Things to do in Barcelona
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Skip the Line: Best of Barcelona Tour including Sagrada Familia
Varies (Departs Barcelona, Spain)
by Viator
Explore the beauty of Barcelona on this Best of Barcelona Tour, which offers a comprehensive view of this exquisite Catalan city, including a visit to La…Not LP reviewed
from USD$105.92 -
Small-Group Mediterranean Sea Sailing Trip from Barcelona
3 hours (Departs Barcelona, Spain)
by Viator
Sail on the beautiful Mediterranean Sea on this small-group sailing trip from Barcelona. Aboard a modern yacht, travel along the coast and take in views of La…Not LP reviewed
from USD$100.56 -
Tapas Evening Walking Tour of Barcelona
2.5 - 3 hours (Departs Barcelona, Spain)
by Viator
Combine gourmet food and Catalan culture on a pre-dinner walking tour of Barcelona's famous tapas bars. It's a great way to begin your visit of Barcelona - not…Not LP reviewed
from USD$79.11 -
Hot Air Balloon Flight over Catalonia
5 hours (Departs Barcelona, Spain)
by Viator
lt;pgt;Leave the hustle and bustle of Barcelona behind and join this early-morning hot-air balloon flight.. A hot-air balloon ride is the best way to capture…Not LP reviewed
from USD$227.93 -
Mercantic
Antique collectors could set aside a Sunday morning for a trip to Mercantic, a collection of gaily painted timber huts occupied by antique and bric-a-brac dealers selling everything from restored furniture to dusty old telephones. The first Sunday of the month is delivery day, when the stall-holders take delivery of a new wave of old stuff. The permanent market, with some 80 stall holders, is open during the week too (9.30am to 8pm Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30am to 3pm Sunday). There’s also an activities and play area for children. A date to watch is the Antiquaris Barcelona antiques fair usually held between late March and the first week of April.
reviewed
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FC Barcelona Football Stadium Tour and Museum Tickets
90 minutes (Departs Barcelona, Spain)
by Viator
Calling all sporting fans! Do not miss this fantastic opportunity to retrace the footsteps of legendary players from past and present on this self-guided tour…Not LP reviewed
from USD$30.84 -
Pyrenees Mountains Small Group Day Trip from Barcelona
11 hours (Departs Barcelona, Spain)
by Viator
Head to the Spanish hills for the day to hike the spectacular Pyrenees mountains on a small group excursion from Barcelona by minivan. You'll visit charming…Not LP reviewed
from USD$127.37 -
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Fundación Francisco Godia
Francisco Godia (1921–90), head of one of Barcelona’s great establishment families, liked fast cars (he came sixth in the 1956 Grand Prix season driving Maseratis) and fine art. An intriguing mix of medieval art, ceramics and modern paintings make up this varied private collection.
Housed in Casa Garriga Nogués, this is a stunning, carefully restored Modernista residence originally built for a rich banking family by Enric Sagnier in 1902–05.
The ground floor is given over to a display of Godia’s driving trophies (and goggles) and a video on his feats behind the wheel, as well as occasional temporary exhibitions.
The art is up the languidly curvaceous marble…
reviewed
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Mirador de Colom
High above the swirl of traffic on the roundabout below, Columbus keeps permanent watch, pointing vaguely out to the Mediterranean. Built for the Universal Exhibition in 1888, the monument allows you to zip up 60m in the lift for bird’s-eye views back up La Rambla and across the ports of Barcelona.
It was in Barcelona that Columbus allegedly gave the delighted Catholic monarchs a report of his first discoveries in the Americas after his voyage in 1492. In the 19th century, it was popularly believed here that Columbus was one of Barcelona’s most illustrious sons. Some historians still make that claim.
