Barcelona

Barcelona gives you a lot in a small space. A Roman and medieval core, a 19th-century grid of wide avenues lined with Modernista buildings, two city hills with views, and a long sandy beach, all within a few metro stops. Then there's Gaudí, whose work you can't avoid and wouldn't want to: a basilica still being finished, apartment blocks with rooftops like sculpture gardens, a park that looks half built by gingerbread bakers.

The city runs late. Lunch is at two, dinner at nine or after, and the streets of Gràcia and El Born stay full past midnight. Plan four days if you can, book the big Gaudí tickets before you land, and leave space for doing very little. Start with our Barcelona travel guide.

Barcelona El Prat airport is about 15 km south-west of the centre, linked by the Aerobús, the R2 Nord train and metro line L9 Sud. High-speed trains from Madrid and France arrive at Sants. Our getting there guide compares every option.

Eixample is the easy choice for a first trip: central, well connected and quieter at night. The Gothic Quarter and El Born put you in the old streets, Gràcia feels like a small town, and Poble-sec has some of the best tapas bars. We compare them in our where to stay guide.

Most trips are built around Gaudí and the old town. We have full guides to the Sagrada Família, Park Güell and the Gothic Quarter. For Montjuïc, the Picasso Museum, the markets and the beaches, see our things to do list.

Start with pa amb tomàquet, bread rubbed with ripe tomato, olive oil and salt, which comes with almost everything. At lunch on weekdays look for the menú del dia, a fixed two-course meal with a drink. Sunday before lunch is for vermut, sweet red vermouth over ice with olives and crisps.

Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, and Catalan, not Spanish, is the first language on street signs, menus and in schools. The city's great building boom came in the late 19th century, when a rich industrial class paid Gaudí, Domènech i Montaner and Puig i Cadafalch to outdo each other. That rivalry is why a single block of Passeig de Gràcia holds three famous façades.