Museu Nacional Arqueològic de Tarragona
Tarragona
This excellent museum does justice to the cultural and material wealth of Roman Tarraco. The mosaic collection traces changing trends from simple black…
Must-see attractions in Catalonia
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
The courtyard of the Gothic former Palau Reial Major, this picturesque, almost entirely walled-in square is where the Reyes Católicos (Catholic Monarchs)…
L'Eixample
Puig i Cadafalch redesigned this 1882 residential building in exuberant Gothic-inspired style, with two distinct facades, between 1902 and 1906. The main…
Monestir de Sant Pere de Galligants
Girona
This beautiful 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque Benedectine monastery has a sublime bell tower and a splendid cloister featuring otherworldly animals and…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
At Plaça de la Boqueria, where four side streets meet just north of Liceu metro station, you can walk all over a colourful 1976 pavement mosaic, with one…
Tarragona
Near the beach is Tarragona's well-preserved amphitheatre, dating from the 2nd century CE, where gladiators hacked away at each other or wild animals. In…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
A block east of the top end of La Rambla is a sunken garden where a series of Roman tombs from the 1st to 3rd century AD were uncovered in the 1940s,…
Barcelona
High above the swirl of traffic navigating the roundabout at the southern end of La Rambla, Christopher Columbus keeps permanent watch, pointing vaguely…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
In the 2000 or so years since the Romans settled here, the area around this often-remodelled square, which started life as the forum, has been the focus…
Barcelona
Just beyond the western edge of El Raval, this glorious iron-and-brick market was originally completed in 1882, but reopened in 2018 with 250 stalls…
Barcelona
The reason most barcelonins travel up to Tibidabo's summit is for some thrills at this old-school funfair. Here you'll find whirling high-speed rides and…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
One of the most photogenic squares in Barcelona, and certainly its liveliest. Numerous restaurants, bars and nightspots lie beneath the arcades of 19th…
Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l’Empordà
Costa Brava
The remnants of the mighty marshes that once covered the whole coastal plain here are preserved in this 47-sq-km natural park, complete with scenic…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
Once a 14th-century house of the Jewish weaver Jucef Bonhiac, this small visitor centre is dedicated to the history of Barcelona’s Jewish quarter, El Call…
Basílica de la Puríssima Concepció i Assumpció de Nostra Senyora
L'Eixample
One hardly expects a medieval church on the grid-pattern streets of the late-19th-century Eixample, yet that is just what this is. Dating to the 14th…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
Raised in the 1760s on the site of its Gothic predecessor, following designs by architect José Mas Dordal, this baroque church is home to Barcelona’s most…
Barcelona
Barcelona is sprinkled with parks whose principal element is concrete, and this 5-hectare creation by French architect Jean Nouvel, with its statuary and…
Museu del Modernisme Barcelona
L'Eixample
Housed in a stuccoed, red-washed 1902 Modernista building by Enric Sagnier, this museum seems like a big Modernista-furniture showroom. Several pieces by…
L'Eixample
At the back of the Barcelona-founded Regia perfume shop, this museum tells the story of the scent world through the ages, with 5000 bottles of infinite…
El Raval
The Institute for Catalan Studies sits in the 17th-century Casa de Convalescència, once part of the Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu. The building,…
Barcelona
Set inside the futuristic Edifici Fòrum, whose angular facades look like sheer cliff faces (with grand strips of mirror creating fragmented reflections of…
L'Eixample
Though fascinating on the outside and made all the more enticing by its leafy gardens, this 1893 creation by Domènech i Montaner is especially spectacular…
Barcelona
Sir Norman Foster designed the 288m-high, 1992-completed Torre de Collserola telecommunications tower on the slopes of Tibidabo. An external glass lift…
L'Eixample
Originally built for a rich banking family by Enric Sagnier in 1902–05, the stunning, carefully restored Modernista Casa Garriga i Nogués has been taken…
El Raval
This broad boulevard was laid out in 2000 as part of the city's plan to open up this formerly sleazy neighbourhood, with some success. Now lined with palm…
L'Eixample
Designed by Joan Rubió i Bellver for businessman Macari Golferichs, this quirky 1901 Modernista villa is an oddity of another era on one of the city’s…
Barcelona
On the eastern side of the Park Güell, this spired dusty-pink house is where Gaudí lived from 1906 until his death in 1926. Furniture and ironwork he…
Barcelona
Construction on this striking church began in 1878 and was completed in 1884. It was designed by Francesc Berenguer i Mestres, Gaudí's protégé, but it's…
L'Eixample
Puig i Cadafalch let his imagination loose on the Casa Serra (1903–08), a neo-Gothic whimsy today home to government offices. With its central tower…
L'Eixample
Although a university was first set up on what is now La Rambla in the 16th century, the present, glorious mix of (neo) Romanesque, Gothic, Islamic and…
Barcelona
Book ahead for an evening tour (English available) of this organic brewery. Over the course of two hours, you'll taste the malt, hops and cereals and,…
Barcelona
This impressive arts space is housed in a renovated 19th-century thread and textile factory, with high ceilings and exposed brickwork. Fabra i Coats was a…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
Opposite the southeast end of La Catedral, narrow Carrer del Paradís leads towards Plaça de Sant Jaume. Inside No 10, an intriguing building with Gothic…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
Accessed within the Museu d'Història de Barcelona, this is the chapel of the old Gothic Palau Reial Major (Grand Royal Palace). Outside, a spindly bell…
Barcelona
First built for the 1929 Expo, this cable car strung across the harbour between La Barceloneta and Montjuïc provides an eagle-eye view of the city. The…
Barcelona
Opened in 1888, the ‘Market of Liberty’ was covered in 1893 by Francesc Berenguer i Mestres (1866–1914), Gaudí’s long-time assistant, in typically fizzy…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
Observe what naughtiness people have been getting up to since ancient times in this museum, with historical relics such as Indian bas-reliefs showing…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
A rare example of post-baroque building in Barcelona, the Palau de la Virreina is a grand 18th-century rococo mansion (with some neoclassical elements)…
L'Eixample
Domènech i Montaner’s 1905 contribution to the Illa de la Discòrdia, with Modernista carving outside and a bright, tiled lobby in which floral motifs…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
Across Carrer del Bisbe from La Catedral is the 17th-century Bishop's Palace. Virtually nothing remains of the original 13th-century structure. The Roman…
