Cities Tourism Guide - Barcelona Tourism

Barcelona Museums, Barcelona Art, Barcelona History

Barcelona's long list of museums and art galleries is huge - now more than 50 in all! (for complete museum and gallery listings check the Barcelona Tourist Guide right for details).

The big ones on the Barcelona art side include the Picasso Museum in Barcelona's Ribera Gothic Quarter, the Joan Miro Foundation at Montjuic and the National Catalan Art Gallery also at Montjuic. See also the outstanding Barcelona Contemporary Art Gallery in El Raval. For Catalan and Barcelona History head for the History of Catalunya Museum on the waterfront, the Maritime Museum up from Monument Colon, the Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat in the Barri Gotic and the Barcelona Archaeology Museum at Montjuic. There are numerous other museums, including fun ones near or just off Las Ramblas such as the Museu Cera waxworks and the Erotica Museum. See the Barcelona Tourism guide for the full list.

Barcelona Tourism, Barcelona Tourist Attractions, Barcelona Family Holidays

The best city breaks are those which blend tourist attractions geared to families and all round leisure with cultural galleries, museums and historic attractions. Barcelona ranks as a top city break with superb tourist attractions.

To name a few, Barcelona's fab urban beaches at Barceloneta, the Port Vell leisure complex where you'll find the aquarium, a huge shopping centre and cinema, the Montjuic leisure complex with exciting cable car ride and how about family fun trips to Park Guell and the FC Barcelona stadium at Camp Nou. Visit too Barcelona's own mammoth amusement park at Tibidabo (see weblink right), Barcelona Zoo at Ciutadella Park and checkout what's on offer for kids at Montjuic's Poble Espanyol. Most of Barcelona's Art Galleries and Museums cater well for kids. For fun packed city centre breaks for families head to Barcelona!

Barcelona Las Ramblas, Barcelona Old Town Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic & Ribera)

Barcelona's famous one mile long street La Rambla is the first port of call for most new visitors to Barcelona. Crammed with street performances, craft stalls, flower stalls, portrait painters and more, Las Ramblas is a lively affair. Numerous cafes and bars line Barcelona's most famous street alongside theatres, historic churches and even a Joan Miro mural. Barcelona Tourism (weblink right) offer an extensive choice of walking tours around Barcelona's Barri Gothic.

As popular as La Rambla is Barcelona's adjacent oldtown Gothic Quarter (the Barri Gotic and La Ribera districts). These areas of the city contain some of Barcelona's most historic sights, and classic examples of Catalan Gothic alongside the remains of ancient Barcelona Roman walls. Barcelona Cathedral is here too. For one of the best examples of Catalan Gothic head to the Santa Maria del Mar. Oh, and as if you didn't know Barcelona's second most popular attraction to the Sagrada Familia is here in the Barri Gotic - the world renowned Picasso Museum. Both Las Ramblas and the Barri Gotic Gothic Quarter are two of Barcelona's most popular areas - they're crowded and best explored on foot. You'll find it difficult to navigate your bicycle hire in these two areas! Get there early too for the Picasso Museum as you'll find long queues form here by lunchtime.

Barcelona Port Vell Waterfront Leisure Complex & Barceloneta Beaches, Barcelona Waterfront

Barcelona's marina Port Vell area and to the east of Port Vell the superb Barcelona beaches at Barceloneta are fast becoming two of Barcelona's most popular areas. With nearest Metro Drassanes, a number of Barcelona's best museums and monuments are in this area including first port of call the Maritime Museum just near the Drassanes metro exit, the distinctive waterfront iconic Monument Colon/Columbus Monument, and the Catalunya History Museum on the waterfront towards Barceloneta's beaches. Push across the wooden pedestrian bridge to Port Vell's enormous shopping centre for more restaurants too, and lazy evenings watching the overhead cable car and marina. A big IMAX cinema is also here. Barcelona boat trips are easily booked down from Monument Colon with Golondrina Excursion Boats.

Antoni Gaudi's Park Guell & Gracia, Barcelona

North of Diagonal popular Gracia and Paseo de Gracia are tops for shops and a favourite social arena with its network of narrow streets and pretty squares. Buzzing Gracia squares include Placa del Sol, Placa de Diamant and Placa Rovira to name a few. Gracia is crammed with a huge number of theatres, cinemas, bars, restaurants and markets as well as designer shopping. Main thoroughfare and shopping hub is Carrer Gran De Gracia. Both Paseo de Gracia and Carrer Gran De Gracia also nod to modernisme with a selection of fine architectural buildings adding to Gracia's edge as a Barcelona district.

