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 2025: 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 date back to the sixteenth century, and 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 2025 With The “ABONO RECURRENT” Ticket

The Abono Recurrent train pass

In September 2022, the Spanish Government introduced two new train passes for frequent travellers to encourage more commuters to start using trains. The scheme was extended throughout 2023 and 2024 and has continued into 2025. The idea behind the scheme is that commuters pay a small deposit every four months to obtain a frequent traveller…

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…

The Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes (and how to get there)

The monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes

The Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes is a Romanesque-style Benedictine monastery which overlooks the Costa Brava, one hundred and fifty kilometres north of Barcelona. Legend has it that the monastery was built by monks who fled from Rome during the seventh century, taking with them the remains of Saint Peter. In reality, the first…

The Controversial Monument to Slave Trader Antonío López y López

All that remains of the monument to Antonío Lopez, Plaça Idrissa Diallo, Barcelona

Many of Barcelona’s squares and plazas feature large and impressive statues. Some of the statues are decorative works of art, while others are monuments which honour famous people. Some of the monuments honour kings or heroes of yesteryear. Others feature famous artists, writers, politicians and wealthy businessmen. One such monument was the statue of Antonio…