Capital of Catalonia and second city of Spain, Barcelona is absolutely incomparable. It is one of the rare cities to see absolutely with its own identity. This is partly due to a generation of artists and architects of the early twentieth century, like Antoni Gaudí, whose unforgettable buildings are like nothing you will not see anywhere else.
There is something to delight everyone in Barcelona. If you love gastronomy, the city has 20 Michelin stars and if you want culture, you have an inexhaustible choice of beautiful buildings and events. Add to that clean urban beaches, world-class nightlife and so many interesting shops that you will not know where to start.
It does not matter that many people are fleeing this sequence of walks that goes from Plaça de Catalunya to the Columbus monument at the edge of the water.
If you are a tourist, this is one of those things you must do.
In summer, you'll be in the shade of the big plane trees and fight your way through the crowd passing by living statues, street performers, bird merchants and flower stands.
From time to time, you will seem to cook some waffles (gofres).
Once in the water, continue along the boards to visit the Maremagnum shopping center or the Barcelona Aquarium.
This is where your adventure begins in Barcelona and the dreamlike works of Antoni Gaudí.
Its minor basilica is a project of incredible scale and ambition that is still only three-quarters complete more than 140 years after Gaudí's first participation.
When its bell towers are over, it will be the tallest church in the world and will not look like a religious structure you've seen in your life.
The Sagrada Família combines several architectural styles, including Catalan Modernism, Art Nouveau and Late Gothic Spanish, but Gaudí's masterpiece defies this type of definition when you gaze open at the ceiling of the nave.
Another of Antoni Gaudí's most user-friendly creations for postcards, this building was not created from scratch but was transformed in the early 20th century.
It is not necessary to have visited Barcelona to recognize the roof of the building, whose tiles are the scales of a big dragon.
Like all his work, Casa Batlló has a sinuous quality, with few straight lines and a particular attention to detail.
Take the mushroom-shaped fireplace on the noble floor which, like a comfortable cave, has been designed to allow couples to warm up in the winter.
Also known as La Pedrera, the facade of the building resembling a little the face of a quarry, Casa Milà was completed in 1912 and is another emblematic building of Gaudí.
It is one of many Catalan Modernist works to be on UNESCO's World Heritage List and Gaudí's fourth and last building on Passeig de Gràcia.
Architects will appreciate contemporary innovations such as freestanding stone facades and underground parking.
It was designed so that the industrialist Pere Milà i Camps becomes his family home, with apartments for rent on the upper floors.
The coherence between the design of the building and the furniture of Casa Milà is a real pleasure to see, and it goes back to the time when Gaudí was at the top of his art.
Barcelona's seaside promenade stretches for miles. It will take a good hour to walk from Barceloneta to Diagonal Mar, but it's a walk that really helps you understand the city.
The most western beaches, such as Sant Sebastià, are more crowded and more touristy, but are supported by Barceloneta's narrow network of trendy shops and bars with terraces and outdoor seating.
As you move along the waterfront after the Olympic port, you will find a little more space and more locals in Barcelona.
Finally, Platja de Llevant is the huge new Diagonal Mar shopping center, which revitalizes a former industrial district of the city.
It's an iconic show and an educational experience at a time. There has been a Boqueria market in Barcelona since medieval times, although this place has only been marketed for about 200 years.
This elegant and distinctive glass and glass roof you will see was built in 1914.
Whether you want to do some food shopping or simply admire the sounds of a bustling urban market, this is a real eye opener.
It is a grid of permanent stalls selling fruits, vegetables, cold cuts, cheese and olive products.
The whole market converges on an oval plan of fishmongers in the center.
Refresh yourself with a beer and a tapa in one of the market bars.
In the western district of Les Corts, is the stadium of 99,000 seats of FC Barcelona since 1957.
This is one of the European football cathedrals and even if you have no affinity with the team, you have to go to Camp Nou to enjoy the breathtaking expanse of this arena.
And if you are a fan, you will be in paradise, visiting the stadium and browsing the memories of one of the most prestigious teams in the world.
The stadium tour is not available on game days or just before, so keep an eye on the calendar.
Complete your Gaudí experience with a visit to this garden complex on Carmel Hill.
Many go to this part of Gràcia to admire the magnificent panoramas of Barcelona from the main terrace of the park.
You will have seen these serpentine benches and their mosaics on postcards and in movies.
Elsewhere, there are colonnades, fountains and sculptures, all in the distinctive style of the architect.
If you still do not have enough Gaudí, you can enter his house-museum, where he lived from 1906 to 1926, with furniture and decorative objects designed by him.
The history museum preserves some Roman sites of the Gothic Quarter, such as the Temple of Augustus and the Funeral Way of the Vila de Madrid Square. But Plaça del Rei is where you can see the ancient history of Barcelona in detailed layers.
You will take the elevator to where the remains of a garum factory, laundries, dyeing shops and parts of the old walls of Barcino are visible.
The site is vast, covering 4,000 square meters, which you will explore via raised walkways.
Climbing into the museum building, you will go back in time and enter the arches of Palau Reial Major, seat of the medieval dukes of Barcelona.
This part of the city was built for the international exhibition of 1929 and includes several renowned museums, including the National Museum of Catalan Art, the Museum of Archeology and the Museum of Ethnology.
Of these, the art museum is particularly recommended, and the view of the city from its steps is beautiful.
Below, the magic fountain was also built for the exhibition. It offers light shows and music all half-hour of the weekend. This is best seen at night of course.
At the top of the hill is the fortress of the seventeenth century, which was born in the Catalan revolt in the 1600s and during the civil war in the late 1930s, after which it was transformed into a prison.
