La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
At the heart of the ancient Jewish Call lie the remains of what may well be the city’s main medieval synagogue (though some historians cast doubt on the…
Must-see attractions in Catalonia
L'Eixample
The 1901 Palau Macaya is one of Barcelona's great yet least-known Catalan Modernisme gems. It was designed by architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch, who was…
L'Eixample
Hotel magnate Jordi Clos has spent much of his life collecting ancient Egyptian artefacts, brought together in this private museum divided into thematic…
Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria
La Ribera
Launched in 2013 as part of the events held for the tercentenary of the Catalan defeat in the War of the Spanish Succession, this cultural space is housed…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
Flanking the Plaça del Rei, this 1550s palace was built as the residence of the Spanish lloctinent (viceroy) of Catalonia and later converted into a…
Barcelona
Set in an 18th-century former textile factory surrounded by greenery, this contemporary gallery is a showcase for Catalan painting from the 1960s onwards…
Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya
Barcelona
Occupying the 1929 World Exhibition's Graphic Arts Palace, this intriguing archaeology museum covers both Catalonia and cultures from across Spain. There…
Barcelona
Originally created for the 1929 World Exposition, this huge colour-lit fountain has again been a magnet since the 1992 Olympics, shimmering on the long…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
The 16th-century Casa de l’Ardiaca has housed the city’s archives since the 1920s. Stroll around the supremely serene courtyard, cooled by a fountain and…
Basílica del Sagrat Cor de Jesús
Barcelona
At the very top of 512m-tall Tibidabo hill, overlooking the Parc d'Atraccions, this landmark basilica is meant to be Barcelona’s answer to Paris’ Sacré…
Barcelona
For magnificent 360-degree Barcelona views, head to the El Carmel neighbourhood (under a kilometre east of Park Güell) and up the Turó de la Rovira hill…
Barcelona
Barcelonins needing an easy escape from the city seek out this protected pine-scented 80-sq-km park. It's a great place to hike, run and bike, and has a…
La Ribera
Opening through a grand courtyard overlooked by an 18th-century staircase, the medieval Palau Nadal and the Palau Marquès de Llió host Barcelona's world…
Museu Nacional Arqueològic de Tarragona
Tarragona
This excellent museum does justice to the cultural and material wealth of Roman Tarraco. The mosaic collection traces changing trends from simple black…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
The courtyard of the Gothic former Palau Reial Major, this picturesque, almost entirely walled-in square is where the Reyes Católicos (Catholic Monarchs)…
L'Eixample
Puig i Cadafalch redesigned this 1882 residential building in exuberant Gothic-inspired style, with two distinct facades, between 1902 and 1906. The main…
Monestir de Sant Pere de Galligants
Girona
This beautiful 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque Benedectine monastery has a sublime bell tower and a splendid cloister featuring otherworldly animals and…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
At Plaça de la Boqueria, where four side streets meet just north of Liceu metro station, you can walk all over a colourful 1976 pavement mosaic, with one…
Tarragona
Near the beach is Tarragona's well-preserved amphitheatre, dating from the 2nd century CE, where gladiators hacked away at each other or wild animals. In…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
A block east of the top end of La Rambla is a sunken garden where a series of Roman tombs from the 1st to 3rd century AD were uncovered in the 1940s,…
La Ribera
On the eastern side of the Parc de la Ciutadella, in the fort's former arsenal, lies the regional Parlament de Catalunya, open for independent visiting…
Barcelona
High above the swirl of traffic navigating the roundabout at the southern end of La Rambla, Christopher Columbus keeps permanent watch, pointing vaguely…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
In the 2000 or so years since the Romans settled here, the area around this often-remodelled square, which started life as the forum, has been the focus…
Barcelona
Just beyond the western edge of El Raval, this glorious iron-and-brick market was originally completed in 1882, but reopened in 2018 with 250 stalls…
Barcelona
The reason most barcelonins travel up to Tibidabo's summit is for some thrills at this old-school funfair. Here you'll find whirling high-speed rides and…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
One of the most photogenic squares in Barcelona, and certainly its liveliest. Numerous restaurants, bars and nightspots lie beneath the arcades of 19th…
Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l’Empordà
Costa Brava
The remnants of the mighty marshes that once covered the whole coastal plain here are preserved in this 47-sq-km natural park, complete with scenic…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
Once a 14th-century house of the Jewish weaver Jucef Bonhiac, this small visitor centre is dedicated to the history of Barcelona’s Jewish quarter, El Call…
Basílica de la Puríssima Concepció i Assumpció de Nostra Senyora
L'Eixample
One hardly expects a medieval church on the grid-pattern streets of the late-19th-century Eixample, yet that is just what this is. Dating to the 14th…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
Raised in the 1760s on the site of its Gothic predecessor, following designs by architect José Mas Dordal, this baroque church is home to Barcelona’s most…
La Ribera
Near the Passeig de Pujades entrance to the park stands this monumental cascada (waterfall), inspired by Rome's Trevi Fountain and topped by a golden…
Barcelona
Barcelona is sprinkled with parks whose principal element is concrete, and this 5-hectare creation by French architect Jean Nouvel, with its statuary and…
Museu del Modernisme Barcelona
L'Eixample
Housed in a stuccoed, red-washed 1902 Modernista building by Enric Sagnier, this museum seems like a big Modernista-furniture showroom. Several pieces by…
La Ribera
Just northwest of the main Parc de la Ciutadella, Passeig de Lluís Companys is capped by the Modernista Arc de Triomf, designed by Josep Vilaseca as the…
L'Eixample
At the back of the Barcelona-founded Regia perfume shop, this museum tells the story of the scent world through the ages, with 5000 bottles of infinite…
El Raval
The Institute for Catalan Studies sits in the 17th-century Casa de Convalescència, once part of the Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu. The building,…
Barcelona
Set inside the futuristic Edifici Fòrum, whose angular facades look like sheer cliff faces (with grand strips of mirror creating fragmented reflections of…
L'Eixample
Though fascinating on the outside and made all the more enticing by its leafy gardens, this 1893 creation by Domènech i Montaner is especially spectacular…
Monestir de Sant Pere de les Puelles
La Ribera
It was around this much-remodelled Romanesque church, founded in 945, that settlement began in La Ribera. In 985 a Muslim force under Al-Mansur largely…
La Ribera
The headquarters of the Art of Silk Association is housed in a handsome 18th-century mansion covered in caryatid sgraffiti, overlooking Via Laietana. The…
