Best Things to Do in Barcelona From Gaudi to La Boqueria

This is a city with plenty of appeal, but to start you off here’s an itinerary of some of the best things to do in Barcelona. Including taking in the awe inspiring works by Gaudi and La Boqueria on the famous ‘La Rambla’ which claims to be the largest market of it’s kind in Europe.

Best things to do in Barcelona Day 1:

Start off by recovering from your journey with a day in leafy Montjuic. Amongst all this lushness hides the Foundació Joan Miró, a white-washed, Mediterranean style building housing the bold works of the late, great Catalan surrealist – seeing Miro’s work is definitely one of the best things to do in Barcelona. To visit, take the cable car from outside the Funicular station – it’s a little pricy, but the feeling of hanging in a glass bubble in the middle of a panoramic view is pretty hard to beat. In the evening, head for La Champagneria.

Best things to do in Barcelona Day 2:

“I guess you want to see the Gaudi – one of the best things to do in Barcelona.” is a comment often made by members of Barcelona’s ex-pat community to guidebook wielding visitors. The works of this groundbreaking Catalan architect have been drawing in the crowds and providing travel guides with snazzy front covers since his death (by tram) in 1926.

The sculpture-filled Parc Guell and the Sagrada Familia are both worth a visit. Despite its huge fame, Gaudi’s work is very accessible. Parc Guell is free to enter, and the Segrada Familia, staggering in scale and artistic detail even on the outside, is free to look at. In the same day, you could take in some more alternative culture at the MACBA, a vast collection of contemporary art housed in an achingly modern building.

Later check out Bar Marsella, an abs in the bar on Carrer de Sant Pau. For the uninitiated, the sugar lump is for setting on fire and melting into your vicious green beverage, and it helps if you give it a dip first (not in your water). Other bars lurk on nearby Rambla del Ravel, famous for its sculpture of a giant bronze cat. According to local legend, something wonderful will happen if you climb up it without help. No-one is ever sure what this might involve. Get enough absinthe down you, however, and the cat might just tell you.

Best things to do in Barcelona Day 3:

Take the metro out of the city to Mount Tibidabo. According to legend, this was where the Devil tempted Jesus by offering him the whole world in return for his worship. It’s an uphill struggle from the Metro to the mountain, so save your legs by taking the tram – it’s so quaint it would make Judy Garland blush. From there, tumble into a cable car and let it haul you up to the mountain-top, bizarrely shared by an enormous church and a slightly dated theme park. That’s one way to get the absinthe out of your system, at least. Barcelona’s nightlife is infamously good, and to visit without hitting at least one nightclub would be a terrific waste of your darkest hours, and partying is one of the best things to do in Barcelona. For the best experience, stick to Catalan time – have a late dinner, hole yourself up in a bar until 2am at the very earliest, and then head on to a club just in time to catch things as they start to get interesting.