Barcelona
One of the city’s most popular family-friendly attractions, this science museum is a favourite with kids (and kids at heart). The single greatest…
Must-see attractions in Catalonia
La Ribera
Come shopping for your tomatoes or pop in for lunch at this extraordinary-looking produce market, designed by forward-thinking architects Enric Miralles…
Barcelona
A series of beautiful, broad, sandy golden beaches dotted with xiringuitos (seasonal beach bars) stretches northeast from the Port Olímpic marina. They're…
Barcelona
Within the revitalised 1880s Palau de Mar, this excellent museum travels from the Stone Age through to the arrival of Modernisme in Catalonia and the…
Monestir de Sant Joan de les Abadesses
The Catalan Pyrenees
Who gallops through the hills around Sant Joan de les Abadesses on stormy nights, on a horse engulfed in flames and accompanied by ravenous black dogs? If…
Catalonia
Centuries of styles clash in Vic’s exquisite cathedral. Most of the neoclassical exterior dates to the 18th century, but the seven-storey Romanesque bell…
Palafrugell & Around
The magical promontory framing the eastern end of Llafranc offers fabulous views in both directions and out to sea. It hosts an 1857 lighthouse, home to…
Catalonia
This museum holds a marvellous collection of Romanesque and Gothic art, second only to Barcelona's Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya. The Romanesque…
Costa Brava
Besalú’s fortified stone bridge is so old, it strains memory. The first records of the bridge date to 1075, though periodic modifications have bolstered…
L'Eixample
The Fundació Antoni Tàpies is both a pioneering Modernista building (completed in the early 1880s) and the major collection of leading 20th-century…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
If you can’t catch a night at the opera, you can still take in the awe-inspiring architectural riches of one of Europe’s greatest opera houses. Opened in…
L'Eixample
One of Puig i Cadafalch’s most striking flights of Modernista fantasy, Casa Amatller combines Gothic window frames and Romanesque flourishes with a…
Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau
L'Eixample
Domènech i Montaner outdid himself as architect and philanthropist with the Modernista Hospital de la Santa Creu i de Sant Pau, renamed the 'Recinte…
Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet
Catalonia
The largest monastery of the Cistercian Route, Unesco-listed Santa Maria de Poblet was founded by monks from southern France in 1150, and rose rapidly to…
L'Eixample
Puig i Cadafalch’s 1905 Casa Terrades is known as the Casa de les Punxes (House of Spikes) because of its pointed tile-adorned turrets. Resembling a…
Montserrat
Signs to the right of the entrance to Montserrat's main basilica lead into the intimate Cambril de la Mare de Déu, where you can pay homage to the famous…
Catalonia
Hidden along the western fringes of Catalonia, the spectacular river gorge of Mont-rebei offers a dazzling vision of Catalan wilderness. Carved by the…
The Catalan Pyrenees
Some 6km northeast of Olot, Sant Joan les Fonts has some lovely forest just beyond the village centre. From the Oficina de Turisme, you can pick up…
Costa Daurada & Around
Chocolate lovers shouldn't miss a visit to this family-run, bean-to-bar fabricant de xocolata (chocolate maker), which has been going strong since 1840. A…
Costa Daurada & Around
The biggest cava-producing company, easily accessible right next to Sant Sadurní's train station. Book ahead for 1½-hour multilingual tours of its 1920s…
La Ribera
Come for a stroll, a picnic, a lake boat ride, a tour of Catalonia’s parliament or to marvel at the swirling waterfall-fountain in which Gaudí had a hand…
Barcelona
Welcome to Spain! All of it! This ‘Spanish Village’ is an intriguing scrapbook of Spanish architecture built for the local-crafts section of the 1929…
Barcelona
Apart from La Sagrada Família, Gaudí’s last big project was the creation of a utopian textile workers’ complex for his magnate patron Eusebi Güell outside…
Barcelona
Enjoying commanding views over the Mediterranean, this forbidding fortress dominates the southeastern heights of Montjuïc. It dates, in its present form,…
Barcelona
Framing the north end of the city, the pine-forested mountain of Tibidabo, which tops out at 512m, is the highest peak in Serra de Collserola. Much of its…
Barcelona
Barcelona was the city most heavily bombed by Franco's air forces during the Spanish Civil War, and as a result developed more than 1300 air-raid shelters…
Barcelona
Once an urban wasteland, this area has seen dramatic changes since the turn of the millennium, including sparkling buildings, open plazas and waterfront…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
The early-15th-century Palau de la Generalitat opens through a monumental late-Renaissance facade with neoclassical leanings, designed by Pere Blai, but…
Museu del Disseny de Barcelona
Barcelona
Nicknamed la grapadora (the stapler), Barcelona's fascinating design museum lies inside a monolithic contemporary building with geometric facades and a…
La Ribera
Today running between the Romanesque Capella d'en Marcús and Passeig del Born, this medieval high street (an early example of town planning) was driven…
Basílica de Santa Maria del Pi
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
Begun in 1320, on the site of a 10th-century Romanesque church, this striking 14th-century basilica is a classic of Catalan Gothic, with an imposing…
Basílica dels Sants Màrtirs Just i Pastor
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
This slightly neglected single-nave church, with chapels on either side of the buttressing, was built in 1342 in Catalan Gothic style on what is reputedly…
Barcelona
It's hard not to shudder at the sight of a shark gliding above you, displaying its toothy, wide-mouthed grin – but this 80m shark tunnel is the highlight…
Barcelona
Delving into Catalonia's rich heritage, Barcelona’s ethnology museum presents an intriguing permanent display from its 70,000-object collection, with…
Barcelona
Muslims razed the one-time Roman encampment-turned-Visigothic monastery of Sant Cugat del Vallès to the ground in the 8th century. These things…
Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu
El Raval
Behind the Mercat de La Boqueria stands the Gothic Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu, which was once the city’s main hospital. Founded in 1401, it…
Barcelona
An entrancing work that combines Gothic and Modernista elements, this lesser-known Gaudí masterpiece was rescued from obscurity and opened to visitors in…
Jardins del Palau de Pedralbes
Barcelona
Sculptures, fountains, citrus trees, bamboo groves, fragrant eucalyptus, towering cypresses and bougainvillea-covered nooks lie scattered along the paths…
Barcelona
The La Caixa building society prides itself on its involvement in (and ownership of) art, in particular all that is contemporary. The bank's premier expo…
