Barcelona
Gaudí's basilica with its tallest tower now in place, the Eixample's grid of modernista houses, a Gothic quarter on Roman foundations, and a private terminal that never closes.
- Arrival
- Barcelona-El Prat · BCN
- To the city
- About 15 to 20 minutes to the centre by car
- Private jets
- 24-hour general aviation terminal at BCN
- Best time
- May to September
The city
Gaudí, the grid and the old town.
In Barcelona the Gothic Quarter keeps a tangle of lanes, the old Jewish Call and stretches of the Roman wall; above it the Eixample spreads in a grid, with Gaudí's Casa Batlló on the Passeig de Gràcia. Since February 2026 the central tower of the Sagrada Família has stood at 172.5 metres, making it the tallest church in the world.
Four restaurants hold three MICHELIN stars and five more hold two. From May to September the days are warm and the sea reaches 25 °C by August.
Arriving
Runways by the sea.
El Prat lies fifteen kilometres south-west of the centre, with trains, the metro and the Aerobús into town.
- Madrid 1 h 00
- Milan 1 h 15
- Istanbul 3 h 10
- Cairo 4 h 05
- Tokyo 13 h 45 long-range jet
When to go
May to September.
A Mediterranean climate, mild in winter and warm in summer. From May to September the days run between 20 and 27 °C with little rain; October is still warm but the wettest month.
- 13° J 42 13°
- 14° F 36 13°
- 15° M 47 13°
- 17° A 50 14°
- 20° M 52 17°
- 24° J 38 21°
- 27° J 23 24°
- 27° A 53 25°
- 25° S 73 24°
- 21° O 86 21°
- 17° N 58 17°
- 14° D 50 15°
What to see and do
Days in and around Barcelona.
-
Landmark
Sagrada Família
Begun in 1882 and still being built, its Tower of Jesus Christ completed in 2026.
-
Landmark
Casa Batlló
Gaudí's remodelling of 1904 on the Passeig de Gràcia, known locally as the house of bones.
-
Landmark
Gothic Quarter
Narrow streets around the cathedral, the medieval Call and remains of the Roman wall.
-
Opera & music
Gran Teatre del Liceu
Verdi's Aida, staged by Shirin Neshat, opened the 2026 to 2027 season on 25 September, which runs to The Magic Flute in July 2027.
Official site -
Opera & music
Palau de la Música Catalana
Domènech i Montaner's concert hall of 1905 to 1908, listed by UNESCO in 1997, has guided tours and a stained glass skylight.
Official site -
Culture
Museu Picasso
More than 4,000 works by Picasso are kept in a row of palaces on Carrer de Montcada in the Born.
Official site -
Culture
Fundació Joan Miró
Josep Lluís Sert designed the building on Montjuïc that holds the artist's foundation and its collection.
Official site -
Nature
Montserrat
A rack railway climbs from Monistrol to the monastery of the Moreneta, where funiculars lead to walks and the Sant Joan viewpoint near 1,000 m.
Official site -
Food & wine
Codorníu
Guided visits of this cava house in the Penedès ride a small train through cellars beneath Puig i Cadafalch's modernist winery and end with a tasting.
Official site -
Racing & sport
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
Inaugurated in 1991, the MotoGP track at Montmeló opens its tarmac to private cars and motorcycles on track days.
Official site
On the calendar
A date to plan around.
Dates as published by the organisers. Runways, hotels and slots fill early around these weeks: the sooner we know, the more choice you have.
-
1–4 Mar 2027
Technology & AI
MWC Barcelona
Annual mobile and connectivity industry congress organised by the GSMA at Fira Barcelona Gran Via.
Fira Barcelona Gran Via
In 4 months
Where to stay
On the Passeig de Gràcia and by the port.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Mandarin Oriental Barcelona A former bank entered by a glass footbridge, with a rooftop pool and the only two MICHELIN Keys in the city.
- Monument Hotel Eighty-four rooms in a nineteenth-century mansion it shares with the three-star Lasarte.