There is something to delight everyone in Barcelona. If you love gastronomy, the city has 20 Michelin stars and if you want culture, you have an inexhaustible choice of beautiful buildings and events. Add to that clean urban beaches, world-class nightlife and so many interesting shops that you will not know where to start.
1. Las Ramblas
It does not matter that many people are fleeing this sequence of walks that goes from Plaça de Catalunya to the Columbus monument at the edge of the water.
If you are a tourist, this is one of those things you must do.
In summer, you'll be in the shade of the big plane trees and fight your way through the crowd passing by living statues, street performers, bird merchants and flower stands.
From time to time, you will seem to cook some waffles (gofres).
Once in the water, continue along the boards to visit the Maremagnum shopping center or the Barcelona Aquarium.
2. Sagrada Familia
This is where your adventure begins in Barcelona and the dreamlike works of Antoni Gaudí.
Its minor basilica is a project of incredible scale and ambition that is still only three-quarters complete more than 140 years after Gaudí's first participation.
When its bell towers are over, it will be the tallest church in the world and will not look like a religious structure you've seen in your life.
The Sagrada Família combines several architectural styles, including Catalan Modernism, Art Nouveau and Late Gothic Spanish, but Gaudí's masterpiece defies this type of definition when you gaze open at the ceiling of the nave.
3. Casa Batlló
Another of Antoni Gaudí's most user-friendly creations for postcards, this building was not created from scratch but was transformed in the early 20th century.
It is not necessary to have visited Barcelona to recognize the roof of the building, whose tiles are the scales of a big dragon.
Like all his work, Casa Batlló has a sinuous quality, with few straight lines and a particular attention to detail.
Take the mushroom-shaped fireplace on the noble floor which, like a comfortable cave, has been designed to allow couples to warm up in the winter.
4. Casa Milà
Also known as La Pedrera, the facade of the building resembling a little the face of a quarry, Casa Milà was completed in 1912 and is another emblematic building of Gaudí.
It is one of many Catalan Modernist works to be on UNESCO's World Heritage List and Gaudí's fourth and last building on Passeig de Gràcia.
Architects will appreciate contemporary innovations such as freestanding stone facades and underground parking.
It was designed so that the industrialist Pere Milà i Camps becomes his family home, with apartments for rent on the upper floors.
The coherence between the design of the building and the furniture of Casa Milà is a real pleasure to see, and it goes back to the time when Gaudí was at the top of his art.
5. beaches of the city
Barcelona's seaside promenade stretches for miles. It will take a good hour to walk from Barceloneta to Diagonal Mar, but it's a walk that really helps you understand the city.
The most western beaches, such as Sant Sebastià, are more crowded and more touristy, but are supported by Barceloneta's narrow network of trendy shops and bars with terraces and outdoor seating.
As you move along the waterfront after the Olympic port, you will find a little more space and more locals in Barcelona.
Finally, Platja de Llevant is the huge new Diagonal Mar shopping center, which revitalizes a former industrial district of the city.
6. The Boqueria
It's an iconic show and an educational experience at a time. There has been a Boqueria market in Barcelona since medieval times, although this place has only been marketed for about 200 years.
This elegant and distinctive glass and glass roof you will see was built in 1914.
Whether you want to do some food shopping or simply admire the sounds of a bustling urban market, this is a real eye opener.
It is a grid of permanent stalls selling fruits, vegetables, cold cuts, cheese and olive products.
The whole market converges on an oval plan of fishmongers in the center.
Refresh yourself with a beer and a tapa in one of the market bars.
7. Camp Nou
In the western district of Les Corts, is the stadium of 99,000 seats of FC Barcelona since 1957.
This is one of the European football cathedrals and even if you have no affinity with the team, you have to go to Camp Nou to enjoy the breathtaking expanse of this arena.
And if you are a fan, you will be in paradise, visiting the stadium and browsing the memories of one of the most prestigious teams in the world.
The stadium tour is not available on game days or just before, so keep an eye on the calendar.
8. Park Güell
Complete your Gaudí experience with a visit to this garden complex on Carmel Hill.
Many go to this part of Gràcia to admire the magnificent panoramas of Barcelona from the main terrace of the park.
You will have seen these serpentine benches and their mosaics on postcards and in movies.
Elsewhere, there are colonnades, fountains and sculptures, all in the distinctive style of the architect.
If you still do not have enough Gaudí, you can enter his house-museum, where he lived from 1906 to 1926, with furniture and decorative objects designed by him.
9. History Museum of the City of Barcelona
The history museum preserves some Roman sites of the Gothic Quarter, such as the Temple of Augustus and the Funeral Way of the Vila de Madrid Square. But Plaça del Rei is where you can see the ancient history of Barcelona in detailed layers.
You will take the elevator to where the remains of a garum factory, laundries, dyeing shops and parts of the old walls of Barcino are visible.
The site is vast, covering 4,000 square meters, which you will explore via raised walkways.
Climbing into the museum building, you will go back in time and enter the arches of Palau Reial Major, seat of the medieval dukes of Barcelona.
10. Montjuïc
This part of the city was built for the international exhibition of 1929 and includes several renowned museums, including the National Museum of Catalan Art, the Museum of Archeology and the Museum of Ethnology.
Of these, the art museum is particularly recommended, and the view of the city from its steps is beautiful.
Below, the magic fountain was also built for the exhibition. It offers light shows and music all half-hour of the weekend. This is best seen at night of course.
At the top of the hill is the fortress of the seventeenth century, which was born in the Catalan revolt in the 1600s and during the civil war in the late 1930s, after which it was transformed into a prison.