reviewed
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Museu d’Història de la Immigració de Catalunya
The Museu d’Història de la Immigració de Catalunya is dedicated to the history of immigration in Catalonia. The star piece of this museum is a wagon of the train known as El Sevillano, which in the 1950s trundled between Andalucía and Catalonia, jammed with migrants on an all-stops trip that often lasted more than 30 hours! The one-room exhibition in the former country house, Can Serra (now surrounded by light industry, ring roads and warehouses), contains a display of photos, text (in Catalan) and various documents and objects that recall the history of immigration to Catalonia from the 19th century on. There’s also an engaging video with images of migrant life…
reviewed
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Park
This carefully manicured park remained a private family idyll until the 1970s, when it was opened to the public. Many a fine party and theatrical performance was held here over the years, but now it serves as a kind of museum-park. The gardens take their name from a maze (which is very easy to get lost in!) in their centre, but other paths take you past a pleasant artificial lake or estany, waterfalls, a neoclassical pavilion and a false cemetery. The latter was inspired by 19th-century romanticism, often characterised by an obsession with a swooning, anaemic (some might say plain silly) vision of death.
reviewed
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Museu Frederic Marès
One of the wildest collections of historical curios lies inside this vast medieval complex, once part of the royal palace of the counts of Barcelona. A rather worn coat of arms on the wall indicates that it was also, for a while, the seat of the Spanish Inquisition in Barcelona. Frederic Marès i Deulovol (1893-1991) was a rich sculptor, traveller and obsessive collector. He specialised in medieval Spanish sculpture, huge quantities of which are displayed in the basement and on the ground and 1st floors – including some lovely polychrome wooden sculptures of the Crucifixion and the Virgin. Among the most eye-catching pieces is a reconstructed Romanesque doorway with four…
reviewed
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El Racò d’En Freixa
On a quiet residential street deep in the Zona Alta, this hushed designer hideaway offers all sorts of little surprises from one of Spain’s top chefs, Ramon Freixa. Let’s see: what about the Big Duck, a hamburger of duck meat served with bread made of cereals, crystallised red onion and frozen mustard, for a starter? You can follow with one of six seafood options. A coolly elegant place, with clean cream-hued lines and flawless service, it’s little wonder Freixa has a Michelin star and has twice been voted Spain’s chef of the year by the country’s Gourmetour good food guide.
reviewed
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Palau de la Virreina
The Palau de la Virreina is a grand 18th-century rococo mansion (with some neoclassical elements) housing an arts/entertainment information and ticket office run by the Ajuntament (town hall). Built by the then corrupt captain-general of Chile (a Spanish colony that included the Peruvian silver mines of Potosí), Manuel d’Amat i de Junyent, it is a rare example of such postbaroque building in Barcelona. In a series of exhibition rooms, including the bulk of the 1st floor, it houses the Centre de la Imatge, scene of rotating photo exhibitions; admission prices and opening hours vary.
reviewed
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Sinagoga Major
When an Argentine investor bought a run-down electrician’s store with an eye to converting it into central Barcelona’s umpteenth bar, he could hardly have known he had stumbled onto the remains of what could be the city’s main medieval synagogue (some historians cast doubt on the claim). A guide will explain what is thought to be the significance of the site in various languages.
Fragments of medieval and Roman-era walls remain in the small vaulted space that you enter from the street. Also remaining are tanners’ wells installed in the 15th century. The second chamber has been spruced up for use as a synagogue. A remnant of late-Roman-era wall here, given its…
reviewed
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Sitges Museums
Only half an hour from Barcelona by train, Sitges is a unique resort that in summer attracts hordes of fashionable city folk and a huge international gay set. A former fishing village, it was a trendy hang-out for artists and bohemians in the 1890s and has remained one of Spain's more unconventional resorts ever since. Sitges resort is no less attractive in winter, although you won't have much company as you cavort between its three museums, admire the sun-bleached baroque church atop a bluff over the beach, soak up the village atmosphere and wonder if it's too cold for a dip at the nude beach southwest of town.
reviewed
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José Luis
Welcome to Madrid! Long established in the Spanish capital, the Barcelona branch occupies a privileged spot. It is said this place introduced the montadito (delicious little canapés) to Barcelona. Pick and choose from these and a long list of pinchos and raciones, including the all-time Madrid favourite, callos (tripe). Otherwise you could sit down in the elliptical basement for a classy meal served by brisk waiters in black jackets and bow ties. Mains of fish and meat come in at about €20. You can also opt for morning bocadillos at the bar.