- The One Barcelona Rooms by Jaime Beriestain, some with terraces facing the Sagrada Família, and a plunge pool on the roof.
- Alma Barcelona Just off the Passeig de Gràcia, with private balconies, large bathrooms and an indoor pool styled on a Japanese onsen.
- Serras Barcelona The building that held Picasso's first studio, now loft-style rooms looking over the marina.
- Almanac Barcelona Opened in 2018 in the former offices of an insurer, with ninety rooms and suites and the Azimuth bar on the roof.
- Mercer Hotel Barcelona Twenty-eight rooms built against the Roman wall, where Rafael Moneo restored medieval arches and twelfth-century frescoes.
- Hotel Miramar Barcelona Up on Montjuïc, with an outdoor pool and suites that look out to sea.
- METT Barcelona Seventy rooms in a building more than a century old at the top of Tibidabo, and a spa with indoor and outdoor pools.
- El Palace Barcelona Built as the city's Ritz, it now has a garden on the roof and Amar, the restaurant of the chef Rafa Zafra.
- Majestic Hotel & Spa Barcelona Its SOLC restaurant takes vegetables from the hotel's own farm in the Maresme, a short walk from Casa Milà.
- Hotel Casa Fuster A house of 1908 by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, with 105 rooms and the two-star Aleia on the first floor.
- Hotel Arts Barcelona Bruce Graham's tower of forty-four floors and exposed steel, beside Frank Gehry's golden fish on the beach.
- Claris Hotel & Spa In the Palacio Vedruna of 1883, which keeps a small museum of pre-Columbian pieces and a pool on its terrace.
- Grand Hotel Central The 1920s home of Francesc Cambó, whose books still fill the library, with an infinity pool on the roof.
- W Barcelona Ricardo Bofill's glass sail at the end of the beach, with 473 rooms and the NOXE restaurant on the twenty-sixth floor.
- The Barcelona EDITION One hundred rooms next to the Santa Caterina market, some looking over its roof, and a plunge pool on the terrace.
- Eurostars Grand Marina Part of the World Trade Center on the harbour, with 291 rooms two minutes on foot from the Columbus monument.
- Hotel Neri Twenty-two rooms in a twelfth-century palace on the Plaça de Sant Felip Neri, in the old Jewish quarter.
- Hotel Bagués For more than a century the Bagués-Masriera jewellery workshop occupied this building of 1850 on La Rambla.
Where to dine
Four kitchens with three stars.
From the MICHELIN Guide 2026, shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- ABaC Three Michelin stars Creative €€€€ Avenida del Tibidabo
- Cocina Hermanos Torres Three Michelin stars Creative €€€€ Carrer del Taquígraf Serra
- Disfrutar Three Michelin stars Creative €€€€ Carrer de Villarroel
- Lasarte Three Michelin stars Creative €€€€ Monument Hotel
- Aleia Two Michelin stars Creative €€€€ Casa Fuster, Passeig de Gràcia
- Cinc Sentits Two Michelin stars Contemporary €€€€ Carrer d'Entença
- Enigma Two Michelin stars Creative €€€€ Carrer de Sepúlveda
- Enoteca Paco Pérez Two Michelin stars Modern €€€€ Hotel Arts Barcelona
- Mont Bar Two Michelin stars Creative €€€ Carrer de la Diputació
Elsewhere in Spain
More reasons to come.
-
Madrid
The Prado, late dinners, and the capital's long nights.
-
Marbella
The old town, the Golden Mile and Puerto Banús, under La Concha.
- Ibiza Coves and the old town by day, the island's clubs by night.
- Palma de Mallorca A cathedral city on its bay, with the coves of Mallorca all around.
- Seville Moorish palaces, orange trees and flamenco in the capital of Andalusia.
- Málaga Picasso's birthplace, and the airport of the whole Costa del Sol.
- Valencia The City of Arts and Sciences, the old silk exchange, and paella at its source.
- San Sebastián La Concha bay, and one of the great food cities of Europe.
- Bilbao The Guggenheim on the river, and the Basque coast beyond.
Flying to Barcelona?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.