North of Gracia sits Gaudi's extraordinary creation Park Guell. Intended by Gaudi and patron Eusebi Guell as a select and isolated upmarket residential park, (public transport to it was deliberately turned down by the two), ironically today it's one of Barcelona's most accessible attractions - Park Guell failed as a residential project with only two lots sold. And all the better for it, Park Guell is a top family holiday hotspot, kids love the fairytale architecture and colored mosaic tiles - Park Guell is popular with school trips. Well worth making the Metro or tourist bus trip to, Park Guell offers some of the best views of Barcelona from its famous balcony vista. Be amazed by the caves with elephant trunk legs, the high color mosaic tilework, mushroom shaped towers and Gaudi's distinctive salamander lizard. Park Guell became a public park shortly after the death of Guell in 1918. Gaudi's house, now Casa Museu Gaudi, is within the park.

Barcelona Contemporary Art Gallery & El Raval Barcelona

The El Raval district, easily accessible on the opposite side of Las Ramblas to Barcelona's gothic quarter, is coming into its own. Numerous urban renewal projects, including the location of one of Barcelona's best art galleries here - the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) and next door to it the Barcelona Contemporary Culture Centre (CCCB), have boosted the district, alongside its well established multicultural and bohemian student edge. If you're looking for Barcelona vegetarian, you'll find it aplenty in El Raval, with a choice of off the wall clothes shops, music shops and cafes too.

Antoni Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia Cathedral & L'Eixample Modernisme Barcelona

The Sagrada Familia temple come cathedral, the work Antoni Gaudi is most remembered for, and now Barcelona's unofficial 'logo', is Spain's most visited attraction. Situated just north of Av.Diagonal (nearest Metro Sagrada Familia) be prepared for the crowds - this Barcelona main attraction positively heaves as it's a focus not just for Barcelona holidaymakers, but also coach tours coming in from the Costa Brava and Dorada resorts. Early morning is best.

L'Eixample, the extension new town area of Barcelona north of Barcelona old town began to evolve from 1859, pushing outside the city walls. L'Eixample, with main wide street Passeig de Gracia, is modernisme territory, home to numerous Antoni Gaudi commissions including Casa Batllo and Casa Mila La Pedrera, plus the more recent spectacular Fundacio Antoni Tapies, the facade of which is considered a prime example of Modernisme. Well worth picking up is a Ruta del Modernisme Pack from Barcelona Tourist Info Centres.

FC Barcelona Barca Camp Nou Stadium Tour, Barcelona

Football fan or not, a tour of Barcelona FC's Camp Nou stadium, and visit to on-site Barcelona FC museum is one of the highlight attractions in Barcelona. Camp Nou sits in the Collblanc area of Barcelona to the north west (nearest Metro Collblanc). The Collblanc area was where the late 19th century immigrants from Eastern Andalucia and Murcia headed in Barcelona when they came fleeing poverty and looking for work in the Barcelona docks and textile factories.

Barcelona FC museum pays due homage to its loyal fans. You're touring the stadium of one of the most historic and famous football teams in world. After the Sagrada Familia and the Picasso Museum, FC Barcelona Camp Nou stadium is Barcelona's most visited attraction. Even better see a game here if you can. The main Barcelona FC ticket office is on the corner of of Carrer d'Aristides Maillol or same day tickets on Avinguda Les Corts or Avinguda Joan XXIII. Match times are most often 5 to 9pm usually Sundays (see FC Barcelona weblink right for forthcoming match times).

Barcelona's Montjuic Leisure Park & Barcelona Art

The elevated Montjuic leisure, culture and entertainment complex west of the centre running down to the port, evolved in preparation for Barcelona's hosting of the 1992 Olympic Games. Since then this Barcelona leisure complex has continued to develop, incorporate more museums and art galleries and is currently in 2007 getting a further overhaul, particularly around the Olympic Stadium. Montjuic Barcelona attractions could fill up a few days easily. Barcelona's National Catalan Art Gallery is here, and not to be missed for the best of Catalan Art (an extensive collection of Catalan artist Mariano Fortuny held here is a highlight).

Montjuic covers a number of themes from Barcelona historic sights including the Castello de Montjuic (to which you can now take the newly reopened cable car up, for panoramic views of Barcelona), Barcelona art including the Joan Miro Foundation and the Museu Nacional D'Art De Catalunya and a huge choice of other museums including the Olympic Museum which explores in-depth the Barcelona 1992 Olympics. Other buildings, attractions and monuments of note are the 1929 Venetian styled entrance gates near Placa Espana, the Magic Fountain, the Olympic Stadium, the botanical gardens and Santiago Calatrava's distinctive white twist communications tower.