Barcelona’s best attractions: an ultimate guide to its must-see sights (2025)

Soaring above Barcelona’s cityscape, the Sagrada Família will be the world’s tallest church upon completion (estimated, finally, for 2026). This 130-year labour of love, dreamt up by Antoni Gaudí (more from him later), is one of the world’s most controversial basilicas, but also one of the most visited. Three million tourists flock here each year to gawk at the architectural achievement that has brought nature, light and religion together into one stunning ensemble. The interior is like a giant jigsaw puzzle, with each new style blending into the rest of Gaudí’s visionary design.

🤫 Insider tip: Don't forget to explore the basement. Admission also gives visitors access to the subterranean museum, which provides the chance to watch sculptors working on plaster-cast models IRL through a large window. 

This park, which is arguably the city’s most iconic green space and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1984, is one of Gaudí’s most important works. Perched high in the city’s Horta-Guinardó neighbourhood, Park Güell boasts breathtaking views across the city to the sea.

🤫 Insider tip: If you have €10 to spare, it’s worth paying for entry to the Monumental Zone, where you'll find architectural highlights including the Chamber of 100 Columns, the mosaic serpent bench, and the salamander (or dragon, depending on who you ask) on the main steps. 

In one of the most extreme architectural makeovers ever seen, Antoni Gaudí and his long-time collaborator Josep Maria Jujol took an ordinary apartment block and remodelled it inside and out for textile tycoon Josep Batlló between 1902 and 1906. The result was one of the most impressive and admired of all Gaudí's creations. The chance to explore the interior (at a cost) offers the best opportunity of understanding how Gaudí, sometimes considered the lord of the bombastic and overblown, was really the master of tiny details – from the ingenious ventilation in the doors to the amazing natural light reflecting off the inner courtyard’s azure walls, and the way the brass window handles are curved so as to fit the shape of a hand.

🤫 Insider tip: The apartment ‘Planta Noble’ and its attic and roof terrace are well worth a visit, especially with the immersive tour option. The top floor’s whitewashed arched rooms (originally used for laundering clothes), are among the house’s most atmospheric spaces.

If the quality of a museum is measured by the number of people queuing to get in, the Picasso Museum takes first place. The museum was created by the cubist painter and his friend and secretary Jaime Sabartès, who donated his collection to the cause. More than 3,800 works make up the permanent collection, and it also hosts an array of temporary exhibitions. 

🤫 Insider tip: Queues can be punishingly long. Visit at lunch or shortly before last entry in an attempt to avoid them (or book ahead of time online).

This is undoubtedly the most famous street in Barcelona. Stretching from Port Vell to Plaça de Catalunya in the centre, La Rambla offers a bevvy of shops, flower stands, artworks and attractions. Don’t miss the ornate Canaletes fountain, Boqueria market, Liceu opera house and Teatre Principal.

👀 Our take: Think the opera is just for fancy people? A night at Gran Teatre del Liceu can cost less than tickets to see the ‘in’ band of the moment. Plus, it's not just opera – they host ballet and concerts too. –María José Gómez, Time Out Barcelona editor

The stallholders at this market – which can trace its history all the way back to 1217 – have had to learn languages and public relations skills, because as well as being the main food market in Barcelona, La Boqueria is now a major tourist destination. Just off La Rambla, this is the biggest market in Catalonia, with more than 300 stalls and a surface area of 2,583 square metres. Think of some obscure delicacy, and you’re almost guaranteed to find it here. Artisanal produce is, naturally, in abundance.

🤫 Insider tip: Visit early in the morning to avoid heaving crowds. Your aptitude will be rewarded by the best produce – but remember to shop around, as prices vary hugely.

It has been described as looking like rising dough, molten lava or a stone lung. Let's just say you can make up your own description of this weird and wonderful bit of modernism. Casa Milà is a daring example of Gaudí’s use of stone. When La Pedrera, his last civic project, was first commissioned in 1906, the building became a laughing stock for its undulating façade, wrought-iron balconies and vast windows. Today, of course, it is viewed quite differently, even earning a spot on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Make a beeline for the roof: its mosaic-tiled ventilation shafts are topped with what looks like the helmets of medieval knights, which led the poet Pere Gimferrer to dub the spot 'the garden of warriors'.

🤫 Insider tip: Impress even your most highbrow friends with this architectural tidbit: as well as looking great, the building is a structural marvel, since it was constructed without a load-bearing wall. 

Most locals will only see this light, music and water show when they are little kids or have to act as tour guides for visitors. But whether you’ve got your own offspring in tow or not, the show brings out childlike wonder in us all. After all, it is magic. Designed by Carles Buïgas, it is one of the last remaining attractions made for the 1929 International Exposition.

🤫 Insider tip: For that little extra je ne sais quoi, go down on New Year's Eve for Festa de Cap d'Any. It's one of the biggest party nights in town and the fountain display is even more spectacular than usual.

When you visit the Palau de la Música, all your senses sit up and take notice because every inch tells a story of modernisme, music and Catalonia. It was built in 1908 by Lluís Domènech i Montaner and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Muses watch over the main concert hall, and on the façade, you’ll find busts of Palestrina, Bach, Beethoven and Wagner. The programme, predictably, is stellar.

🤫 Insider tip: If you take a guided tour, be sure to ask questions, as they tend to concentrate mainly on the triumphs of the renovation.

It’s always worth checking out an inner-city cathedral and Barcelona is no exception. Its cathedral is an impressive example of Gothic architecture that’s now a Cultural Heritage Site and, since 1929, a National Historic Monument. It’s dedicated to the Holy Cross and to Saint Eulalia, patron saint of Barcelona, who was martyred by the Romans and whose remains lie in the crypt. Aside from the artistic and architectural riches of the interior, you should also visit the cloister with its 13 white geese (one for each year of Saint Eulalia’s life) and the well-worn engravings on the floor detailing which guild paid for each part of the chapel.

Time Out tip: If you visit on a Sunday around noon, you may get to witness the Catalan tradition known as the Sardana dance, performed in the square in front of the cathedral.

📍 The best things to do in Barcelona
🍴 The best restaurants in Barcelona
🏨 The best hotels in Barcelona
🏘️ The best Airbnbs in Barcelona
☀️ Our ultimate guide to activities in Barcelona