I am so excited to share with you all my highly requested Barcelona, Spain itinerary! There are so many things to see and do, I could never get bored of this beautiful city! So get ready to have an unforgettable 7 days in Barcelona!
Day 1 – Arrival Day
Our flight from Philadelphia to Barcelona left the evening before and we landed in Barcelona in the morning. Once we arrived at the Barcelona airport, it was easy to maneuver around the airport and to catch a taxi from the airport to the city. I personally think taxi is easier especially if you have a lot of luggage but there are also the train and bus options available. This website does a great job in explaining explains the different options.
For this trip we opted to stay in a long term stay apartment right in Las Ramblas (across the famous La Boqueria market). I booked a studio which had a nice sized kitchen, laundry and also a cute balcony. The owner was also able to accommodate our early check in request which was awesome. When we arrived we stocked up on any food/water/essentials we may need since our studio had a kitchen. We then rested up and headed to a free 2.5 hour tour through the Gothic Quarter that starts off in Placa Reial which I booked in advance through Runner Bean tours which I highly recommend. It also gave us a good way to get to know the area that we were staying in.
After the walking tour we had worked up an appetite so we headed to our first place for tapas, an amazing restaurant called Canete. We had the most amazing meal – Olives, Tomato Bread, Ham, Spicy Meatballs, Beef Tartare, Aged beef steak with foie and truffle sauce and a Whole Fish with roasted vegetables! My mouth is literally watering just thinking about it!
After dinner, if you’re up for it, head to Boadas to the oldest cocktail bar for cocktails!
Day 2 – La Sagrada Familia, Casa Milo and Casa Batllo
We grabbed sandwiches and fresh juice from the Boqueria Market for breakfast and then headed to one of the most famous sites in Barcelona, La Sagrada Familia. If you do get a chance to spend some time at the Boqueria Market, I highly recommend grabbing a seat at one of the counters and ordering tapas! One of the most magnificent sights I have seen, La Sagrada Familia started construction in 1882 and will be finished in 2026 under Antoni Gaudí’s vision. Make sure to make your reservations and buy tickets in advance, as the line can get pretty long. I had reserved a guided tour for 10:00AM which was well worth the price.
Afterwards, we strolled through many different streets and grabbed a quick tapas lunch on the way to Casa Milo (La Pedrera). One thing I love about Barcelona is there are no shortage of cafe’s - it’s so relaxing to just sit outside and sip on an espresso!
Finally we made it to our 3:30PM reservation for the Casa Milo (La Pedrera) Audio Tour. The architecture was stunning!
Afterwards, we walked to Casa Batllo to see another one of Gaudi’s masterpieces from the outside. Casa Batllo is situated right on Passeig de Gràcia which is home to the most AMAZING high end shopping (think Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermes) along with stores such as Zara, Mango, H&M, etc. After shopping, we had worked up an appetite and headed to El Nacional for dinner which I highly recommend. It’s like having 5 different restaurants under one roof!
Day 3 – Park Guell
Another one of Gaudi’s masterpieces, Park Guell, located in the Gràcia district of Barcelona, is another must-see place on the list. Eusebi Güell commissioned Gaudi to design the park which was built between 1900 and 1914 and officially opened as a public park in 1926. A ticket is required to visit part of the park which is considered to be the most vulnerable part, and in order to protect it, regulations were established to control the number of people entering. The restricted area is where Gaudi’s works are located.
I was able to buy tickets in advance for noon at Park Guell as you need a ticket in order to get into the restricted area of the park.
Afterward Park Guell, we found a tapas place for a nice light luncheon and headed back to Passeig de Gràcia for some more shopping. In the evening we wanted to change things up and headed to Frankie Gallo Cha Cha Cha for dinner which is one of the best pizza places in Barcelona. After dinner we checked out the world famous Paradiso for cocktails (named one of the worlds 50 best bars!).
Day 4 - Day Trip to Tibidado
After a few days of seeing Gaudi’s work we wanted to change things up and caught the T2A bus from the Plaza Catalunya bus stop straight to Tibidado. Tibidado is huge hill overlooking Barcelona and is the tallest hill in the Serra de Collserola. Tibidado has the most amazing views of Barcelona city and the coastline. The summit of the hill is occupied by the Sagrat Cor Church and then head to Tibidado Amusement Park to unleash your inner child.
Day 5 – Barceloneta Beach
It’s time to take a day off from all the sightseeing! We headed to Barceloneta beach for a nice relaxing day. After the beach we headed to one of the oldest restaurants in Barcelona, Siete Puertas (which means 7 Doors) for their paella. The paella was amazing... it’s no wonder this restaurant has been around for so many years!
Day 6 – Day trip to Calella
Early in the morning we caught the R1 Train from Plaza Catalunya to the small town of Calella, seaside city on the Costa del Maresme which is 35 miles northeast of Barcelona. We have family that live in Calella and it was so nice to see them after so many years! We had lunch at my cousin’s amazing restaurant, The Taj, which is Indian cuisine and I highly recommend it!
Other awesome day trips would be Girona or Figueres. You can’t go wrong with any of the beautiful small beach towns!
In the evening after we got back we explored the small streets of El Born district and checked out Dr Stravinsky and El Born for some amazing cocktails!
Day 7 – Last Day
The last day finish up any sightseeing you haven’t done yet so we walked to Arc de triumph and then took food with us to eat at Citadel Park. On the way back we wrapped up any last minute shopping and went to Cerveceria Catalana for dinner. I just had to have one last tapas meal!