes indicate that it remains incomplete, even though Gaudí’s work began in 1883. Every inch of the exterior is embellished. The interior is a sylvan sanctuary of stone and stained glass. Completion is targeted for the centenary of Gaudí’s death in 2026, although delays are likely.
Plenty of smaller Gaudí cosmoses dot Barcelona’s streets. Casa Batlló (from €29/£26 or €35/£31 during summer holidays, buy well in advance, daily) is considered peak Gaudí. The “magical house” is an immersive confection of…
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