Experience the best Barcelona tours

Barcelona is filled with amazing sights for travelers to explore. Many of the city’s biggest landmarks feature the unique modernist architecture Barcelona is famous for. If you want to visit these must-see modernist buildings, here’s a checklist: 

• Sagrada Família, a basilica that’s still being built
• Casa Milà, aka La Pedrera, also by Gaudí
• Casa Amatller, which we enter on our Barcelona architecture tour 
• Casa Les Punxes, by Josep Puig i Cadafalch 
• Casa Batlló, a masterpiece by Antoni Gaudí
• Casa Macaya, often mistaken for a palace 
• Casa Vicens, Gaudí first designed house 

Of course, you won’t want to miss Barcelona’s other museums and experiences that immerse you into Catalan traditions and culture. Here are a few of the best:

• Las Ramblas, a lively street filled with flowers, street performers, and cafes
• La Boqueria, or the Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, a popular food market
• Cathedral of Barcelona, a Gothic church begun in 1298
• Museu Picasso, part of our Picasso walking tour
• Palau de la Música Catalana, a palatial art nouveau concert hall
• Magic Fountain of Montjuïc, with choreographed sound and light shows on occasion
• National Museum of Art of Catalonia, one of the largest collections of Catalan art 
• Columbus Monument, with views from nearly 200 feet up
• Joan Miró Foundation, dedicated to the Spanish painter and sculptor

From parks to museums, Barcelona has plenty of attractions the whole family will love. Ciutadella Park — the main park of Barcelona — is a great place to spend an hour or more on a sunny afternoon. Kids will love the open space to run around in, and adults will love the architectural landmarks like the Arc de Triomf. Here’s what else you can see and do in Parc de la Ciutadella: 

• Visit over 4,000 animals at the Barcelona Zoo
• Snap a picture of the Castle of Three Dragons designed by  Lluís Domènech i Montaner
• Row boats in the lake for just a few euros.
• See the Cascada Monumental, an enormous fountain with mythological sculptures.

With its many gardens, a magical fountain, and a 17th-century castle, Montjuïc also offers a variety of family-friendly activities. And Park Güell is a great place to get kids interested in Barcelona’s architecture — it looks like an architectural playground. 

If you want to spend some time indoors, Barcelona’s museums are a great option for learning about the city’s history. Kids are sure to love the wax museum, but there are also plenty of family-friendly exhibitions at the National Museum of Art of Catalonia in Montjuïc and even the Museu Picasso.

The best tours give you interesting stories to bring back from your trip. That’s why our top-rated Barcelona tours tell you the history, lore, and secrets behind these places that are so important to Catalan culture. 

And, of course, you can’t come to Barcelona without learning about its greatest artists and characters who made it what it is today.

If you really want to get to know Barcelona, you’ve got to explore it with a local. Our Barcelona walking tours will introduce you to local food, architecture, history, dance, and more.

Here’s what you can do on some of the best tours in Barcelona.

• Tour the Sagrada Família, inside and out.
• Sample tapas in La Barceloneta neighborhood.
• Climb down the magical hill of Montjuïc.
• Visit where Picasso lived and worked in Barcelona.
• Taste your way through Barcelona markets.
• Learn what makes El Raval so edgy 
• Explore Barcelona’s modernist buildings.
• Travel back in time in Barcelona’s Old Town and Gothic Quarter.

The best times to visit Barcelona are from April to July and September to December. If your goal is to avoid large crowds and lines while you’re sightseeing, then late October through December is a good time to come. And if you’re visiting around the holidays, you’ll get to experience Barcelona’s many Christmas markets and interesting caganer tradition. 

For the best weather and festivals, plan to visit from April to July when you can lay in the sun on the beach, take a walking tour, and enjoy drinks and tapas at an outdoor cafe. When should you avoid Barcelona? Most locals will say August, because even they can’t stand the heat! But there are lots of fun neighborhood festivals like the Festa Major de Gràcia that’s filled with food, street art, and daily concerts. 

Choose where you stay in Barcelona based on the attractions you most want to see and the vibe you want to have. If quiet nights are what you’re after, then avoid the Gothic Quarter, El Raval, and El Born. For quiet, try to find a place in Eixample or Sarrià-Sant Gervasi.

