Barcelona

Barceloneta Beach

The Barceloneta Beach is the city’s oldest and most famous beach. The 1-kilometer strip of sand makes it the longest beach. Remodelled for the 1992 Olympic Games, it is the favourite among foreign visitors and provides recreation equipment such as areas for beach volleyball, beach paddle and games areas. It also has a nudist area.

Nova Icària Beach

Over 400 metres long, it is the most crowded beach north of Port Olímpic and, alongside Barceloneta, attracts a large number of tourists.

It is one of the city’s quietest beaches and highly recommended for families with children.

Mar Bella Beach

Five hundred metres long and 42 metres wide, this beach is normally quite busy. It is one of the city’s 2 nudist beaches.

Nova Mar Bella Beach

Nova Mar Bella is Barcelona’s most distant semi-urban beach. Five hundred metres long and 45 metres wide, it also has a seafront promenade.

This beach is equipped with all the basic services. It is a quiet beach usually visited by a fairly young crowd.

Sant Sebastià Beach

Over 1,100 metres long and 38 metres wide, Sant Sebastià is one of Barcelona’s largest and busiest beaches. This is beach is a favourite among locals, most notably senior citizens, and often visited by foreign sightseers.

Bogatell Beach

Six hundred metres long and 35 metres wide, Bogatell is not as crowded as the other Port Olímpic beaches. Its promenade stretches down to Sant Sebastià and the Barceloneta neighbourhood. The average age of beachgoers at Bogatell is slightly higher than the neighbouring Nova Icaria Beach or Mar Bella.

Llevant Beach

Barcelona’s youngest beach, Llevant is located in front of Diagonal Mar’s futuristic buildings and close to Nova Mar Bella Beach. Three hundred and eighty metres long, this beach is recommended for people seeking some tranquility. Situated on the Poblenou neighbourhood shoreline, it is the furthest beach from the city centre and spills over into the Maresme area.

Barcelona Picasso Museum

Located in Barcelona’s Carrer de Montcada street, it has been declared a Museum of National Interest by the Government of Catalonia. Its permanent collection houses over 3,500 pieces from Pablo Picasso’s youth, including paintings, engravings, lithographs and illustrations by the painter from Malaga.

The museum is housed in 5 gothic-style palaces: Palau Aguilar, Palau Baró de Castellet, Palau Meca, Casa Mauri and Palau Finestres.

Joan Miró Foundation

Up on Montjuic, this museum exhibits over 10,000 pieces, including paintings, sculptures, tapestries, drawings and sketches, and it was Barcelona’s first contemporary art museum.

Its permanent exhibit is distributed among nine sections of art and features works relating to painting, sculpture, pottery and tapestry.

Barcelona Wax Museum

The museum is a Neo Classical Renaissance townhouse built in 1867 and located in an alleyway off the Rambla de Santa Mònica.

The museum houses a collection of over 200 wax figures which are distributed into different rooms. The Recital Lounge, Glass Patio, The Gothic Hall and Bank Vault deserve special mention. The latter is particularly interesting, as it belonged to the bank that formerly occupied the building before becoming a museum.

National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC)

The National Art Museum of Catalonia is among Barcelona’s most visited museums, as its Romanesque art collection is considered one of the world’s most complete collections. The display includes a series of mural paintings not found anywhere else in the world, along with wood carvings, metal works, enamelled pieces and stone sculptures. Visitors can also admire the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection, as well as several works by Pablo Picasso.

This museum offers a glimpse at almost one thousand years of art, from the 10th to the 20th centuries, from Romanesque Art to Modernism and avant-garde sculpture. It contains a group of Romanesque mural paintings that are unique to their genre. The collection features major artists, including Velázquez, Zurbarán, El Greco, Picasso, Dalí, Gaudí and Casas, among others.

Contemporary Art Museum of Barcelona (MACBA)

Located in El Raval neighbourhood and a stone’s throw away from the Barcelona Contemporary Culture Centre (CCCB), this museum has been declared a Museum of National Interest by the Government of Catalonia.

Its exhibits feature over 5,000 contemporary works from the latter half of the 20th century until today.

Antoni Tàpies Museum

This museum was founded in 1984 by artist Antoni Tàpies, the Spanish avant-garde’s most prominent artist, to increase knowledge on modern and contemporary art.

La Barceloneta

This fishing neighbourhood is located in the Port Vell district and it is bordered by the harbour, the Born neighbourhood, Port Olímpic and the França train station. The Barceloneta beach, Barcelona’s most famous and most visited beach, is also a popular tourist stop. Its clean waters have earned it the Blue Flag distinction, and it also offers a full range of services.

La Barceloneta streets are narrow and lined with old buildings, bars and restaurants, many of which still have their original, almost 200-year-old decoration. The neighbourhood’s restaurants are well-known for serving excellent fresh fish. Its famous tapas restaurants and bars stand out from the crowd.

Port Olímpic

This marina is nestled between the Barceloneta and Nova Icaria beaches in the Sant Martí district. It is great for going for a stroll and it features restaurants, terraces, hotels, offices and shopping centres.

Revamped for the 1992 Olympic Games, it is among Barcelona’s most modern neighbourhoods. The twin Mapfre towers are the area’s most emblematic buildings and stand out from the rest.

The Port Olímpic area is home to the Villa Olímpica, a place to enjoy the entertainment by the marine and large enough to house 15,000 athletes.

The Barcelona Aquarium is a must visit and one of Europe’s best aquariums.

Montjuic

Located in a small mountain, Montjuic is a popular draw for tourists because of its spectacular views of the sea and Barcelona. Lined with walking paths and green areas, visitors may enter the installations from the ’92 Olympic Games, including spectacular sports complexes like the Olympic Stadium, Palau Sant Jordi and Olympic Diving Pool.

Another superb site is the Palau Nacional in Plaça Espanya, which houses the museum with the world’s largest collection of Catalan art.

Poble Espanyol has some fantastic examples of Spanish architecture and displays the different styles used in the distinct autonomous regions in Spain.

Another big attraction is the Magic Fountain, a spectacular display of colours and light accompanied by the sound of classical music. The Montjuic funicular and cable car, which runs between the castle and lookout point, are very popular means of transport.

La Rambla

The most emblematic and beautiful street in Barcelona begins in Plaça de Catalunya and runs 2 km to the former port. Considered the most famous street in the city, it is certainly a must see for anyone who comes to the city as you can be impressed by emblematic buildings such as the Plaça Reial. This street is packed with flower stands, boulevards, coffee shops, restaurants, businesses and newsstands.

It is divided into five stretches: Rambla de Canaletes, Rambla dels Estudis, Rambla de Sant Josep, Rambla dels Caputxins, Rambla de Santa Mònica.

Points of interest include the Miró mosaic, the Liceu (Opera House), the Boqueria Market and exhibition halls which include the Palau de la Virreina and Centre d’Art Santa Mònica.

Gothic Quarter

The Gothic Quarter is the heart of ancient Barcelona and its historic centre. Situated between the city’s famous Ramblas and Via Laietana, it is one of four neighbourhoods that make up Barcelona Ciutat Vella district.

Considered the city’s medieval stronghold, with narrow, winding streets, this area contains the remnants of the Roman city of Barcino, as well as many of Barcelona’s foremost medieval buildings, from the Barcelona Cathedral and Pi Church to the seat of royal power in the buildings surrounding the Plaça del Rei, a true testament to the city’s ancient history.

Portal de l’Àngel is a modern pedestrian shopping street that begins in Plaça de Catalunya and runs down to a pedestrian square that looks onto the Barcelona Cathedral and the Roman walls that once flanked the city. The Roman ruins underneath the City History Museum are a popular tourist destination.

Plaça Reial, is a square located to the south of the neighbourhood. It is lined with palm trees just off La Rambla.

Other superb locations include Plaça de Sant Jaume, the Frederic Marés Museum and Plaça del Pi (home to the Santa Maria del Pi Church).

Stews

Escudella i carn d’olla: A traditional stew containing a large meatball made from ground beef and spices, chickpeas, potatoes, cabbage and meat.

Cocido con judías blancas: white bean stew with Catalan sausage, beef, egg, spices and bread.

Fabes a la catalana: Broad beans cooked with cold meats.

Samfaina: Sautéed courgette, onion, tomato and garlic.

Zarzuela: a fish dish with grouper, monkfish, king prawns or shrimp, squid and mussels.

Fricandó: Veal cooked with onion, tomato, prunes and pine nuts.

Calçots: Grilled onions dipped in romesco sauce.

Coca de recapte: Oven baked dough, peppers and aubergine with herring, tuna, Catalan sausage, tomatoes, onions and olives.

Cold meats

Botifarra (Catalan Sausage): Raw pork sausage.

Fuet: Ground meat sausage with pepper and garlic.

Salads

Escalivada: Oven roasted onion, aubergine, pepper and tomato.

Xató: Escarole, cod and romesco sauce.

Empedrat: Tomato, cod and beans.

Sauces

Alioli: Thickened olive oil and garlic.

Romesco: Tomatoes, peppers, almonds, hazelnuts, bread, rosemary, olive oil, garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Wines

Red: Priorat, Peralada, Alella, Tarragona.

Whites: Penedès.

Cava: Penedès and Peralada.

Desserts

Panellet: A sweet dough made from sugar, egg and almonds.

Crema catalana: Pastry cream topped with caramelised sugar.

Neulas: Tube-like wafers.