2 Day Guide To Barcelona, Spain

Optimize your time in Barcelona with this easy-to-follow guide

Your plane sets down, you’re tired, but you’re full of excitement. What do you do first?! Find a place to stow your luggage (preferably at your hotel), grab some coffee, and go explore!

Plaza de Catalunya is a nice central location where you can see a lot with little distance involved. It can act as a hub to get to know Barcelona better. During the day, it’s a beautiful place to relax, people watch, and enjoy a beverage. There are also beautiful fountains that often put on small shows. Using this as your home base, you now can freely travel to the surrounding sites.

One of the best hostels is located by here; St. Christopher’s Barcelona

A nice hotel choice in this location; Renaissance Barcelona (Marriott)

La Rambla is the main throughfare here. It’s basically a very large street, in width, with a large center footpath. You can walk up and down this and still find new things. This is likely where you’ll want to grab food or shop a while. At times, there are also interesting things in the midst of the paths.

Continue your walk on to the Arc de Triomf, which is, essentially, Barcelona’s version of Paris’ Arc. We stopped here at a place called GiGi Von Tapas to grab a beer and snack before heading to the next location. It has a quaint little pub atmosphere, and it was perfectly unbusy during the day.

Probably the most anticipated site in Barcelona, for many, is La Sagrada Familia. This is the absolutely stunning cathedral with gothic architecture as if from a fairytale. There are a multitude of shapes, colors, and textures to find on it, and yet still they keep remodeling it. The one problem here, it’s always under construction. I have been there many times over the span of 10 years. Every time I go, I get a nice photo full of cranes. I find this place to be amazing, but my photos are always …meh. Depending on the timing, you can wait in a, typically, very long line in order to enter and go to the top (this is recommended if you have more time). Try to book online if you do go inside.

If you want to see some more things at this point, seek out the Gothic Quarter. This is a larger area, by definition of a site to see. You can search to see if you have any desired place you want to pinpoint before going, as there are many. However, we just decided to get lost within the walls. My companions and I found a few pieces of modern street art along the way. There was a special Good Friday night parade going on due to Easter. It was a very large, formal, and interesting thing to see. We made our way to the shore of the beach by nightfall via this route. Note, you’ll also pass by Barcelona Cathedral if you so choose.

There are clubs, bars, and restaurants on the beach in this area that are quite popular with tourists. If you’re interested, Opium Barcelona Restaurant and Club is good. Shoko is well known, and Icebarcelona has rear access directly on the beach. Think club inside, beach outside, it’s pretty cool. These are smaller venues, but this little corner was a decent find when I first explored Barcelona. We didn’t stop on this visit though. Slightly further down, you can explore the walking path of Barceloneta Promenade. Very near is an outdoor gym area and unique cement chairs that make for enjoyment in sky gazing. Just head toward Mirador de Piedras which is a little peninsula to take photos on. You’ll also have waves crash pretty high here sometimes, and this can be beautiful place to see at night with all the surrounding lights.

You can now Uber/Lyft/Taxi back to your accommodation or the more central streets again. You can also walk back if you’re up to it (about 30 minutes directly). One thing you must get used to when traveling and that is walking a lot. Therefore may I emphasize, completely off-topic, good footwear, breaks when needed, and staying hydrated. It may be additional entertainment to utilize a smartwatch to track things and make it a game with your friends (check out the watch I selected to use here LINK).

In the remaining portion of the night, we decided to stroll down to Casa Mila. It’s an interesting piece of architecture to view, it’s a quick little photo op, but it’s not mandatory. Casa Batllo is also another piece of unusual architecture that’s about 5-7 mins away from Casa Mila. If you stay at the Renaissance Barcelona (like we did), the entire walk is about 15 mins and is only a block or so over. If you would like to see these during the day, you can also see them right in the beginning because the Renaissance Marriott is only a few minutes from Placa de Catalunya (alternate spelling). It’s also why we recommend that hotel, or one very near this area, because of the ability to drop luggage and walk or return home quickly. Also, Marriott hotels allow you to drop your luggage safely, in storage, even if you cannot check into your room yet.

