Barcelona's weekend shape is decided by what you can get a timed ticket for. Book early and the trip runs one way; book late and it runs another — which is not necessarily worse.
Book these first
| Site | Note |
|---|---|
| Sagrada Família | Timed, sells out; first slot is best |
| Park Güell monumental zone | Timed; wider park is free |
| Casa Batlló / La Pedrera | Timed; pick one |
| Picasso Museum | Books ahead |
The first Sagrada Família slot is genuinely different. The interior is about light through coloured glass, and the morning eastern light through the nave is the strongest effect the building has — plus it is far quieter.
Park Güell confuses people: the wider park is free, the monumental zone with the mosaic terrace is ticketed. Both facts are true at once.
If you booked late
The alternatives are genuinely good, which is unusual.
The Hospital de Sant Pau — Domènech i Montaner's pavilion complex in gardens, a UNESCO site, ten minutes' walk from the Sagrada Família, with a fraction of the visitors.
The Palau de la Música Catalana — a concert hall with a stained-glass skylight over the auditorium. Better as a concert than a tour, and small recitals are modestly priced.
MNAC on Montjuïc — Romanesque frescoes cut from Pyrenean churches and reinstalled in reconstructed apses. One of the most important medieval collections anywhere, and rarely busy.
The two-day shape
Day one — Eixample and Modernisme
Sagrada Família at opening. Walk to Sant Pau. Afternoon on Passeig de Gràcia for Casa Batlló or La Pedrera. Evening in Gràcia.
Day two — old city and Montjuïc
The Gothic Quarter and El Born in the morning, including Santa Maria del Mar — a fourteenth-century church of extraordinary austerity after all the Modernisme.
Afternoon: funicular or cable car up Montjuïc for MNAC or the Miró Foundation, and the view down.
Or swap for the beach, which is a fifteen-minute walk from El Born.
What needs nothing
The Gothic Quarter and El Born on foot.
Bunkers del Carmel, a former anti-aircraft position with the best free view over the city.
The markets — Santa Caterina and Sant Antoni, rather than the tourist-priced Boqueria.
Barceloneta and the beach.
Eating
Not the Ramblas, which is a tourist strip and a pickpocketing hotspot.
Gràcia, Sant Antoni, El Born for restaurants.
Market bars for excellent food at counter prices.
Lunch menus cost roughly half the evening equivalent.
Practical
The airport is 35 minutes by metro or Aerobús.
Stay in Eixample, El Born or Gràcia. Avoid the Ramblas strip.
Season: May, June, September and October. August is hot and the city is at capacity.