The capital of Catalonia, is a sensation of ancient and modern architecture, tempting cafes and markets and excellent Mediterranean beaches. It is Europe’s third favourite destination with an astonishing number of 8 million tourists per year. Modern art museums and chic shops are located next to Gothic buildings, in an entwined mix of magnificence. Barcelona’s vibe stays lively well into the night, when you can linger over regional wine and cuisine at buzzing tapas bars.

Accommodation in Barcelona

There is a wide variety of hotels in Barcelona and prices are generally moderate. If you are on a budget avoid the city centre. You can find great hotels, hostels and homestays around the city. If you prefer more privacy and independence, try renting an apartment. Low budget hotels and hostels are located in residential areas, such as the Sarria and Eixample districts.

Both areas are packed with great restaurants, bars and shops. Get a Barcelona-Card where you get free and unlimited access to the subway and buses, which helps for easier travelling and sightseeing.

Book your stay in Barcelona using the map below or visit booking.com

Things to do in Barcelona

Take a stroll along the central area of La Rambla, a gorgeous tree-lined pedestrian walkway, the busiest and most lively street of the city. Plaça de Catalunya is known for its fountains and statues, and the central location to everything in the city.

Take a journey around Antoni Gaudí’s buildings, including the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona’s most popular and famous attraction, Casa Batlló with its unique architecture and infamous two ornamental pillars in the entrance to the terrace, and Casa Milà, one of Gaudi’s most eccentric and enticing architectural creations. Park Güell is a large urban park heavily influenced by Antonio Gaudi, and offers panoramic views of Barcelona.

Visit the Gothic Catedral de la Seu, where you can enjoy traditional Catalan dancing, the famous Sardana. If you are a sport’s fan, make sure you visit Camp Nou (Nuevo Campo), Barcelona FC’s home stadium and museum.

Eixample is excellent area to walk around and take in Barcelona. It’s buzzing with people going to restaurants, shops and bars.

Shopping in Barcelona

Barcelona has become one of the shopping capitals in Europe with plenty fashion boutiques, hip design stores, and cool antique shops. It’s not only fashionable and setting new trends, but it’s also still relatively cheap, compared to other major European cities, like London, Paris and Milan.

Passeig de Gracia and Portal del Angel are the two main shopping streets in Barcelona, with both streets starting at the famous Plaça de Catalunya. Portal del Angel is the place for major clothes shopping chains like Pull and Bear, Zara, Massimo Dutti, Springfield, H&M, Bershka, Mango, and many local shoe shops.

In the luxurious Passeig de Gracia with world class architecture, you will find high end shopping, like Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, Gucci, Diesel, Burberry and many more. There are also jewelry and accessory shops like Bvlgari, Cartier, Rolex, Chanel, Swarovski, and numerous antique shops

In the most famous street of Barcelona, you can find a lot of Kiosks, flower stalls, souvenirs kiosks and street artists.

La Rambla is the most famous and crowded street in Barcelona. This popular pedestrian area is a great place to shop t-shirts, postcards and other souvenirs. Many stores can be found along the street, such as Desigual, Springfield, Adidas and Custo. This is also where you’ll find La Boqueria, one of the biggest and best food markets in Europe.

Barcelona has enormous shopping malls and below are some of the most popular ones:

The newly renovated Centro Comercial Glories at Avinguda Diagonal, is considered the best shopping mall, with 160 shops, a cinema and a great selection of fast food and gourmet restaurants.

The Diagonal Mar is situated 300 meters from the famous Mar Bella beach, famous for great clothing deals.

The Arenas de Barcelona is located in Placa d’Espanya, an ex-bullfighting arena with a 360 rooftop view of the city, offering the most extensive selection in fashion, accessories, movie theatres and restaurants.

The Maremagnum Shopping Centre is Barcelona’s most famous shopping mall, situated at the end of La Rambla, surrounded by water and accessible through a sophisticated wooden lifting bridge, called Rambla de Mar. This medium sized mall features a large variety of shops and boutiques and the Barcelona FC Official Store.

Where to eat in Barcelona

In Barcelona you will find plenty of restaurants serving excellent food at very reasonable prices. Around Plaça Catalunya there are dozens of restaurants, but be careful with the tourist traps, as the area is highly populated with tourists. Seek out cafés and restaurants used by locals, found mostly in residential districts away from the main sightseeing attractions.

Some districts with great restaurants are Gràcia, which is a hub of quality, affordable Catalan cooking of both the traditional and more avant-garde varieties, and the Eixample, whose chic boulevards have upscale restaurants. Barceloneta is also a popular quarter for locals, where you can try fish based dishes, such as Paella.

The majority of restaurants and cafes are closed 16:00-20:00 for siesta. Most restaurants offer a menú del migdia / menú del día (menu of the day), for €12.00 to €20.00, which usually means a three course meal,a first plate often a salad or rice-based or pasta-based dish, a second plate usually a meat or fish, and a dessert or coffee.

You can get food from any part of the world in Barcelona, but make sure you try some Catalan food and the selection of seafood is consistently great. A treat to try is waffles sold at street stands. They will tempt you with their mouth watering smell and taste.

Tapas restaurants are all over the city, lots of Chinese, Japanese and Indian restaurants, and there are plenty of Italian, Argentine and Mexican restaurants too.

Visit some of the top restaurants in Barcelona from the list below:

BelleBuon
Italian

La Gastronomica
International, European

Tío Papelón
Venezuelan

Bodega Biarritz
Spanish, European

Anita Flow
Mediterranean, Spanish

Don Kilo Restaurant
Italian

Teoric Taverna Gastronomica
Mediterranean, Spanish

Acces Restaurant
Mediterranean, Spanish

Brugarol Barcelona
Japanese

Lab Restaurant
Mediterranean, Spanish

Barcelona Nightlife

Barcelona offers a wide variety of bars, discos and clubs offering all kinds of music, different each night. There’s also organized activities such as Pub Crawls, Boat Parties, Nightlife Tours, night shows, festivals, events, Day time Parties and many more.

The Gothic Quarter is the most centrally-located area in Barcelona with Plaça Catalunya and Las Ramblas very close to each other. Here you’ll find the tinniest, weirdest and cheapest Pubs. Plaça Real is the most vibrant square, always bursting with people and entertainment.

Barcelona is famous for it’s notorious nightlife having a powerful network of nightclubs. The night in Barcelona starts late, as it is customary to meet up with friends at 11:00 PM for dinner and around 2.00 AM everybody heads to the clubs till late in the morning.

In the city there are several clubs with alternative music, ranging from pop-rock to indie. Thursdays are dedicated to alternative music and draw a large audience in various pubs and clubs.

On weekends the electronic music dominates the night, with various international Djs in the most prestigious clubs. These include Paul Kalkbrenner, Justice, Steve Aoki, Digitalism, Luciano, Ricardo Villalobos and many more. In addition the famous Sónar Festival, a three-day electronic and advanced music festival, takes place here in Barcelona in June.

Most of the clubs in Barcelona have free entrance before 1:00 AM, or surcharge, with different figures depending on the night and event.

Check some of the most popular Nightclubs in Barcelona below:

Barcelona Music Festivals

Barcelona has many music Music Festivals of all kinds, especially in the Summer. Explore some of the best music festivals below: