15 Interesting Things to Consider Doing in Barcelona
Barcelona is no doubt deserves to be one of the most beautiful cities of this world.
It is the capital of Catalonia, and the fantastic seaside city of Spain.
The city with many characters, aging like a fine wine with a Mediterranean charm on top. It flaunts history and modernity equally, beaches and urban alleys, music, and sport side by side.
In this article, we will list many of what you can do and see in Barcelona.
A walk in the La Rambla: the Social Heart of Barcelona
One of the most beautiful things to do in Barcelona is to have a long walk in La Rambla street.
This street is full of life and activity. It mixes shopping and sightseeing at the same time. Here you can find lot of kiosks and historical buildings and even an opera house.
The street goes through the middle of the old town. It takes you then to the Plaça de Catalunya, where you can find the Convent of Santa Anna.
La Rambla attracts tourists during the day and night with restaurants, cafes, and shops.
A tour in the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic)
An essential part of any visit to Barcelona is Gothic Quarter.
Visiting this place is one of the main things to do in Barcelona.
It is a maze of ancient alleys and streets with some standing since the Roman Empire.
The streets go in their serpentine ways then meet in open squares with cafes and restaurants.
The Roman remains there are more than 2000 years old and they can be seen all around the area.
It’s also worthy of mentioning that the reigning monarchs received Christoph Columbus here after his great discovery.
These ancient stones witnessed many other occasions throughout history. As a result, you can feel magic radiating from them asking you to go on and bask in their old glory.
Tasting the Food of La Boqueria Market
Another must-visit place in the city, it is La Boqueria Market.
If you love to try new and different meals, this market is for you.
It offers many options of different kinds of foods, particularly fresh foods like fruits, vegetables, and all kinds of meat and seafood, without forgetting spices and cheese.
The tapas bars and food stands will serve you any snack you might think of.
A visit to Park Guell
As one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Park Guell has a lot of interesting fact to discover when you go to Barcelona.
Designed by Antoni Gaudi between 1900 and 1914. It contains several areas:
The Park area itself is free to visit, but the monumental requires a fee.
Tourists can see Gaudi’s house, which became a museum dedicated to the artist’s life along with examples of his work, e.g., fabulous gardens and many artworks and scenic views of the Park.
The Surrealist part is evidently the crown gem of the Park. It attracts visitors from all around the globe to Barcelona.
The Camp Nou Stadium
It is the famous FC Barcelona home pitch with nearly 100,000 seat capacity as the city’s iconic football club.
It is a mecca for any football fan around the globe, obviously, attending a match there is a dream with lifetime memories.
The stadium welcomes millions of people at every major competition and holds the club’s museum, showing the trophies as well as special moments it racked up through the years.
Palau de la Música Catalana (Palace of Catalan Music)
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Lluis Domenech i Montaner designed this Palace in 1908 for the chore of Orfeo Catala. UNESCO listed it in the world heritage sites later.
The Palace design follows the Art Nouveau style. It shows off a front decorated with mosaics, sculptures, and intricate ironwork.
The interior is just as colorful as the outside. You can find the Concert Auditorium inside, which hosts concerts and inspires guests, boasting its unique natural lighting system.
Impressive artworks cover every part of the Palace. At the same time, stained glass covers various walls, and Antoni Rigalt designed the ceiling skylight glass with an inverted dome in the center resembling a sunny sky.
Casa Batlló
This amazing place is another UNESCO-listed site. It is definitely recommended to visit as part of your list of things to do in Barcelona.
Gaudi designed the mansion as a private residence for Josep Batlló i Casanovas. It feels it came out from a fantasy tale thanks to exotic artworks coupled with ornamental decorations.
The designs have no equal. There are swinging shapes around the windows resembling plants and what seems like caves. Each floor has different colors. You can find green and blue ceramics, the wavy roof and decorated chimneys.
Sagrada Familia
The Basilica de la Sagrada Familia is a world-famous church with its unique design.
It was created in the late 19th century. Till now, it is one of the most-visited places in Barcelona.
It consists of 18 towers rising high as they fill the sky above all other towers in the vicinity.
The design started as neo-gothic, and it mesmerizes tourists since then with shining ceilings and complex details in the interior.
The Basilica, with its massive structure and stunning views, hasn’t revealed all of its secrets yet, because it isn’t finished to this very day.
The Magic Fountain of Montjuïc
The amazing show of the fountain is a destination for many night tourists. It’s located near the beginning of Avinguda Maria Cristina in the neighborhood of Montjuïc.
Carles Buigas designed it as a part of the international exhibition in 1929.
The show consists of tens of choreographed lights coupled with water currents synced to music. It starts from Thursday to Sunday in summer and the weekend in the off-season.
Casa Mila “La Padrera”
One of the most renowned creations of Antoni Gaudi and a part of the UNESCO’s list. Gaudi built La Padrera in 1912 in resemblance to a stone quarry. It is located in the Eixample district near the Passeig de Gracia boulevard.
The building seems more of a massive sculpture than an actual building as it doesn’t have a single straight line. Every line is rounded and curved. Nevertheless, this hauntingly strange building is evidently, a must-see on any list.
Casa Mila also hosts Fundació Catalunya center with events all year round.
La Barceloneta
This social hub for the locals is near the Sant Sebastià Beach, gazing into the marinas and the cruise port in a broad view. It has a boulevard lined with palm trees and seafood restaurants of all sizes and specialties. Visitors can also ride the cable car to the hilltop for amazing sea scenes during sunset.
Museo Picasso (Museum of Picasso)
Are you fan of Picasso’s art? Then this museum is just recommended!
Museum of Picasso is full of his early works as a young artist.
Visitors can see Picasso’s evolution as an artist during his youth through the museum collection.
The Covent of Monestir de Pedralbes
It was built in 1326 for the Order of Saint Clare in Jardines Reina Elisenda park.
But now serves as a fantastic example of the Catalan branch of Gothic structure engineering.
It has a garden full of flowers, trees, and shrubs. A church of three floors surrounds it with other Covent buildings (like a chapter house, refectory, and dormitory) that offer peace and calm to the visitors.
The cloister also offers a fantastic collection of paintings that show off religious art from the 14th through 20th century. Presently, the nuns of Saint Clare run most of the buildings except the monastery, which serves as a museum. It is open for the public all year except on Mondays.
Quadrat d’Or (Quadrant of Gold)
A famous area in the Eixample district for its modern art is surrounded by sights such as Plaça de Catalunya, the Avinguda de la Diagonal, the Passeig de Sant Joan, and Carrer de Muntaner.
Although many of the buildings take inspiration from Antoni Gaudi’s early 20th century works, the district also celebrates different modernist styles.
It has an open-air museum and plenty of surprises behind every corner, e.g., ceramic art to stained glass and intricate ironworks.
Other Museums
The interesting museums in Barcelona show diverse collections of showpieces.
It’s located in the Parc de la Ciutadella. The building is inspired by the Moorish era of the Iberian Peninsula.
It contains a vast collection of animal species and remains like skeletons and horns.
There is also Museu Blau that was built in 2004 in Forum Park. It allows visitors to immerse themselves in the natural phenomena of biology and geology, thanks to spectacular displays.
Poblo Espanyol open-air museum:
This museum occupies a vast area. It represents the different sides of the Spanish culture. You can enjoy that through its different sections.