Barcelona
Just east of its namesake neighbourhood, Barceloneta's main beach is a golden-brown strip of sand where, during warm months, pool-party promoters, mojito…
Barcelona
Just east of its namesake neighbourhood, Barceloneta's main beach is a golden-brown strip of sand where, during warm months, pool-party promoters, mojito…
Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona
El Raval
A complex of auditoriums, exhibition spaces and conference halls, the CCCB opened in 1994 in what was formerly an 18th-century hospice, the Casa de la…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
Barcelona's town hall has been the seat of power for centuries. The Consell de Cent (the city’s ruling council) first sat here in the 14th century, but…
L'Eixample
A singular neo-Gothic effort, this church is interesting because it was designed by Joan Martorell i Montells (1833–1906), Gaudí’s architecture professor…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
On La Rambla with Carrer del Carme, this church was constructed in baroque style for the Jesuits in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to replace a…
Barcelona
With copper-hued stainless-steel scales sparkling at sunset, this 35m-tall, 56m-long fish sculpture at the foot of the swish Hotel Arts Barcelona looks…
Barcelona
Rotating exhibitions of portions of this private collection of mostly 20th-century art (some 1300 works in total) offer anything from Man Ray’s…
Barcelona
At the far southern end of the beach fronting La Barceloneta, this is a handy stretch of white-gold sand for a bit of sun and surf action when you need a…
Barcelona
Dedicated to Mediterranean flora, these hillside gardens have a collection of some 40,000 plants and 1500 species, including many that thrive in areas…
Tarragona
The Museu d'Història de Tarragona consists of various Unesco World Heritage Roman sites, as well as some other historic buildings around town. A combined…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
This small square flanking the majestic Basílica de Santa Maria del Pi is one of the prettiest in the Barri Gòtic, with its bars and cafes attracting…
Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta
Barcelona
On Barceloneta's seaward side are the first of Barcelona's beaches, which get packed in summer. The broad 1.25km promenade from Barceloneta to the Port…
Barcelona
From the Parc Montjuïc cable car station on northern Montjuïc, these glass cabins zip you up to the Castell de Montjuïc via the mirador (lookout point),…
Centre de Reproducció de Tortugues de l'Albera
Figueres
This long-running little wildlife sanctuary is a haven for Hermann's tortoises, and a force for educating people about these threatened little armoured…
Barcelona
Opened in 1922, these soothing terraced gardens just west of the Fundació Joan Miró are linked by paths, stairs and wisteria-clad walkways, with pretty…
Barcelona
An icon by the waterfront, this eye-catching 15m-high primary-coloured sculpture was designed by famous American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein for the 1992…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
The Centre de la Imatge is an exhibition space that forms part of the Palau de la Virreina. It hosts mainly – but not exclusively – photography shows.
Barcelona
The southernmost and busiest of El Poblenou's beaches, this broad golden trip gets lively in warmer months, when a couple of xiringuitos grace the sand,…
Barcelona
With a small nudist strip, soft blonde sands, some water sports and a skate park, Platja de la Mar Bella is popular with an LGBTQI+ crowd.
Tarragona
A massive, blockbuster amusement park, PortAventura lies 10km west of Tarragona. Divided into themed sections, it's crammed with exhilarating rides and…
The Catalan Pyrenees
The region's high point (literally and figuratively) is Núria's strangely austere 1911 sanctuary. A gold-and-pastel-painted passageway leads to its upper…
Costa Brava
Anyone familiar with Picasso’s Guernica has an insight into the horror of civilian suffering during the Spanish Civil War. This thought-provoking museum…
Montserrat
With marbled floors and art nouveau–style frescoes visible between graceful archways, the open courtyard fronting Montserrat's basilica immediately sets…
Poblat Ibèric del Puig Castellar
Barcelona
High up in the hills to the northeast of the city sits an ancient Iron Age village that most locals don't even know exists. Inhabited between the 6th and…
Catalonia
On the site of a Romanesque predecessor, Manresa's elegantly austere basilica is a gem of Catalan Gothic architecture, commissioned in 1322 yet 160 years…
Barcelona
Laid out in the late 18th century by Italian engineer Domenico Bagutti for Joan Antoni Desvalls, the Marquès d’Alfarràs i de Llupià, this carefully…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
From Plaça del Rei it's worth a detour to see the two best surviving stretches of Barcelona's Roman walls, which once boasted 78 towers (as much a matter…
Girona
Next to the cathedral, in the 12th- to 16th-century Palau Episcopal, this art gallery impresses with the scale and variety of its collection. Around 8500…
Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Vallbona
Catalonia
Eight monges (nuns) still live at this 12th-century institution, the only women's monastery along the Cistercian Route. Years of restoration have cleared…
Figueres
Extending over four floors, the local museum time travels from ancient amphorae to 7th-century sculptures to rotating installations of contemporary art…
Tarragona
This magnificent aqueduct sits in a tangle of dusty pathways and glades 4km north of central Tarragona, just off the AP7 (near where it intersects with…
Centre d'Interpretació del Mite del Comte Arnau
The Catalan Pyrenees
The monastery's 14th-century Palau de l'Abadia houses a fascinating audiovisual exhibition tracing the source of the Count Arnau legend. Folk songs from…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
These remains of a Roman domus (town house) and three small shops, unearthed in the mid-19th-century Casa Morell, lie close to the Roman forum, and the…
Girona
A walk along Girona’s majestic medieval walls is a wonderful way to soak up the city landscape. There are several access points, including a lane east of…
Catalonia
Basque theologian Ignatius of Loyola (Basque: Ignazio Loiolakoa), founder of the Jesuits, spent 1522 in Manresa, during which time he was inspired to…
Catalonia
This brilliant, expansive museum brings together artefacts reaching back to the Stone Age, through Roman remains, Visigothic relics and medieval art into…
Girona
Just downhill from the cathedral stands Girona’s second great church, with its landmark truncated bell tower. The nave is majestic with Gothic ribbed…
Figueres
Figueres' sturdy 18th-century fortress commands the surrounding plains from a low hill 1km northwest of the centre. The complex is a wonder of military…
The Catalan Pyrenees
The slender six-storey, 12th-century tower of Santa Eulàlia d'Erill la Vall, a 2.5km walk or drive west of Boí, once used for communications and valley…
Girona
Eighteenth-century cloisters lend an appropriately antique feel to this journey from Roman Girona to medieval times to the present day. The museum's…