Barcelona Travel Guide

Travel guide to Barcelona, Spain with comprehensive information about events, shopping, and major Barcelona sporting events to help you enjoy your visit more.

Barcelona Overview

The largest city in Northern Spain, and one of the most popular city break destinations for tourists travelling from the UK, Barcelona is a beautiful city where you can relax and soak up the culture, see the sights, or let your hair down and party with some of the most thrilling nightlife in mainland Spain.

Barcelona is a city that is definitely Spanish, but at the same time fiercely proud of its position as the capital of the Catalan region. The city has a culture all of its own, a youthful vibe that makes it an exciting place to be at any time. From the shops and bars of La Ramblas to the famous Sagrada Familia Basilica to the beaches and parks where you can find some peace and quiet, Barcelona is a city where you can easily find the experience you want.

With great hotels and plenty to see and do, Barcelona is a city with something for everyone, and is equally great as the destination for a romantic break for two, or as a place to go with friends for a weekend on the tiles.

Top Barcelona Attractions

Barcelona is a city with plenty to see, and it can be a daunting prospect to try and pack everything into a short break. The top attractions of Barcelona will vary from person to person depending on taste, but there are several absolute must see sights in Barcelona that everyone should make the effort to visit.

Top of most people's list is the Sagrada Familia Basilica. Designed by the legendary Antonio Gaudi, this stunning building has become the symbol of the city and combines a beautiful organic style with traditional gothic imagery to create a unique structure packed with symbolism.

La Ramblas is a series of streets through the centre of Barcelona that have become synonymous with nightclubs and café bars, but this is only half the story, there are also shops and museums on the streets, and the area is as busy during the day as it is at night.

Other sights include the museums around Place de Catalunya, and the beaches on the Mediterranean coast.

Shopping in Barcelona

For the best clothes shopping in Barcelona, head for the El Corte Ingles department store on Place de Catalunya. It is the local equivalent of Harrods' and is a great place to lose yourself for a few hours among the various areas.

There is a popular antiques market on Place Nova every Thursday where you can buy a lot of newer goods - particularly art and sculpture - alongside the older items. La Ramblas has a motley collection of shops ranging from tacky souvenir emporiums through to top of the line designer stores and more bohemian clothing lines too.

Shops open at about 8.30am, and close over lunch for siesta.

Barcelona Sporting Events

FC Barcelona is one of the best-known football clubs in the world. With a team of superstars, and an almost rabid following, the team arouse great passion, and are considered to be a national side for the Catalan people. They play their matches at the gigantic Nou Camp stadium just outside the centre of the city, and it is nigh on impossible to get a ticket for the big games of the season against archrivals Real Madrid.

Bull fighting is not so popular in Barcelona as it is in the south of Spain, but there are still regular fights in the city's municipal bullring throughout the season. Interestingly, Barcelona was the site of one of the greatest bullfights in history when in 1896 the bull Murcialago survived some 24 stabbings in a bout and was spared by the matador.