Ten things to do in Barcelona

Spain’s “second city” of Barcelona easily rates as one of the best cities to visit in Europe - it’s got historical sights, fantastic culture, delicious food, and you can even spend the day at the beach - what a great combination. If you’re planning your trip then check this list of ten things to do in Barcelona for some useful tips.

La Boqueria

Let’s travel first with our stomachs: Barcelona’s enormous outdoor markets are a great place for either an aimless wander or a shopping trip for any kind of fresh food you can imagine. It’s open every day except Sunday, and starts up around eight in the morning, closing at 8.30pm. It’s easy to find as it there is an entrance on La Rambla, the central pedestrian walk of Barcelona.

It seems that here at Europe a la Carte we all like to travel with our stomachs, because no less than three of us have remarked on La Boqueria in the past.

La Sagrada Familia

Stomachs full, let’s look at what is probably Barcelona’s most recognisable building: the still unfinished Sagrada Familia. This incredible church was designed by Anton Gaudi and has been under construction since 1882. Being incomplete hasn’t stopped it becoming a tourist attraction (they’ll work around you) and it is not due to be finished for another fifteen years or so. Its eclectic design makes for great photos.

Park Guell

Speaking of Gaudi, Park Guell is another Gaudi-designed tourist attraction in Barcelona. You can walk around the park for free and for a fee you can go inside the “La Torre Rosa”, Gaudi’s house. Park Guell is easily one of the most unusual parks you’ll ever take a stroll in.

La Rambla

The central pedestrian street of Barcelona, simply taking a walk down here is entertainment in itself. Depending upon the time of day, La Rambla may be fully of buskers, stands and markets, or simply many tourists! It’s a great place to orient yourself to the feeling of Barcelona.

Camp Nou

This stadium is home to the very popular football club FC Barcelona so sports fans will love a visit here - there are various tours to take and some behind-the-scenes spots to see. You can also try to get tickets to a home game, which is sometimes not so difficult as the stadium is so large.

Barceloneta and Sant Sebastia

On a warm day, head to either Barceloneta or Sant Sebastia beach to cool down. In fact, there is almost three miles of beach running along Barcelona’s coastline so you should be able to find a beach that suits you. The sea temperature is warm enough for swimming between June and October.

Museu Picasso

The Museu Picasso is a great Barcelona museum, housed in a gorgeous building. Different building sections keep you on your toes even if you’re not fascinated by the variety of Picasso’s paintings they have on display - the gallery actually occupies five different houses, which reminded me a little of a small-scale Hermitage! You can find the Museu Picasso in central Barcelona at Montcada 15-23, and it’s open every day except Mondays.

City History Museum of Barcelona

Barcelona is a city full of surprises, and you don't necessarily expect to head underground in part of the City History Museum of Barcelona to find a wonderful treasure trove. At the City History Museum you get to go below Barcelona and discover the archaeological basis of the city, in particular beneath the Place Del Rei - covering a large part of the Barcelona of Roman times, and dating back to 10 BC. Of course, it’s a bit eerie to be underground but you soon get used to it and there is a lot to see - the remains of workshops where clothes were dyed for example, because you can still see the vessels they used for the job; even better, you can see a spot where they used to make wine, with some of the equipment still identifiable. The museum is really well set up so that you can walk through these areas on platforms (take a jumper, it’s a little cool down there!)

Montjuic

Get “on top” of Barcelona on the Montjuic hill and not only will you get captivating views, you will also find quite a list of tourist attractions to explore, including the Olympic stadium (you’ll recognise it if you were a fan of the Barcelona Olympics in 1992), the National Art Museum of Catalonia and the funicula and gondola ride right to the top of the hill.

Gothic Quarter

One of the most popular tourist areas is known as the Gothic Quarter, this is arguably the area with the highest concentration of historical sites found anywhere in the city. I criss-crossed the Gothic Quarter on a Segway Tour when I was in the city.

At the Museu d’Historia de la Ciuta there’s an underground set of ruins, which is easily the most complete view of Roman life found anywhere in the world, including Italy. The famous Barcino settlement dates back over 2000 years to the modern city’s foundation.

This area has a very large number of public squares including the Placa del Rei, considered by Spaniards to be the most beautiful square in the whole of Spain.

Nearby you will also find the terraced square Placa Reial, another stunning location, ideal for just sitting outside a cafe sipping a drink and watching the world go by.