A Whistle-stop Tour of Barcelona – What to See in a Day

Picture the scene, you have your entire holiday completely planned out to the finest minute detail, you have booked your villa with pool in Spain, the kids are happy they have a trip to the waterpark, beaches and markets. You have one day remaining to fill on your itinerary and you really want to see Barcelona while you are staying in the area. Can you do it in a day? Sure you can! Here are a few ideas on how to get the best out of Barcelona in a day.

Don’t try to see too much

It’s impossible, even with the best will in the world to see all of Barcelona in one day; the city is just too vast and way too interesting. Our suggestion would be to write down your top 5 and divide it into areas. That way you won’t spend all of your time travelling on the metro to get from one place to another.

Prioritise

Do you want to see the main tourist attractions or spend time in one or two lesser known areas which are of interest? Some areas are slightly off the beaten track like Mount Tibidabo, well worth a visit but it is a full day trip. If you just have one day away from your Catalonia villa rental to squeeze all of Barcelona’s attractions in, here are a few suggestions of how to see the most sought after attractions.

Where to see

Take the train into Barcelona Sants which is the main rail station in the city, all trains from the Costa Brava, Costa Maresme and Costa Dorada stop here. No trip to Barcelona would be complete without a trip to the Gaudí masterpiece – the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. Head there first, it’s the furthest point from the other attractions so this will be the easiest way to see everything. As soon as you disembark the train at Sants station, take the L5 metro from here. They run every 4 minutes; it’s a 20-minute journey and takes you right to the exterior of the Sagrada Familia. Explore this incredible example of modernist and contemporary art, even stop for coffee and breakfast close by.

When you are ready to move on head back to the metro and jump onto the L2, it will take 15 minutes for you to reach Plaça de Catalunya. This is one of the main squares in Barcelona, it’s busy and also where many of the buses and metros stop. Always use here as a guidance point – it makes things a lot easier.

From here walk down the main thoroughfare of Las Ramblas, it’s a vibrant avenue and one of the most famous walks in the city. Packed with an abundance of street artists, florists, pet shops and souvenir stalls, you will be captivated by all of the hustle and bustle. You can even stop to have a caricature of yourself drawn if you fancy it!

On the left of Las Ramblas is the Barrio Gótico, or Gothic Quarter, this is the old city of Barcelona with medieval Cathedrals, lively squares with tapas bars and music playing and many shops and museums. To the right of Las Ramblas is the popular and colourful produce market of La Boqueria, either stop for lunch in the Gothic Quarter or purchase artisan breads, cheeses, olives and meats from the market and create a wonderful picnic to take with you.

As you continue down Las Ramblas you will see the monument of Christopher Columbus, from here you can turn left to the beach and Parc de la Ciutadella where Barcelona zoo and the boating lake is, or right to head toMontjuïc Mountain. If you choose Montjuïc you take the metro L3 from Drassanes to Paral.lel then the funicular from Paral.lel to Montjuïc. Once on the mountain you can explore the MNAC (Museum of National Art Catalunya) the National Palace, the Fortress and Castell de Montjuïc, the botanical gardens, Olympic stadium and the Poble Espanyol. Complete the day watching the dancing fountains which are colourful jets of water choreographed to music. There are incredible views to the port and the city from the mountain – it’s well worth a visit.

Watching the water fountains as the sun sets over the Mediterranean is the perfect end to the day. Then it is time to journey back to Barcelona Sants station to return to your family villa in Spain. It is possible to see many of the main attractions in the city in one day, make a list of where you wish to see the most then go from there.