In Plaça de Catalunya you’ll be central to everything, including buses to the airport. La Barceloneta puts you right by the beach, but you should stay in El Born if you want the best nightlife. Gràcia is becoming everyone’s favorite barrio, but stick to the Gothic Quarter or El Raval for a feel of the old city.

In Barcelona, it can feel like they celebrate a different festival every other day. This is especially true in the summer when each neighborhood honors its own patron saint with a fiesta. Take the Fiesta Major del Raval held every year on the weekend before July 16 for the patron saint of their local parish, Our Lady of Mount Carmel. During this festival, you’ll find residents participating in traditional dances, Catalan giants (enormous painted wood or aluminum structures that resemble religious figures) walking around, and people dressed as devils and setting fire to a dragon in the streets at night. 

From public holidays to music festivals, Barcelona hosts lots of festivals all year round that you can plan your trip around. We’ve listed the best annual events that happen in each season. 

Winter

• Christmas markets open at the end of November and stay up until Dec. 23 or 24. The oldest market is the Fira de Santa Llúcia in Avinguda de la Catedral, but another traditional Christmas market can be found outside the Sagrada Família. 
• New Year’s Eve or Cap d’Any is traditionally spent at home, eating 12 grapes for each stroke until midnight and wearing red underwear, but there’s also an impressive fireworks display by the Magic Fountain near Plaça Espanya. 
• Cavalcada dels Reis, or the Kings’ parade, on Jan. 5 marks the biggest Christmas event in Barcelona: the Epiphany. The parade route usually starts in Ciutadella Park, then goes all over, then goes all over the city, but the official route is announced each year.  
• Carnival is a week-long celebration in February that ends on Ash Wednesday or the start of Lent. Based on the figure of El Rei Carnestoltes (The Carnival King), Carnival is celebrated all over Catalonia with lots of food and costumes. 

Spring 

• Sant Jordi’s Day, which falls on April 23, honors the patron saint of Catalonia by decorating the statues of this dragon-slaying figure and the facades of buildings like Casa Batlló with roses. It’s the Catalan version of Valentine’s Day. 
• D’A Barcelona Film Festival screens independent films in theaters all over Barcelona. It’s become a great event for discovering new voices in cinema from around the world.
• Barcelona Poesia is a poetry festival that dates back to 1393 when it was known as the Jocs Florals (Floral Games). Today, it is an eight-day festival with performances happening all over Barcelona in an effort to promote the Catalan language. 

Summer 

• Sónar is a three-day international event in June that brings together electronic music and multimedia art into one innovative festival where you can attend conferences, record fairs, and exhibitions by day, and concerts by night. 
• The Feast of Sant Joan on June 23 turns Barcelona into a war zone of firecrackers, fireworks displays, and bonfires. Walking through the streets can be treacherous, but most of the fires are kept to the beaches where they stay ablaze until dawn. 
• Festa Major de Gràcia is a week-long neighborhood party in August where residents transform streets throughout Gràcia into artistic displays. Concerts and hundreds of other activities fill the days and nights of this festival. 

Fall  

• Catalan National Day on Sept. 11 commemorates the Catalan defeat during the 1714 War of Spanish Succession. You might see marches and protests throughout the city, and you’ll definitely see many Catalan flags hanging from balconies. 
• Festes de la Mercè is an explosive event in September that honors the patron saint of Barcelona, Our Lady of Mercy. Get ready for five full nights of firework displays, free concerts, a giant final parade, and more. 
• Open House BCN is any architecture lover’s dream. For two days in October, more than 150 buildings in all of Barcelona’s neighborhoods are open for public access, giving you the chance to explore their fascinating history.

From paella to Spanish tortilla, you can find most dishes popular throughout Spain in Barcelona, but there are also many unique Catalan dishes you can’t leave without trying: 

• Fideua is like paella (associated with Barcelona’s sister city, Valencia) but made with small noodles similar to vermicelli instead of rice. The dish is commonly made with shellfish and served with a garlic aioli. 
• Pan con tomate (pa amb tomàquet in Catalan and bread with tomato in English) is a Catalan staple. Bars in Barcelona sometimes serve a slice or two with your tortilla, and traditional restaurants give you the tomato and garlic to rub on a slice of toasted bread yourself. Pan con tomate is the essence of simple and delicious: All it requires is bread, tomato, garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt. 
• Calçots are messy to eat but totally worth it. These green onions are grilled until blackened on the outside then you peel and dunk them in romesco sauce to eat. If you’re traveling through Barcelona in February and March, that’s the best time to eat them. 
• Escalivada is a tapas dish of peppers and eggplant that have been chargrilled, then combined with onions cooked directly on the hot coals. You can add anchovies, but there’s nothing wrong with keeping this dish vegetarian. 
• Mel i mató is for anyone who loves cheese. Called miel y mató in Spanish, this creamy cheese is produced in the mountains of Montserrat and topped with honey. 
• Crema Catalana should satisfy any sweet tooth, as it’s the Catalan version of the French crème brûlée. The difference is the texture of the custard: crema Catalana tends to be denser since it’s made with milk and isn’t cooked in a bain-marie.

