Barcelona
Trip Guide
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The Sagrada Família seen across the lake in the park beside it, its towers rising over the trees
BARCINO · THE EIXAMPLE · THE MEDITERRANEAN

Barcelona was drawn twice: as a Roman camp on a small hill in about 15 BC, and as an engineer's grid of chamfered blocks in the nineteenth century.

The capital of Catalonia, set between two rivers and a range of hills on the Mediterranean: a Roman and medieval core, a grid of chamfered blocks laid out in the nineteenth century, and the buildings of Gaudí and his contemporaries.

Photo: Canaan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

A city drawn twice

A hill, a plain and a sea

Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and the second-most populous municipality in Spain, on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula between the mouths of the Llobregat and the Besòs, with the Serra de Collserola behind it and the Mediterranean in front. It is divided into ten districts, and about 1,700,000 people live inside its limits. Its old core stands on a small hill where the Romans laid out a camp in about 15 BC, and the Plaça de Sant Jaume is roughly where their forum was (the sights). The airport, the two main stations and the port bring you in (getting here), and the metro, the trams and the funiculars carry you around (getting around). Each district suits a different stay (where to stay).

The grid and the colored stone

When the city walls came down, the engineer Ildefons Cerdà planned the extension that Barcelona calls the Eixample: long straight streets in a strict grid, with square blocks whose corners are chamfered so that the streets widen at every intersection. Along it rose the buildings of Catalan Modernisme, among them the houses and the basilica of Antoni Gaudí, whose works are a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Gaudí and Modernisme). Past the old port the city meets its beaches (the beaches), and the towns that Barcelona is a day away from are for day trips.

A warm climate and a few tickets

Barcelona has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, with mild winters and autumn as the rainiest season (when to come). Much of what visitors come for needs a ticket bought ahead (booking ahead sorts out which), while the old streets, the beaches and the market are free to walk into. The city eats at markets, at the bar and at the table (eating and drinking), and there is an itinerary for every length of stay.

Gaudí and the Modernistes

The old city

The hills

The sea

The park and the tower

Schematic, north at the top: the street grid drawn from real coordinates, the Eixample's chamfered blocks in the middle, the harbor and the sea to the south-east. Each numbered octagon is a sight; the dashed line is the walk below.

A walk from the grid to the sea

From Casa Milà on the Passeig de Gràcia, down past Casa Batlló to La Rambla, through the market and the Palau Güell to the harbor: six stops, always downhill.

  1. Casa Milà's wave-like stone façade across the Passeig de Gràcia, with plane trees on both sides.
    Casa Milà's wave-like stone façade across the Passeig de Gràcia, with plane trees on both sides.Robot8A, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The stone quarry on the avenue

    Start on the Passeig de Gràcia at Casa Milà, popularly called La Pedrera, "the stone quarry". It was the last private residence Gaudí designed, built between 1906 and 1912, and its undulating façade of stone supports itself.

  2. Casa Batlló's mosaic façade, with the stepped gable of Casa Amatller at its side.
    Casa Batlló's mosaic façade, with the stepped gable of Casa Amatller at its side.Gargarapalvin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The house of broken tiles

    A few blocks down stands Casa Batlló, which Gaudí redesigned in 1904. It is one of four strikingly different Modernista houses on the Illa de la Discòrdia, the "Block of Discord", and its façade is covered in trencadís, a mosaic of broken ceramic tiles.

  3. Plane trees and apartment blocks on the Rambla, with a narrow passage between two buildings.
    Plane trees and apartment blocks on the Rambla, with a narrow passage between two buildings.Enric, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The street that runs to the sea

    From the Plaça de Catalunya, La Rambla runs three-quarters of a mile to the harbor, a tree-lined pedestrian street between the Gothic Quarter and El Raval. The poet Federico García Lorca called it the only street in the world that he wished would never end.

  4. Baskets of nuts and dried fruit on a stall in the Boqueria.
    Baskets of nuts and dried fruit on a stall in the Boqueria.Nan Palmero, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

    The market off the street

    Halfway down, an entrance opens on La Boqueria, a large public market. The first mention of a market here dates from 1217, when tables were set up near the old city gate to sell meat.

