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Best Things To Do in Barcelona Spain

Going to Barcelona? If this is your first time to Barcelona Spain, here’s what you’ll definitely want to see. Use our guide to make sure you don’t miss any of the BEST things to do in Barcelona!

Barcelona Spain

Sagrada Familia

The Sagrada Familia is the main attraction in Barcelona Spain and the number one place you’ll definitely want to visit!

Barcelona Spain

Barcelona is known for its art and architecture, especially the modern, unique style by Antoni Gaudí. He designed the fairytale-like Sagrada Familia church pictured above.

Barcelona Spain

As beautiful and intricate as it is on the outside, it’s even more amazing on the inside!

Barcelona Spain

Be sure to buy your tickets online in advance to avoid long lines and to make sure you get to see the inside!

Barcelona Spain

Casa Batllo

We took a tour of Gaudí’s most famous works with Unique Tours Factory. Pictured above is Casa Batllo, designed in 1904 to be a private family home.

Barcelona Spain

Unique Tours Factory offers over 280 private tours in 20 European cities with professional guides. Here is a link to the exact tour we took.

Barcelona Spain

Park Güell

Our guide, Gregorio was amazing!! We had skip-the-line access to see all of Gaudí’s masterpieces, including Park Güell, pictured above.

Barcelona Spain

Casa Mila

Gregorio was so friendly and knowledgable about Barcelona and Spain. He enthusiastically answered every question we had. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide in Barcelona Spain! Pictured above is the inner courtyard of Casa Mila, another building designed by Gaudí to be a private home. 

Barcelona Spain

Palau de la Música Catalana

Another architecturally stunning building in Barcelona Spain is the Palau de la Música Catalana, a concert hall designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner.

Barcelona Spain

The concert hall is the only auditorium in Europe that is illuminated entirely by natural light during daylight hours.

Barcelona Spain

The light comes from the magnificent arches of stained-glass panes on the sides of the hall, and an enormous stained glass skylight filtering in light from above.

Barcelona Spain

Gothic Quarter

The Palau de la Música Catalana is nestled right in the heart of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter.

Barcelona Spain

Definitely take some time to wander and get lost in these narrow, cobblestone streets.

Barcelona Spain

It’s such an enchanting area.

Barcelona Spain

The streets are filled with fun boutiques, restaurants, tapas bars, quiet cafes, and delicious churro shops!

Barcelona Spain

Everywhere you look, you’ll find something amazing and beautiful in Barcelona Spain.

Barcelona Spain

Ciutadella Park

Ciutadella Park is a gorgeous area to walk around!

Barcelona Spain

Definitely find the Cascada Monument in the park!

Barcelona Spain

Arenas de Barcelona

This used to be a bullfighting arena, and is now a shopping mall.

Barcelona Spain

Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

If you have some extra time in Barcelona Spain, you might want to visit the Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Barcelona Spain

It’s set high on a hill above Barcelona, and you can see it from certain areas in the city.

Barcelona Spain

You can take an elevator to the of the tower at the church.

Barcelona Spain

The view over Barcelona Spain is amazing!

Barcelona Spain

After the elevator, there are some stairs if you want to go even higher!


Where to Eat — Our favorite Barcelona Restaurant Recommendations

Barcelona has amazing food! If you’re only visiting Barcelona for a few days, you want to make sure every meal is a home-run. Here are our favorite Barcelona restaurant recommendations that have us dreaming about returning to Spain!


Desserts & Churros in Barcelona:

Barcelona Spain

La Boqueria

La Boqueria Food Market in Barcelona is one of Europe’s largest and most famous food markets. There is something fun to eat everywhere you turn!

Barcelona Spain

We found these gorgeous macaron ice cream sandwiches at the Mima Ice Cream stall at La Boqueria.

Barcelona Spain

Xurreria

How amazing are these churros?? You can get them stuffed with Nutella or dulce de leche at Xurreria!

Barcelona Spain

Bar Churreria

This is another fun place for churros! This shop is a little bigger and has a bar if you want to sit. Churros are even better when dipped in hot chocolate!

Barcelona Spain

Forn Boix

You guys. STOP everything you’re doing right now. This Nutella croissant was LIFE. CHANGING. I’m not even kidding you. We tried chocolate croissants all over Spain, and nothing even came close to being this amazing. It is an absolute must if you are in Barcelona. Be sure to get the croissant with chocolate chips on top, and not with chocolate dipped ends. I am still dreaming about this croissant!!!

Barcelona Spain

chök – the chocolate kitchen

This is a gorgeous bakery in Barcelona with the prettiest doughnuts, cronuts, croissants, chocolate truffles, cookies and all kinds of treats. I seriously wanted one of everything!!! :)


Tapas in Barcelona:

Barcelona Spain

Somorrostro

A hidden gem in Barcelona. Quiet, low key, perfect for tapas! We got the potatoes with spicy sauce, Iberian ham, fresh bread with crushed tomatoes, and a pork bun that was to die for!! Highly recommend.

Barcelona Spain

Ciutat Comtal

This might have been one of my favorite restaurants in Barcelona! That ham and cheese croissant was fabulous. And look at that lasagna!! I swear there were like 10 different kinds of cheese. Amazing.

Barcelona Spain

Cerveseria Catalana

Another favorite in Barcelona!! We got the Lobster Paella, cheesy cannolis, and of course the ham and cheese croissant! We made a point to order the ham and cheese croissant every time we saw it on a menu. So good! This place had the most amazing mini ice cream sandwiches for dessert!! Love!!


Breakfast & Brunch in Barcelona:

Barcelona Spain

Brunch & Cake

This restaurant is one of the top places to eat in Barcelona according to Yelp. But if I’m being 100% honest, we weren’t huge fans. The food is pretty for Instagram, but it was nothing we raved over. Everyone at the restaurant was a tourist. You can totally skip this one unless you’re just there for the ‘gram. There is a long line, so get there early or be prepared to wait!


Planning A Trip To Spain?

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Barcelona Spain

Barcelona Spain

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16 Responses
  1. James R

    Love Barcelona and thank you for this post. I have friends traveling soon and will forward it to them. I like the food tours in the city center and the Gracia neighborhood.

  2. Alice Eduardo Enrile

    Barcelona seems amazing. And it’s always so interesting to see how much you can do there and how everyone experience the city on a different level.

  3. harryson

    It is hard to imagine the city with such magnificence like Barcelona. Such marvelous beauty is impossible to create, without the contribution of Spain’s favorite son Gaudi. Barcelona is my favorite destination and I would love to spend maximum time enjoying the visual treat offered by the Sagrada Familia. Thanks for sharing such intriguing images, it creates great interest in the travelers.

  4. Jully

    Your pictures are amazing! I had ‘wow moment’ while watching them, especially, when I saw that picture from Mima Ice Cream! I luckily visited that place and liked it so much!

  5. Traci

    Beautiful! I so wish your visit had been posted before my trip to Barcelona in November. It appears that I missed some wonderful sights and great food.

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Meet Kevin & Amanda

Kevin and Amanda

We love to travel and to eat! Here we share our favorite quick and easy recipes, plus travel tips and guides for our favorite places around the world. If you have any questions about what camera I use or how I edit my photos, check out my photography tutorials.

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