Overview
Spain’s second city and the proud capital of Catalonia, Barcelona sits between wooded hills and the sea, mixing a dense medieval core with the grand grid of the nineteenth-century Eixample. It is defined above all by the architecture of Antoni Gaudí and his contemporaries, whose curving Modernista buildings are scattered across the city. Warm, walkable and fond of the good life, it pairs its monuments with beaches, markets and a celebrated food and design culture.
Highlights
Gaudí’s unfinished Sagrada Família basilica soars over the city, and his Park Güell and Casa Batlló show the same fantastical style. The medieval Gothic Quarter and the tree-lined Ramblas lead down to the harbour and the city beaches of Barceloneta. The Boqueria market, the hill of Montjuïc and the football of Camp Nou round out a stay in the Catalan capital.