Sights
Gaudí Architecture: It's impossible not to see one of Antoni Gaudí's works while you're in Barcelona. You can take a guided tour, pointing out the highlights or at least find a tourist map and track as many of them down as you can. Of course, his unfinished cathedral, La Sagrada Familia, is the top tourist attraction in town. It's free to see it from the outside, but also worth the entrance fee to have a look inside. The Park Güell contains many sculptures and architectural elements. The park is free, but entrance to Gaudí's house, "La Torre Rosa," and its collection of Gaudi-designed furniture is not.
La Catedral: The main cathedral of Barcelona has a Gothic façade dating from 1870, but the rest of the building has been there hundreds of years longer and the present building is located on the place where the Roman temple stood over 2000 years ago. Plaça de la Seu. +34 93 342 82 60.
Camp Nou Stadium: Home of FC Barcelona, Camp Nou Stadium is the largest stadium in Europe (seating nearly 100,000)—so large that often games don't sell out, so find yourself some tickets and experience football pandemonium at its best. You can take a tour of the stadium when there isn't a game and the adjacent Football Museum will be of interest to any fan. Avinguda Aristides Maillol. For museum and stadium tours: +34 93 496 36 08. For tickets: +34 90 218 99 00.
La Rambla: This beautiful and busy pedestrian street is one of the most famous in the world. The tree-lined promenade is good for a stroll, and especially for some shopping, coffee drinking, and street-performer watching.
Montjuïc Mountain: Montjuïc is the name of the hill rising in the southeast of the city with great views of the city and the sea. The hill is a recreational area in itself but many of Barcelona's attractions are clustered here as well, including the 18th century Montjuïc Castle, the Botanical Gardens, the Olympic Ring, the National Palace and several museums.
Olympic Sites: The facilities where the 1992 Olympics were held are located around Montjuïc. In keeping with Barcelona's tradition of innovative architecture, all of the stadiums and pavilions erected for the Olympics were designed by famous architects and a stroll through the grounds will not disappoint.
Palau de la Musica Catalana: This concert hall, built between 1904 – 1908, is one of the best examples of regional modern architecture and if you can't get concert tickets, you can at least have a short tour of the stunning facility. C/ Sant Pere Més Alt. For concert tickets: +34 902 442 882.
L'Aquarium: Barcelona has one of the best aquariums in Europe with a focus on Mediterranean ecology and the huge "oceanarium" that offers close-up encounters with sharks. Moll d’Espanya del Port Vell. +34 93 221 74 74.