  5. The façade of the Palau Güell seen from below, with arched doorways under a carved gallery.
    The façade of the Palau Güell seen from below, with arched doorways under a carved gallery.Canaan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The palace in the Raval

    Turn into the Carrer Nou de la Rambla for the Palau Güell, the mansion Gaudí designed for Eusebi Güell and built between 1886 and 1888. Its iron entrance gates have a parabolic arch.

  6. The Port Vell and the Columbus Monument, with the city rising to the hills behind.
    The Port Vell and the Columbus Monument, with the city rising to the hills behind.NeusCGarcia, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

    The harbor and the column

    End at the Columbus Monument, where La Rambla meets Port Vell, the old harbor, which was rebuilt before the 1992 Olympics. A pedestrian walkway, the Rambla de Mar, connects La Rambla to the port.

Three things to know first

Spain · Catalonia · Province of BarcelonaAbout 1,700,000 people in the cityCatalan and SpanishEuroA Roman camp in about 15 BCTen districts

The parts of this guide

  1. 01Twenty places, one page eachThe SightsFrom the Sagrada Família to the Port Vell, by way of Gaudí's houses, the Gothic Quarter and Montjuïc: what each one is, what you see there, and where it stands.The Sights
  2. 02The movement behind the colored stoneGaudí and ModernismeCatalan Modernisme, the architects behind it, and how Gaudí's buildings sit beside those of Domènech i Montaner and Puig i Cadafalch, with the houses that have no page of their own.Gaudí and Modernisme
  3. 03An airport, two main stations and a portGetting HereBarcelona–El Prat Airport, the railway stations at Sants and França, the coach station and the cruise terminals — which to use and how each reaches the center.Getting Here
  4. 04The metro, trams, buses, bikes and your own feetGetting AroundA metro run by two companies, trams, buses and the bike-share system, the lifts and funiculars up the hills, and the streets that are best on foot.Getting Around
  5. 05Seven beaches along the city's shoreThe BeachesLa Barceloneta and the beaches that run northeast from it, the Olympic port and the Fòrum, and how the sea shapes the city's year.The Beaches
  6. 06Basilicas, houses and a hill-top parkBooking AheadWhat genuinely needs a ticket in advance — Gaudí's houses, the Sagrada Família, Park Güell, the Palau de la Música — and what never does.Booking Ahead
  7. 07Mild winters, hot summers, rain in autumnWhen to ComeA hot-summer Mediterranean climate, season by season, with the festivals and the quieter weeks.When to Come
  8. 08Tapas, markets, calçots and crema catalanaEating & DrinkingThe city's own plates and how Barcelona eats — a market off La Rambla, a vermouth hour, a plate of pa amb tomàquet.Eating & Drinking
  9. 09The Eixample, the old city, Gràcia and the seaWhere to StayThe Eixample and Gràcia, the Gothic Quarter, El Born and El Raval, Barceloneta and beyond — who each suits and how far it is from the sights, drawn on a map.Where to Stay
  10. 10One day, two, three, fiveItinerariesRoutes by the length of your stay, built around Gaudí, the old city and the sea.Itineraries
  11. 11Montserrat, Sitges, Girona, Tarragona and the Colònia GüellDay TripsThe mountain monastery, the seaside town, the medieval city on the Onyar, Roman Tarragona and Gaudí's crypt outside the city — each a train or a coach away.Day Trips
  12. 12Questions answered at lengthThe JournalVisitor questions about Barcelona, answered in full, with new pieces as they are written.The Journal

All twenty sights

Grouped by what they are: Gaudí and the Modernistes first, then the old city, the hills, the sea, and the park and the tower.

Gaudí and the Modernistes

Eight buildings of Catalan Modernisme, six of them by Gaudí

The old city

A Roman camp, a Gothic cathedral and the street that runs to the sea

The hills

Montjuïc, a pavilion of 1929 and the summit of Tibidabo

The sea

The beach quarter and the old harbor

The park and the tower

A citadel turned park, and a skyscraper at the gateway of Poblenou