Day 2

Definitely start your next day with traveling to Park Guell! This is possibly my favorite place in Spain due to the architecture alone. You can walk here in about an hour from the center. However, I recommend saving your feet for walking inside of the parks. Take a 10-15 minute Uber ride to this park. It’s also uphill, so keep that in mind. Spend at least 2 hours here. There are areas which cost money, but you do not need to visit these. You will be able to get the same views, or better, for free just by walking up to the top. There is also a quicker way up than doing the zigzag path, and it’s all the way to the right of the park (if you’re facing it). This is a straight up staircase, and typically used to walk down once you’ve reached the top. Either way, the view from the top is breathtaking. You get to see the entire city, and all the way to the ocean on clear days. There are benches and places to hangout up top as well. If you pay attention, you can look at Tibidabo hiding in the mountains from this view as well (opposite direction than the beach). Also note, there are a handful of vendors here selling trinkets. There is also an art gallery and a few little attractions, but the park itself is fulfilling enough.

Next up, Uber/Taxi to Parc del Laberint d'Horta. This may not be top on the mainstream media, but certainly not due to lack of quality. This is a hidden gem by all means, and I was lucky to find this on my first trip to Barcelona many years ago. This place has a secret garden vibe, and is much less crowded than main sites. You do have a tiny entrance fee (used to be 2 Euros) and you need cash here (efectivo in Spanish). Spend an hour or two here. Get lost in the miniature maze, walk the steps to the large water feature up top, then circle the outer rim of the park to find tucked away art pieces. Then find a one of the many benches to sit and take in the beauty of the gardens.

Lastly, you’ll need to call a taxi (best bet here) to take you to Mount Tibidabo. If you enjoy subjecting yourself to torture, it is possible to walk in 2+ hours. It is all uphill, and there is a point where vehicles have to stop and it’s just a short walk to the village. If you’re pinched for pennies, you can travel with a bus ticket to all of these places, but the wait and connection details will be another factor. Tibidabo seems as if it’s in the clouds, especially once to the top of Templo del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus (the large cathedral). It actually has several attractions to keep you busy, and small food and shop options. You would likely go there for the cathedral as a point of interest though. You can see inside, and walk to higher floors of it from the outside. The views are amazing, and they’re best on clear days. Although, the fog hovering around the tops of buildings makes for unique photos. There is also a small amusement park here (20-30 rides) that kids and adults would appreciate. There are resorts you can stay in that will place you within walking distance of the main area. The restaurant at the entrance is usually busier than everywhere else there, so be prepared for a bit of a wait. You can spend anywhere from 1-5 hours here, depending on your goals. Once you leave the mountain, you will still have daylight left and can go relax back at the center of town. You could also throw in another POI here (maybe The Magic Fountain), but we did not. After a bit of browsing, we settled on dinner at Ristorante Margherita which had a nice atmosphere, wasn’t too busy, and was close to where we wanted to be. I’m also slightly addicted to pizza, so there was that factor as well. This was, of course, followed up by some dessert at Sante Gelato in which the shop owner was extremely friendly and roasted Nate a bit to make it memorable. There are plenty of options nearby for dining though, so you can tailor to your needs.

Ultimately, this is a well-paced guide to seeing pertinent things in Barcelona while not making it overly stressful. You do have time to squeeze in more places if you so choose. Whether you add a stop in the early morning (possibly getting better photos), or if you visit some late-night locations (pub crawls, bars, beach walks), there is always more to see.

If you have more time, add these to the list:

Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya

The Magic Fountain (best at night)

Montjuic Castle (during the day)

Tour inside: Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, Montjuic Castle, or do latch on to a free walking tour.

Quick Summary

Plaza de Catalunya | La Rambla (social hub street)
Arc de Triomf
Stopped by “GiGi von tapas” (pub)
Basilica De La Sagrada Familia
Walk the Gothic Quarter
Barceloneta Promenade
Casa Mila
Casa Batllo

Day 2

Park Guell
Parc del Laberint d'Horta
Tibidabo
Ristorante Margherita (pizza)
Sante Gelato

2 Day Guide To Barcelona, Spain

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