Barcelona Attractions

I spent a few days in Barcelona recently and it is honestly such a lovely city. I have never been to Spain before so Barcelona was the ideal place to start. With historical sights, plenty of Gaudi architecture, a mixture of old and new streets, good food and even beaches, you really can't go wrong. We crammed in as many tourist attractions as possible so I thought I would put together a post of them all to help people who are going or who want to in the future. If you haven't seen my previous Barcelona Photo Diary post, then you can check it out here.

Sagrada Familia 

Possibly the most magnificent church I've ever seen, the Sagrada Familia (meaning Holy family) is the project the famous architect Antoni Gaudi was working on up until he died. It remains unfinished to this day, which was obvious by the sound of building works and cranes obscuring any photographic angle, but I suppose that adds to the atmosphere! Gaudi's work features heavily around Barcelona, but the Sagrada Familia was definitely one of my favourites.

I would recommend that you pre-book tickets as the queues can get extremely long (almost a two hour wait) which is something I certainly didn't want to be doing on a scorching hot day. I'd also suggest that you go in the morning from about 10am to get the most out of the visit before it gets too hot. We also went up one of the towers which was nice for a view across Barcelona but not something overly worth seeing. Plus it was extremely high. Even I felt a little ill and I'm not afraid of heights at all (until then!). You can book tickets through the website here: www.sagradafamilia.org/en/

Restaurants around this area were generally nice, good food with decent prices, however they were obviously aimed at tourists so if you're not into that sort of thing I'd look elsewhere.

Park Guell

Another of Gaudi's creations, Park Guell is a park area open to tourists just outside the city centre. It was originally intended to be apartments for the incredibly rich but the idea never caught on but remains a tourist sight because it has Gaudi's mark. With the many mosaics, greenery, Hansel and Gretel style houses and sights across Barcelona, the park is a lovely place to visit.

Once again we pre-booked to avoid queuing in the heat and got there at 10am to make the most of the day! It was so interesting to see but I wouldn't rush back if I was on a tight schedule. You can book tickets through the website here: www.parkguell.cat/en/

Casa Batllo

Another of Gaudi's pieces (bored yet?) and probably the most fantastical, the Casa Batllo was designed for a wealthy Catalan family and is now a major tourist attraction. Definitely worth the visit whether you're into architecture or not - again, we pre-booked tickets to jump queues from the website here: www.casabatllo.es/en/

La Padrera 

Gaudi's famous apartment building about a five minute walk along from the Casa Batllo. Also known as the Casa Mila, another major tourist sight which is meant to be good to see but we simply ran out of time!

Barcelona Cathedral

The Barcelona Cathedral is the most grand and historic of them all, situated in the Gothic quarter among markets and restaurants, it is well worth the visit as a religious building. Admission is free but donations are welcomed.

The meal we had in the Gothic quarter was by far the best so I would recommend eating around here as it is aimed at tourists and locals alike with reasonable prices, great tapas & paella.

Arc de Triomf

The Arc de Triomf is at the beginning of the walk leading down to the Parc de la Ciutadella. It's quite similar to Paris' Arc de Triomphe but smaller and red brick, still very pretty.

Restaurants around here are definitely aimed at locals, and at the time we would normally eat (between 7-8pm) all the locals seemed to do was drink... not the best atmosphere or service!


So that wraps up my Barcelona Attractions post, I hope it has been of some use as others travel blog posts are to me! Buying a guide book is also beneficial to your visit. Have you ever been to Barcelona?