This practical guide of Barcelona in 3 days will take you to visit the most essential places of one of the most visited cities in the world, either walking through its streets and most famous neighborhoods or by metro or urban bus, with which you can access the more distant places of interest.
After visiting during the first two days the most interesting modernist buildings, the neighborhoods of Gracia, Gothic and Born, the Gothic churches, streets such as Las Ramblas and Paseo de Gracia, on this third day you will visit places like the popular neighborhoods of La Barceloneta and Poblenou, the viewpoints of the Castle of Montjuic and the Bunkers of Carmel, among many other things. You may like the 10 places in Athens.
Based on the experience of our numerous visits to Barcelona, we have made this guide to know the best of Barcelona in three days. We start!
Tips for traveling to Barcelona in 3 days
- All Barcelona routes in 3 days are designed to start at your hotel. Our recommended hotel in Barcelona is the Caledonian, located right in the center of the city and with a great quality/price ratio.
- To get to the center or your hotel in Barcelona from El Prat Airport, you have several transport options: train, bus, metro, taxi or book the transfer directly to the hotel.
- If you are going to visit many monuments it is advisable to evaluate if it is profitable to buy the Barcelona Pass, since with it you can save money and especially time to skip the queues. Another good option is the Hello BCN Card! for 2, 3, 4 or 5 days, with which you will have unlimited access to public transport in the city.
- One of the best tips for traveling to Barcelona is to buy the T10 card with which you will have 10 metro or bus tickets.
- To save money in Barcelona you can visit the Picasso Museum for free on Thursday afternoons, on the first Sunday of each month at the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, and on Saturday afternoons at the MNAC.
- To save time on trips you can book the tourist bus in Barcelona, which stops at all the tourist attractions of the city.
All this information that we have now summarized, can be found enlarged in the Barcelona Guide in one day.
First day in Barcelona
The morning of the first day of Barcelona in 3 days starts arriving by metro, lines L2 and L5, to the Sagrada Familia, one of the must-see places in Barcelona. Although the church opens at 9, long queues are formed and a fixed number of tickets are sold every day, so to ensure your visit and not have to waste time in the queue you can book this guided tour in Spanish or this guided tour, which includes the climb to the tower.
The Holy Family
Near the Sagrada Familia is the next visit of the day, the Hospital of Santa Creu i Sant Pau, one of the jewels of Catalan modernism, that you can not miss on your trip to Barcelona.
After touring the interesting buildings of the hospital, you will head towards the most beautiful park in the city, the Park Güell, an incredible jewel of Gaudí that is also an excellent viewpoint.
To take into account that it has gone from being free to be paid and with a limited number of daily tickets. Two good options not to miss is to book this guided tour of the park or this tour that also includes a visit to the Sagrada Familia, you will save time by skipping the queues.
The Barcelona route in three days continues down to the Gracia neighborhood, one of the most charming neighborhoods in the city where it is a pleasure to walk through its narrow streets full of local shops and original cafes. In addition, it is one of the best places to go for tapas in its many restaurants such as Felice or Intrèpid de Gràcia.
After lunch you will walk to the avenue of Paseo de Gracia, where there are two other masterpieces by Gaudí, La Pedrera and Casa Batlló. In addition to these two wonders that you will visit tomorrow, Paseo de Gracia is home to large international brand stores and incredible buildings such as Palau Malagrida and Palau Robert, Casa Amatller, Casa Mulleras, Casa Lleó i Morer, Casa Enric Batlló and Casa Bonaventura Ferrer, to which we advise you to spend some time, to contemplate while you enjoy the great atmosphere of the area.
La Pedrera on Paseo de Gracia
The tour of Paseo de Gracia ends at Plaza Cataluña, the most famous square of the city and from which you will have access through the street Portal de l’Àngel, to the Gothic Quarter. In this neighborhood, full of gothic buildings and palaces, you will enjoy its narrow streets that will take you to places such as the Cathedral of Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia, the Temple of Augustus, the Carrer del Bisbe, the Plaza de Sant Felip Neri, Plaza del Rey, Els Quatre Gats, Plaza Sant Jaume and Plaza Real.
The Barcelona route in 3 days continues with a long walk through Las Ramblas to the Columbus Monument, one of the best things to do in Barcelona. During the tour do not forget to enter the fabulous market of La Boquería and see the mural of Joan Miró on the ground, as well as nibbling some delights that they have in many of their posts.
For dinner, we recommend you go to the Gothic Quarter to try the tapas of the Viana or Sensi Bistro restaurants, two of our favorites in the city.
Second day in Barcelona
The second day of Barcelona in three days starts arriving at first La Pedrera, where the nearest metro stop is the Diagonal station of lines L3 and L5. Although they open the doors at 9 in the morning, it is advisable to go early to avoid losing a lot of time in the queue. Another good option is to book this ticket in advance with which you will save the wait.
The next stop will be Casa Batlló by Antoni Gaudí, where you passed yesterday, also located on Paseo de Gracia and one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. To save time, you can book this ticket without queues in advance. If you like Gaudí’s modernism and architecture, it can also be interesting to book this guided tour in Spanish for its more symbolic buildings.
