Barcelona travel guides & articles

All 20 in-depth pieces we’ve published on Barcelona — newest first.

Walking Gaudí's Mosaic Hilltop at Park Güell in Barcelona

Tours & tickets

Walking Gaudí's Mosaic Hilltop at Park Güell in Barcelona

Timed 30-minute slots, the serpentine mosaic bench above the city, and the free stone hilltop just outside the fence.

Barcelona's Eixample in October Without the Queues

Tours & tickets

Barcelona's Eixample in October Without the Queues

October is the month when L'Eixample's Gaudi houses, the basilica and the grid itself all come at walking pace. Here is the order to take them in, what you pay, and what you can skip for free.

La Pedrera's Chimney Warriors On Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia

Tours & tickets

La Pedrera's Chimney Warriors On Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia

Gaudí's wave-form roof terrace, the catenary ribs in the attic and the limestone ripple of the facade on Passeig de Gràcia, with prices, access limits and the best time to go.

The Best Museums in Barcelona

The Best Museums in Barcelona

An honest, walk-it shortlist of Barcelona's finest museums for 2026 — which to book, which are free when, and which suit a group over a couple.

The best guided tours of Gaudí's masterpieces in Barcelona

The best guided tours of Gaudí's masterpieces in Barcelona

A cartographer's route through Gaudí's Barcelona in 2026 — which tours are worth the money, which suit groups, and where a free walk beats a paid queue.

The Best Cocktail Bars in Barcelona

The Best Cocktail Bars in Barcelona

From the world's No.3 bar to a 1933 Havana-era counter and a no-bookings dive — a cartographer's map of where to drink well in Barcelona, and how to actually get in.

Montjuïc: The Hill That Holds Barcelona's Best Views and Secrets

Montjuïc: The Hill That Holds Barcelona's Best Views and Secrets

A calm, walkable route up Barcelona's green mountain — free castle-top panoramas, a Romanesque rooftop, cactus gardens and a woodland sundowner bar, minus the queues.

The Barceloneta Beyond the Towel: Barcelona's Old Fishing Quarter at Plate Level

The Barceloneta Beyond the Towel: Barcelona's Old Fishing Quarter at Plate Level

A verified, 2026 door-policy-honest guide to eating Barceloneta as the neighbourhood eats it — market first, then tapas counters, then the seafood restaurants and the one fine-dining outlier worth the price.

Barcelona Christmas 2026: European Capital Title and Santa Llúcia Dates

Barcelona Christmas 2026: European Capital Title and Santa Llúcia Dates

The cathedral fair packs up on 23 December and the quayside one trades to 6 January, so this guide gives the dates, entry prices and door rules for every Barcelona Christmas market.

Sagrada Familia Towers: Nativity or Passion, and Why the Tower of Jesus Is Still Shut

Sagrada Familia Towers: Nativity or Passion, and Why the Tower of Jesus Is Still Shut

You pick one of the two Sagrada Família towers, not both, and the climb is not for everyone. The spires you cannot go up are best seen from the street below.

Barcelona's Secondhand Sunday: Encants and the Flea Markets

Barcelona's Secondhand Sunday: Encants and the Flea Markets

A route through Barcelona's Sunday flea markets, from the mirrored halls of Els Encants to the coin stalls of Plaça Reial, with honest notes on cash, crowds, timing and what's actually worth carrying home in 2026.

Castells: The Human Towers of Catalonia and Where to See Them Rise in Barcelona

Castells: The Human Towers of Catalonia and Where to See Them Rise in Barcelona

A free, no-ticket guide to Barcelona's castellers — the squares, festival days and rehearsal halls where Catalonia's human towers rise, fall, and get built again.

The City That Drinks from the Sky: Barcelona's Rooftop Bars and the Art of the High Terrace

The City That Drinks from the Sky: Barcelona's Rooftop Bars and the Art of the High Terrace

From the 360° panorama over El Raval to the hidden infinity pool on Via Laietana and the sea-end clubs of Barceloneta — how to drink Barcelona's skyline the way the city intends, one terrace at a time.

The Cava Countryside: A Day Trip Through Penedès Vineyards

The Cava Countryside: A Day Trip Through Penedès Vineyards

A local's honest itinerary through Penedès in 2026 — which cava houses suit a coach party, which are private-only, and how to build one real day out of Barcelona's sparkling-wine country.

Between Noon and Two: Barcelona's Vermouth Hour, Poured Straight from the Barrel

Between Noon and Two: Barcelona's Vermouth Hour, Poured Straight from the Barrel

A calm, neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood walk through the city's most honest ritual — where to stand, where to sit, and which barrels are worth the detour.

The Architects Who Refused to Let Gaudí Have Barcelona

The Architects Who Refused to Let Gaudí Have Barcelona

Domènech i Montaner and Puig i Cadafalch spent thirty years competing with Gaudí, building by building. Here is where to read the whole quarrel, mostly without the queues.

A Morning Tile Hunt Through Barcelona's Rambla Backstreets

A Morning Tile Hunt Through Barcelona's Rambla Backstreets

Before the boulevard fills up, a two-and-a-half-hour walk into the Raval and the Gothic Quarter turns up tiled shopfronts, cloistered courtyards, and the Gaudí roofline that most people on the Rambla never notice.

The Penedès wine country beyond the cava labels, a day trip from Barcelona

The Penedès wine country beyond the cava labels, a day trip from Barcelona

Skip the cava-label bus tour: Penedès has biodynamic Corpinnat houses, serious still-wine estates and a Bib Gourmand lunch, all under an hour from Barcelona.

Standing Under the Stone Trees of Barcelona's Sagrada Família

Tours & tickets

Standing Under the Stone Trees of Barcelona's Sagrada Família

How the nave reads when you walk in, when the light is worth timing, and why the best views of Gaudí's basilica are free.

Why Barcelona's Casa Lleó i Morera stops at the front door

Tours & tickets

Why Barcelona's Casa Lleó i Morera stops at the front door

Barcelona refused the building's visitor licence in 2016, so the stained-glass dining room is still shut, and what is left to see, the facade and the ground floor, costs nothing.