Things to do in Barcelona

• Park Güell rises on Carmel hill north of Gràcia, where Gaudí's mosaic dragon, winding bench and porticoed paths overlook the whole city. The monumental zone requires a timed entry.
• Palau de la Música Catalana is the modernist concert hall built by Lluís Domènech i Montaner and crowned by an inverted stained glass skylight. UNESCO lists it as World Heritage.
• Picasso Museum holds one of the largest collections of the painter's work across five Gothic palaces on Carrer Montcada, centred on his formative years in Barcelona.
• Camp Nou is FC Barcelona's stadium, back in use during its major rebuild, and runs the club museum and stadium tour on non-match days.
• Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya crowns Montjuïc from the Palau Nacional with a leading collection of Romanesque murals and wide views over Plaça d'Espanya.
• Montjuïc Castle watches the port from the top of the hill, a 17th century fortress reached by cable car or on foot through the Montjuïc gardens.
• Casa Vicens was Gaudí's first house commission, a colourful blend of brick, ceramic and ironwork in Gràcia that opened as a museum in 2017.
• Arc de Triomf spans Passeig de Lluís Companys in red brick, built as the gateway to the 1888 Universal Exhibition and a short walk from Ciutadella Park.
• Tibidabo Amusement Park tops the Collserola ridge with rides running since 1901 and the widest panorama of the city and the sea.
• CosmoCaixa packs a flooded Amazon rainforest and hands on science halls into a modernist building at the foot of Tibidabo, a favourite with families.

Barcelona compresses two thousand years of city making into a walkable strip between the hills and the Mediterranean. Roman walls and Gothic lanes sit ten minutes from the grid of the Eixample, where modernism left its most celebrated buildings, and the whole ensemble ends in several kilometres of urban beach.

Neighbourhoods to know

Ciutat Vella gathers the Gothic Quarter, El Born and El Raval, the densest concentration of sights, museums and tapas bars. The Eixample holds the Gaudí houses along Passeig de Gràcia. Gràcia keeps the feel of a separate village with small squares and local bars, Barceloneta is the old fishing quarter turned beach district, and Montjuïc combines museums, gardens and viewpoints above the port.

When to go and for how long

May, June, September and October combine warm weather with manageable crowds, while July and August bring the hottest days and the longest lines. Winter stays mild and quiet. Three full days cover the essential sights, and a fourth allows Montjuïc or Tibidabo without hurry.

Getting around

The old town and the Eixample reward walking, and the metro reaches everything else, running all night on Saturdays. The Aerobús, the R2 Nord train and metro line L9 Sud connect the airport with the centre, and the T-casual and Hola Barcelona cards cover public transport across the city.