Casa Batlló
The route through Barcelona in 3 days continues with the visit to the Palau de la Música Catalana, with a spectacular concert hall declared a World Heritage Site. The only option to visit is to buy a ticket to see some of their music shows or book a guided tour.
When leaving the Palau de la Música you can take advantage to eat in one of the recommended restaurants that are in this area such as Tosca Palau or Casa Lolea.
After lunch you can go through the narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter to the Santa Maria del Pi Basilica, an old church that has one of the best viewpoints of Barcelona on the top of its tower.
The Barcelona in three days continues with a tour of El Born, one of our favorite neighborhoods of Barcelona, a suburb of medieval origin which has several prominent places like the impressive Santa Maria del Mar, the old Mercado del Born, Santa Catarina Market, Montcada Street, the Picasso Museum, the Church of Sant Pere de les Puelles, the Marcus Chapel, the Ciutadella Park or the beautiful Station of France.
The Station of France
After a relaxing walk through the Ciutadella Park, you can walk to the Arc de Triumfo by the Paseo de Lluís Companys and from where you can take the L1 metro line that will take you to the Plaza España, your next stop of Barcelona in 3 days.
The Plaza España is the gateway to the mountain of Montjuïc, where you can climb to its summit by an escalator, although before reaching the highest part we recommend you go to the National Art Museum of Catalonia, MNAC, to enjoy a magnificent sunset with beautiful views of the city.
At nightfall in the Magic Fountain of Montjuic, located in the lower part of the mountain, there is a great show of water, music and light, which you can not miss being in this area of the city.
After the show, you can finish the second day of Barcelona in three days by having dinner on the terrace of the Las Arenas Shopping Center with good views of Plaza España. Although we recommend moving away from a little to eat in one of two magnificent restaurants like the Kurai or the MinE.
Third day in Barcelona
The third day of Barcelona in 3 days begins by taking the line L1 or L3 of the metro to arrive first stop at the Parada Espanya. This stop is near the Poble Espanyol, an enclosure located in Montjuic Mountain, where exact copies of some of the most beautiful places and buildings in Spain are concentrated and where there are also several craft shops where you can buy a original memory of the city.
After the visit to Poble Espanyol you can take bus 150 that goes up to the Olympic Ring, located on the top of Montjuic mountain. In this set of sports facilities, including the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, the Palau Sant Jordi, the Bernat Picornell Swimming Pools and the Calatrava Tower, most of the events of the 1992 Olympic Games were held.
Olympic Ring of Montjuic
After a short walk through this area, you can take the urban bus 150 again to get to the Castle of Montjuic, the next stop of Barcelona in three days. This defensive fortress has several anti-aircraft batteries and cannons, having lived through different war episodes during its more than 3 centuries of history. Its location at the highest point of the Montjuic mountain will allow you to have excellent views of the city and the Barcelona coastline.
Castle of Montjuic in Barcelona in three days
When leaving the castle, you can walk down to the Jardines del Mirador del Alcalde, with even better views of the city. Near the viewpoint and the castle, you have the Montjuic cable car, one of the transport options in Barcelona, which will take you to the lower part of the city, stopping at the Miramar Avenue, while you enjoy the views.
From Miramar Avenue you can walk up to Paral·lel avenue, which connects the Plaza de España with the sea, and where some of the most popular theaters in the city, such as El Molino, are concentrated.
The next stop of Barcelona in 3 days is the neighborhood of La Barceloneta, which you will arrive by bus from the Paral·lel – Cabanes stop.
La Barceloneta is one of the most emblematic neighborhoods of the city, located next to the sea, which still retains the seafaring charm in its streets and restaurants of fresh fish, seafood and paella.
And as it could not be otherwise and is already time to eat we recommend going directly to one of the most recommended restaurants such as La Peninsular or em> La Cova Fumada, after lunch take a walk through its narrow streets until you reach your beach full of atmosphere.
The Barceloneta
The route continues along the Paseo Marítimo until you reach another of the most fashionable neighborhoods in the city, Poblenou. In this old industrial district, which next to La Barceloneta opened to the Mediterranean Sea with the celebration of the Olympic Games, you can enjoy good beaches such as Bogatell, Nova Icària and Mar Bella, as well as stroll along its commercial artery, La Rambla del Poblenou, which also has a good offer of restoration and enter into an art gallery or boutique with charm.
If you go well in this Barcelona in 3 days, you can take the metro at the Llacuna stop to get to the Mundet stop, making a transfer at Passeig de Gràcia. Near the Mundet stop is the beautiful park of Laberinto de Horta, which closes at 8 o’clock in the afternoon and which is an excellent option to relax in the city. Located in the upper area of the city, it stands out for its neoclassical garden of the 18th century, in which a labyrinth made with cypresses is found.
Horta Maze
To finish Barcelona in three days in the best possible way, you can climb up to the Carmel bunkers, one of the best free things in Barcelona.
To get to the bunkers you can take the Mundet metro to the Vallcarca stop and there get on the v17 bus that will take you to the Gran Vista stop, located near the viewpoint. This viewpoint located on the top of the hill of Turó de la Rovira with incredible panoramic views is the best place in the city to watch the sunset and the sunset.