L'Eixample
The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family) is considered to be the symbol of Barcelona by many residents, and the…
Must-see attractions in Catalonia
Barcelona
Visitors and locals alike love Park Güell. The waving balcony and the colorful Guard’s House, with the imposing Barcelona skyline and sea in the…
L'Eixample
One of Europe's strangest residential buildings, Casa Batlló (built 1904–6) is Gaudí at his fantastical best. From its playful facade and marine-world…
L'Eixample
In the top tier of Gaudí's achievements, this madcap Unesco-listed masterpiece, with 33 balconies, was built in 1905–10 as a combined apartment and office…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
Barcelona's most central fresh-produce market is one of the greatest sound, smell and colour sensations in Europe. It's housed in a packed-out Modernista…
La Ribera
Located along the grand, medieval street of Carrer de Montcada, the Museu Picasso is dedicated to one of the world’s greatest artists, Pablo Picasso. Born…
Barcelona
Joan Miró was a Catalan painter and sculptor born in Barcelona who combined abstract art with surrealism. He is considered one of the most influential…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
La Rambla is a tree-lined boulevard featuring a wide array of architectural delights, beautifully decorated flower stalls and particularly talented (and…
Figueres
The first name that pops into your head when you lay eyes on this red castle-like building, topped with giant eggs and stylised Oscar-like statues and…
Cadaqués
Overlooking a peaceful cove in Port Lligat, a tiny fishing settlement 1km northeast of Cadaqués, this magnificent seaside complex was the residence and…
Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya
Barcelona
The spectacular neobaroque silhouette of the Palau Nacional can be seen on Montjuïc's slopes from across the city. Built for the 1929 World Exhibition and…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
Barcelona’s central place of worship presents a magnificent image. The richly decorated main facade, dotted with gargoyles and the kinds of stone…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
One of Barcelona's most fascinating museums travels back through the centuries to the very foundations of Roman Barcino. You'll stroll over ruins of the…
La Ribera
A fantastical symphony in tile, brick, sculpted stone and stained glass, this Unesco-listed, 2146-seat concert hall is a high point of Barcelona’s…
El Raval
Built off La Rambla in the late 1880s for Gaudí's wealthy patron the industrialist Eusebi Güell, the Palau Güell is a magnificent example of the early…
Costa Brava
The evocative seaside archaeological site of Empúries, 1.5km northwest of central L'Escala, immerses you in a strategic Greek, and later Roman, trading…
Palafrugell & Around
If you’re intrigued by artist Salvador Dalí, the Castell de Púbol is an essential piece of the puzzle. Between Girona and Palafrugell (22km northwest of…
Barcelona
A pilgrimage site for football fans around the world, Camp Nou is a must for FC Barcelona fans. On this tour, which can be guided or self-guided, you'll…
Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar
La Ribera
At the southwestern end of Passeig del Born stands Barcelona’s finest Catalan Gothic church, Santa Maria del Mar (Our Lady of the Sea). Begun in 1329,…
El Raval
An extraordinary all-white, glass-fronted creation by American architect Richard Meier, opened in 1995, the MACBA has become the city's foremost…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
The wealthy Catalan sculptor, traveller and obsessive collector Frederic Marès i Deulovol (1893–1991) amassed one of the wildest collections of historical…
Barcelona
A Unesco-listed masterpiece, this angular, turreted 1885-completed private house was Gaudí’s inaugural commission, when the architect was aged just 30,…
Girona
Towering over a flight of 86 steps rising from Plaça de la Catedral, Girona's imposing cathedral is far more ancient than its billowing baroque facade…
Catalonia
Visible long before entering Cardona, this hilltop fortress broods above the modern town. From this strategic position, centuries of noblemen have kept a…
Costa Brava
The allure of the Illes Medes, seven islets off L'Estartit beach, lies in their range of depths (down to 50m), kaleidoscopic marine life, and underwater…
Barcelona
The city's maritime museum occupies the mighty Gothic Reials Drassanes (Royal Shipyards) – a remarkable relic from Barcelona's days as the seat of a…
Montserrat
Catalonia's most renowned monastery was established in 1025 to commemorate local shepherds' visions of the Virgin Mary, accompanied by celestial light and…
Monestir de Sant Pere de Rodes
Costa Brava
Views of distant Pyrenean peaks and the deep-blue Mediterranean combine with a spectacular piece of Romanesque architecture at this hillside monastery,…
The Catalan Pyrenees
Consecrated in CE 888, Ripoll's monastery was Catalonia’s spiritual and cultural heart from the mid-10th to mid-11th century. The five-naved basilica was…
Tarragona
Crowning the town, Tarragona’s cathedral incorporates both Romanesque and Gothic features, as typified by the main facade. The flower-filled cloister has…
Sitges
Built in the 1890s as a house-studio by Catalan artist Santiago Rusiñol, a pioneer of the Modernisme movement, this seaside mansion is crammed with his…
Reial Monestir de Santes Creus
Catalonia
On approaching this majestic monastery, an atmosphere of awe descends in broad Plaça de Sant Bernat Calbó: its mix of architectural styles spans seven…
Catalonia
Lleida’s ‘old cathedral’, enclosed within a later fortress complex, towers above the city from its commanding hilltop location. Work began on the…
Girona
Until 1492, Girona was home to Catalonia’s second-most important medieval Jewish community, after Barcelona, and one of the country's finest Jewish…
Catedral de Santa Maria & Museu Diocesà
The Catalan Pyrenees
Dominating La Seu d'Urgell's old town is the 12th-century, pale sandstone Santa Maria cathedral – one of Catalonia’s outstanding Romanesque buildings. Its…
The Catalan Pyrenees
On Taüll's fringes, this 12th-century Romanesque church is a gem not only for its elegant, simple lines and slender six-storey bell tower (which you can…
Costa Daurada & Around
Visionary Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí was born in Reus, 14km northwest of Tarragona, in 1852. Though there are no Gaudí buildings here, he was inspired…
Costa Daurada & Around
Just 3km northwest of Vilafranca on the BP2121, this is the area’s premier winemaker, with a family winemaking tradition dating from the 17th century and…
Costa Daurada & Around
There is no more glorious spot to sip cava than the vaulted interior of Codorníu's palatial Modernista headquarters, designed by Catalan architect Josep…
Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Pedralbes
Barcelona
Founded in 1327, this serene convent is now a museum of monastic life (the few remaining nuns have moved into more modern neighbouring buildings). It…
