Are you looking for a brilliant 5 day Barcelona travel itinerary? These are some of the most recommended places to visit and things to do in Barcelona.
Planning a trip to Spain is super exciting! If you’re anything like me, you’re here because you love to research and plan your trip ahead of time. As someone who loves to travel and is OBSESSED with Spain, I am giving you a travel itinerary filled with the best things to do in Barcelona.
You are going to learn about places to visit like La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Casa Batlló, Gothic Quarter, and so much more. After learning about these places and some helpful tips, you are going to be ready for your next Spanish travel adventure!
This is my brilliant 5 day Barcelona travel itinerary.
Day One: La Sagrada & Park Guell
La Sagrada Familia Cathedral
We started our first day with brunch near La Sagrada Familia, where we planned to spend the morning and early afternoon. We chose to eat at Brunch & Cake, a cute, trendy restaurant located right across the street from La Sagrada. If the weather is nice, I recommend sitting outside to enjoy the view. The restaurant has a variety of breakfast and brunch options including smoothie bowls, eggs benedict, sandwiches, and of course, cake! You can’t leave the restaurant without trying their red velvet and oreo cupcakes. It is a great place to take some instagram worthy snapshots too.
Probably one of the most well known landmarks in Barcelona is the cathedral of La Sagrada Familia. Designed by the famous architect Antoni Gaudi, this cathedral continues to be under construction even after 141 years! Despite it still being a work in progress, it is an absolutely stunning piece of architecture.
I have had the fortune of visiting La Sagrada Familia twice. The first time, I only had enough time to see the exterior. This time, I did a self-guided tour that included the interior. I highly recommend purchasing tickets in advance and doing a full tour of the cathedral. If you purchase directly from their website, there are options to do guided or self-guided tours, as well as an additional tour of one of the towers (I did not do this). Note that the tour of the tower begins with an elevator ride up and ends descending by narrow winding stairs. Sometimes the tower tours are shut down due to weather.
This cathedral will take your breath away. From the intricate details of the exterior facade to the stained glass to the pillars and everything in between. Plan to spend a few hours here to really get the most out of the experience.
Park Guell
To keep the Gaudi theme going on our first day in Barcelona, we spend the afternoon and evening in Park Guell. This is an area created and developed by Gaudi to be a unique community overlooking all of Barcelona. Although it didn’t end up growing into what Gaudi envisioned, it is still a very popular tourist attraction. It is a beautiful park that intertwines Gaudi’s architecture with nature. There are also incredible views of the city and on a clear day, the Balearic Sea.
For Park Guell, I recommend purchasing your tickets once you arrive. It is a large open space, so there typically isn’t a long line to enter. Note that the park is at a higher altitude, so if you plan to walk, there may be some steep inclines and stairs along the way. I recommend taking a taxi and getting dropped off at the main entrance.
Day Two: Montserrat & Casa Batlló
Montserrat
On our second day, we did a half day tour to Montserrat. Located about an hour away from Barcelona, this beautiful mountainous region has a lot of interesting history. First inhabited by monks in the ninth century with a few chapels, it grew in the twelfth and thirteenth century when a Romanesque church was built around the black Madonna. The first account of the famous boys choir dates back to 1223.
Today, it is a magical little town. The mysterious black Madonna can be viewed inside the basilica, there is a funicular that runs up and down the mountain, you can tour the museum, listen to the boys choir at certain times of the day, and there’s even a small hostel for pilgrims traveling along the camino de Santiago trail. On most days there is a small farmers market where local farmers sell their fresh cheese, honey, and nougat.
The morning half day tour includes the bus ride to and from Barcelona, a brief tour of the area surrounding the cathedral, going inside the cathedral to see the black Madonna, and 45 minutes of free time. We spent our free time walking to the cross on the cliff and buying cheese from local farmers. I highly recommend visiting Montserrat as part of your Barcelona travel itinerary.
Casa Batlló
In the afternoon, we did our third Gaudi experience, Casa Batlló. For this tour, I recommend purchasing tickets in advance as they are cheaper than purchasing in person and you’ll skip the ticket line. This house is so cool! It is beautiful inside and has some cool technology additions like the waterfall simulation along the wall going up the stairs and an immersive show before exiting the house.
Day Three: Gothic Quarter
Our third day in Barcelona was spent exploring the Gothic Quarter neighborhood. This neighborhood has a more traditional spanish vibe with the narrower streets and traditional architecture from the medieval time period. Here you’ll find La Rambla, a famous street within the Gothic Quarter as well as Barcelona Cathedral and Mercado de la Boqueria. Although I would still consider this neighborhood to be safe, I recommend visiting during the day and being extra mindful of your belongings. La Rambla is notorious for pickpockets.
Barcelona Cathedral
Barcelona Cathedral is another beautiful cathedral in Barcelona. We snapped some photos outside of the church, but the interior was closed at the time we were there. There is often a small flea market outside of the church and it’s a great place to people watch. We saw a group of artists painting the cathedral and square.
Mercado de la Boqueria
This is a really cool market! We enjoyed seeing all the vendors offering fresh fruit, fruit juices, jamon, fish, souvenirs, and spices. It is a great place to purchase gifts to bring back home. I thought that the spices were very affordable. If you are wearing a backpack, I recommend carrying it in the front and keeping personal belongings close while walking through this market as it can get very busy and crowded.
Day Four: Casa Milà
Casa Milà (La Pedrera)
Another Gaudi designed house, Casa Milà is a more unique experience. We chose to purchase the tickets that included a virtual reality experience. It was a fun way to tour part of the house and use virtual reality to experience the architecture and learn more about Gaudi’s life and his designs. The best part of this tour is the rooftop. This was a tourist attraction I had never heard of before getting to Barcelona, and I highly recommend adding it to your Barcelona travel itinerary. This Gaudi house is my second favorite structure after La Sagrada Familia.
Day Five: Eixample Neighborhood
On our last day, we took some time to enjoy the Eixample neighborhood. This trendy neighborhood offers shopping and really great restaurants. Note that if you choose to change around this suggested itinerary, Casa Batlló and Casa Milà are in this neighborhood.
We had breakfast at Faire Restaurant, a vegetarian brunch place. The theme of the restaurant is 80s music, the QR codes for their menu are on cassette tapes! It was a fun little place and the food and drinks were amazing. They offer a lot of vegan options too. I highly recommend ordering the egg sandwich or avocado toast or smoothie bowl.
After lunch, we spent the afternoon casually strolling down Calle Aragó. This street has a lot of shopping. I recommend going to Spanish brand stores like Zara, Zara Home, Mango, and Massimo Dutti. The prices of these Spanish based stores tend to be more affordable here than in the USA.
Later, we had a relaxing night at El Nacional. This unique food hall offers a variety of bars and restaurants all under one roof. You can choose from traditional Spanish tapas, seafood, healthy bowls and salads, an oyster bar, wine and cured meats bar, and cocktail bar. We ate at La Taperia and ordered several tapas to share. Some of our favorites were the croquetas, bomba de la barceloneta, and the huevos rellenos de cangrejo real (eggs stuffed with red king crab). The atmosphere here is super cool. It has an upscale, yet casual vibe. I highly recommend adding this restaurant to your Barcelona travel itinerary.
Overall, Barcelona is a must-visit city in Spain. Although we spent 5 days here, you can easily see the main points of the city in 2 to 3 days. I highly recommend taking in as much Gaudi architecture as possible. It’s truly remarkable.
If you’re looking for other Spanish city itineraries, check out these posts:
Exciting 4 Day Madrid Travel Itinerary
Awesome 3 Day Valencia Travel Guide
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