If you’re looking for things to do in Barcelona that are off the beaten tourist path, you don’t have to look too far past the attractions visitors flock to — our tour guides will even show some of them to you!

While visiting Montjuïc, you can check out the lesser explored spots to take in the views while everyone else is at Montjuïc Castle. One of the stops on the walking tour is Theatre Grec, an old amphitheater that is quiet enough to escape to with a book. 

Not far from Park Güell are the Bunkers del Carmel, where you can watch the sunset with locals — bring a bottle of cava and a picnic, and you’ve got the perfect ending for any day. Speaking of Park Güell, any of Antonio Gaudí’s creations get crowded quickly, but not Casa Vicens. While it’s one of his first buildings, the house is located off a sidestreet in Gràcia and doesn’t typically have lines winding out the door.

Our itinerary for a first-time visitor includes everything from city walking tours to a traditional Spanish dance experience: 

• First, a tour of Barcelona’s markets and a stroll down Las Ramblas is a great way to get your first taste (pun intended) of the city. You’ll either be amazed or overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of fresh and prepared food available at La Boqueria. Don’t worry — the vendors and your tour guide will help you choose what to buy. 
• Next, visit Barcelona’s most iconic landmark: the Sagrada Família. Gaudí might as well have been called the king of details, as you’ll see when you first set eyes on just one of the church’s facades, but your tour guide won’t let you miss a thing. A tour is really the best way to learn about all the symbols included in Gaudí’s intricate designs. The Sagrada Família is a must for pictures! 
• Venture into one of Barcelona’s more misunderstood neighborhoods with a walking tour of El Raval. You’ll learn about the city’s dark past, hear spooky legends, see where great artists like Dalí and Picasso used to hang out, and understand what makes this urban art neighborhood so vibrant. 
• Try some tapas! Our Barceloneta food tour is the best introduction to Spanish tortilla, pan con tomate (Catalan tomato bread), seafood, padrón peppers, and more! 

You can rush to visit the highlights of Barcelona in 2-3 days, but you’re in Spain! Go at a slower pace and spend 5-7 days in the Catalan capital. This will give you enough time to see the main attractions and even explore beyond them. 

A mix of walking and Barcelona’s public transportation system is the best way to get around the city. No matter where you stay, it’s likely that you’ll be near one of the city’s eight metro lines, but there’s also a bus or tram if you’d prefer to travel above ground and watch Barcelona pass you by. The tram is also a great option if you’re traveling to one of the shopping districts or residential areas.

Barcelona’s integrated fare system also makes it easy to transfer from one mode of transportation to another until you reach your destination. You can choose between the single ticket (€2.40), T-Familiar (8 journeys for €11.35), T-Casual (10 journeys for €10), or day passes based on the length of your trip.

Each neighborhood in Barcelona not only has its own character but offers its own unique shopping experiences. Whether you’re looking for a designer product or a gourmet treat, you’ll want to check out these shopping districts: 

• Passeig de Gràcia, sometimes called the Catalan Champs-Élysées by tourists, is where you can find a large selection of high-end fashion and accessory shops. There’s also a lovely bookstore,La Casa del Llibre, that sells books in English! 
• Plaça Catalunya isn’t far from Las Ramblas, and it’s where you can find department stores and big name brands for clothes, shoes, and electronics.
• El Raval’s your spot for all things alternative and vintage. You’ll find amazing vintage clothing, music, and decor shops to spend a few hours digging through. 
• The Gothic Quarter is a great area to buy souvenirs or check out some of the most traditional shops in Barcelona. 
• El Born is where you’re likely to find trendy, bohemian, and artisan items. It’s an artsy neighborhood, which is why we explore the amazing art that can be seen in the area on our walking tour.