Barcelona City Hall (history and why you should visit)

Saló del Cent (The Hall of One Hundred)

Barcelona’s City Hall is an impressive example of Gothic architecture that has served as the local government’s headquarters since its construction in 1369. Like many other buildings in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, the city hall has been subject to various modifications and additions. However, despite all the changes, parts of the interior have remained unchanged since…

Exploring Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter: A Perfect Half-day Itinerary

Barcelona's Gothic Quarter

With over two thousand years of history, Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter is a labyrinth of narrow streets and striking Gothic architecture which dates back to the Middle Ages and the times of the Roman Empire. Located between Plaça de Catalunya and the Port Vell Harbour, the Gothic Quarter is the heart of the Old City and…

Discovering the Public Art on Barcelona’s Waterfront (walking itinerary & map)

The Wounded Star by Rebecca Horn

Barcelona is renowned for its public art, and the city’s many parks and plazas are replete with monuments ranging from traditional statues paying homage to people and events of the past to intriguing contemporary pieces by international and local artists. But it’s not just the parks and plazas which are full of art. Wherever you…

Roman Scales by Jannis Kounellis

Roman Scales by Jannis Kounellis

One of a series of eight sculptures which were installed in public spaces in the run-up to the Barcelona Olympics of 1992, Roman Balance, or Balança romana in Catalan, by Greek artist Jannis Kounellis is a reminder of Barcelona’s seafaring and industrial heritage. The statue consists of seven large cast iron balance pans, each loaded…

MNAC: The National Art Museum of Catalunya (Visitors guide & tickets)

The National Art Museum of Catalunya (MNAC)

The National Art Museum of Catalunya, also known as MNAC, is located in the Palau Nacional near the Magic Fountain on Montjuïc. The museum boasts an impressive art collection spanning over a thousand years, tracing the development of art in Catalonia. The museum is famous for its impressive collection of Romanesque murals from the 11th…

Easter in Barcelona 2024: Processions, Traditions & Best Things To Do

Easter procession in the Raval neighbourhood

Easter, or Semana Santa as it’s known locally, is Spain’s most important religious festival. The celebrations, which date back to the sixteenth century, include sombre processions with ornate floats commemorating Jesus Christ’s arrival in Jerusalem, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. The most famous Easter Week celebrations take place in Andalucia, in southern Spain. However, cities throughout…

The Fundació Joan Miró Art Museum on Montjuïc (Visitors guide & tips)

Fundació Joan Miró

The Joan Miró Foundation is a museum of modern art that exhibits the works of Barcelona-born artist Joan Miró. The museum opened its doors in 1975 and was designed in collaboration between Miró and architect Josep Lluís Sert. In addition to an extensive collection of Miró’s work, the museum also contains exhibits by other contemporary…

From Orwell to ‘Tripi’: The History of Barcelona’s Plaça de George Orwell

Plaça de George Orwell

Tucked away in the labyrinthine heart of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, Plaça de George Orwell was created in 1989, when an entire block of housing was torn down. The creation of this, and other similar plazas, was conceived as a way of opening up the Gothic Quarter and presumably went hand in hand with the generalized…

CCCB: Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona

CCCB, Barcelona's Centre of Contemporary Culture

The Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, or CCCB for short, is contemporary arts centre in Barcelona’s Raval neighbourhood. The centre opened in 1995 in a historic building which was once an almshouse and houses three main exhibition areas, as well as an auditorium, a bookstore, an arts cinema and a digital archive, all of…

Fundació Antoni Tàpies (Visitors guide, tickets & tips)

Fundació Antoni Tàpies

Situated in an impressive Art Nouveau building in central Barcelona, the Antoni Tàpies Foundation was inaugurated in 1984 to promote modern and contemporary art. The museum houses temporary exhibitions by Antoni Tàpies and other artists and an extensive library of books and journals dedicated to art. On the roof, there are two large sculptures, which…

Bus & Coach Services from Barcelona Airport (Both terminals, all destinations)

Bus stops on the central platform display the route number and timetable

Every year, approximately fifty million passengers pass through Barcelona Airport. While most of them head straight to the city centre, the airport also serves as an entry point for other popular destinations such as Sitges, Girona and the Costa Brava. Many travellers who arrive at Barcelona Airport continue their journey to their final destination by…

Free Train Travel in Barcelona During 2023 With The “ABONO RECURRENT” Ticket

The Abono Recurrent train pass

In September 2022, to persuade more commuters to start using trains, the Spanish Government introduced two new train passes aimed at frequent travellers. The scheme was extended into 2023 and is now expected to run until the end of the year. The idea behind the scheme is that every four months, commuters pay a small…

Hiking the Camí Ral: The Old Medieval Road from Vic to Olot

Spectacular views of the Collsecabra mountain range from the Cami Ral

The Camí Ral is an old Medieval road connecting the cities of Vic and Olot in central Catalonia. The road was originally built during the middle ages to transport wood from the forests of the La Garrotxa region to the Royal Shipyards in Barcelona. The forty-five-kilometre section between the towns of Vic and Olot was…

From Barcelona to the Santa Maria de Montserrat Monastery by Train and On Foot (A Hiker’s Guide)

Cami de les Aigües, walking to Montserrat fon Monistrol de Montserrat

The Monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat is an eleventh-century Benedictine monastery set in an idyllic mountaintop location approximately thirty-five kilometres from Barcelona. If you’ve already read my Ultimate Guide to Visiting Montserrat from Barcelona, you’ll know that the most convenient way to reach the monastery is by taking the R5 train from Barcelona, followed…

MACBA: Barcelona’s Iconic Contemporary Art Museum

MACBA Contemporary Art Museum. Barcelona

Housed in an emblematic concrete and glass building designed by Richard Meier, Barcelona’s contemporary art museum, the MACBA or Museu d’Art Contemporani de BArcelona, was inaugurated in 1995. More than just a museum, in addition to its permanent and temporary collections, the MACBA is a centre for art education and research. As the museum’s name…

Visiting the Picasso Museum in Barcelona (Info, tickets and tips)

Picasso museum Barcelona

The Picasso Museum of Barcelona (Catalan: Museu Picasso de Barcelona) is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions and one of Spain’s best-known art museums. Founded in 1963 by Picasso’s friend and secretary Jaume Sabartés, the museum contains more than four thousand paintings, the most extensive collection of Picasso’s work anywhere in the world.…

Monument to the People Executed Between 1939 and 1952

Parapet de les Executades i executats

The parapet of the people executed 1939-1952 (Catalan: Parapet de les executades i executats 1939-1952) is a fifty-five metre-long memorial to the 1,706 people executed in Barcelona during the early years of Franco’s dictatorship. The executions were by firing squad, and victims were lined up against a concrete wall which stood next to an area…

What To Do If You Run Out Of Medication While Visiting Spain

Pharmacies in Spain ar typically small and privately owned.

When travelling abroad, whether on holiday or for work, you should always ensure that you have enough medication for the duration of your stay. For longer stays, your doctor may be able to write you an extended prescription. On the other hand, sometimes plans go awry, causing you to run out. Maybe your bags got…