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Restaurant Evo
For a five-star dining experience beneath a transparent UFO-style dome, 105m above ground, grab a cab to Restaurant Evo, located in Hotel Hesperia Tower in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. This is gourmet dining literally under the stars (of which one comes from Michelin). Lean lines dictate decor, with lacquer-finished tables, low white chairs and the inside of the dome lit up. The high point is the presentation of Mediterranean market cooking (say, the consomé de faisà amb els seus raviolis de foie i tòfona negra – a pheasant consommé with foie-gras ravioli and black truffle).
reviewed
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Mitsui
For a city that until the early 1990s barely counted a couple of Japanese restaurants, Barcelona has turned Japanese. Or rather Sino-Japanese. The bulk of the cheaper Japanese eateries now scattered across the city are Chinese run and often not bad value, even if the quality may fail to satisfy more discerning palates. A popular formula is the all-you-can-eat option, where you may take endless portions of sushi and sashimi, grilled seafood and vegetables (they are grilled in front of you), salads, Chinese-style dumplings and an awful lot more. Typical of the genre is Mitsui.
reviewed
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Parc del Centre del Poblenou
Barcelona is sprinkled with parks whose principal element is cement, and Jean Nouvel's Parc del Centre del Poblenou, with its stylised metal seats and items of statuary, is no exception. However, the park's Gaudí-inspired cement walls are increasingly covered by sprawling bougainvillea and, inside, some 1000 trees of mostly Mediterranean species are complemented by thousands of smaller bushes and plants. Nouvel’s idea is that the trees, sustained by local ground water, will eventually form a natural canopy over the park.
reviewed
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Barcelona Half-Day Bike Tour
4 hours (Departs Barcelona, Spain)
by Viator
There's no better way to see the sights and learn the history of Barcelona than by joining a bike tour! You get to have fun and socialize, have some exercise…Not LP reviewed
from USD$29.50 -
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Casa Amatller
One of Puig i Cadafalch’s most striking bits of Modernista fantasy, Casa Amatller combines Gothic window frames with a stepped gable borrowed from Dutch urban architecture. But the busts and reliefs of dragons, knights and other characters dripping off the main facade are pure caprice.
The pillared foyer and staircase lit by stained glass are like the inside of some romantic castle.
The building was renovated in 1900 for the chocolate baron and philanthropist Antoni Amatller (1851–1910) and it will one day open partly to the public. Renovation due for completion in 2012 – though still continuing at the time of research – will see the 1st (main) floor converted into a…
reviewed
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Via Veneto
Dalí used to regularly waltz into this high-society eatery after it opened in 1967. The vaguely art-deco setting (note the oval mirrors), orange-rose tablecloths, leather chairs and fine cutlery may cater to more conservative souls, but the painter was here for the kitchen exploits. Catalan dishes dominate, with delicacies such as roast suckling pig or salt-baked sea bass with black rice and razor clams.
reviewed
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Museu i Centre d’Estudis de l’Esport Dr Melcior Colet
Puig i Cadafalch’s Casa Company (1911) looks like an odd Tyrolean country house and is marvellously out of place. A collection of photos, documents and other sports memorabilia stretches over two floors – from an incongruous 1930s pair of skis and boots to the skull-decorated swimming costume of a champion Catalan water-polo player.
A curio on the ground floor is the replica of a stone commemoration in Latin of Lucius Minicius Natal, a Barcelona boy who won a quadriga (four-horse chariot) race at the 227th Olympic Games…in AD 129.
reviewed
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Cal Boter
Families and noisy groups of pals are drawn to this classic eatery for cargols a la llauna (snails sautéed in a tin dish), filet de bou a la crema de foie (a thick clump of tender beef drowned in an orange and foie gras sauce), and other Catalan specialities, including curious mar i muntanya (sea and mountain) combinations like bolets i gambes (mushrooms and prawns). The menú del día (lunch Tuesday to Friday) comes in at a good-humoured €9.80.
reviewed