How to spend 4 days in Barcelona

Barcelona is a really fun city in Spain. The warm, sunny weather and stunning Gaudi architecture make it a great place for a city break. Here’s my guide for how to spend 4 days in Barcelona.

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Top tips for a trip to Barcelona

Barcelona is a great city to explore and it’s easy to have a really fun time. Here are some of my top tips for how to spend 4 days in Barcelona:

• Where to stay – I’d recommend staying in an apartment rather than a hotel, so you can have the freedom to save some money and cook some of your own meals. You’ll also feel more like you’re part of the city. If you’re a solo traveller looking to meet others, hostels in Barcelona can be great fun too.
• Enjoy Spanish tapas and Barcelona nightlife – There’s so much great variety of food in Barcelona. Make sure you take some time to visit some of the smaller restaurants that serve locally made, home cooked tapas. The bars and nightlife are great in Barcelona as well, so leave a bit of flexibility in your plans to make the most of the warm summer evenings.
• Focus more on the Gaudi architecture than the beach – although Barcelona beach is nice, it’s still a fairly crowded city beach. I’d recommend focussing your time in the city exploring the sights. If you want some beach time, think about heading to one of the nearby Spanish beach resorts, like Costa Blanca. These resorts have a much better beach and cleaner sea.
• Be wary of pickpockets – Barcelona is a really safe, fun city but like many capital cities there can be a slight issue with pickpockets. Just use your common sense and usual precautions and you’ll be fine. Just things like holding your bag in front of you, being careful at ticket machines in train stations and not putting anything valuable in a back pocket.
• Think about taking a day trip – there’s some lovely scenery around Barcelona, so I’d definitely recommend taking a day trip if you’ve got time. I suggest going to Montserrat monastery – check out more details below.
• Embrace getting lost in the Gothic Quarter – I loved the narrow streets in this area, but it’s almost impossible to follow a map. Instead, just wander wherever you feel like. When you’re ready to head somewhere else, that’s when you can start worrying about maps.

If you’re looking for a travel guide with a useful map of Barcelona to take with you, I’d recommend the DK Eyewitness guide to Barcelona (affiliate). It’s a really easy to follow layout and the fold-out map is really useful.

Day 1: Sagrada Familia, other Gaudi architecture and the fountains

My top tip for how to spend 4 days in Barcelona is to start your trip with one of Barcelona’s most famous sights. The Basílica de la Sagrada Familia is such an iconic building and instantly recognisable. Construction of this Roman Catholic basilica started in 1882 and remains unfinished. It was designed by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi and is now a UNESCO heritage site. After admiring the exterior, you can go inside and stand in awe at the grand scale of this building. I’d recommend buying tickets in advance, and if you’re planning to go inside make sure you’re dressed appropriately with your shoulders and knees covered. You can find out opening times and buy tickets here.

I’d recommend spending a couple of hours at La Sagrada Familia to have time to walk around the area and go inside as well. It can definitely take up the majority of your morning if you don’t rush your visit, especially as it’s a short metro ride from the centre.

Then it’s time to head back to the centre of Barcelona for the afternoon to admire some other Gaudi’s other amazing works of architecture. I’d definitely recommend visiting Casa Mila, also known as La Pedrera, which was designed by Gaudi in 1900. As well as admiring the exterior you can also visit inside as well.

There’s also Casa Batlló as well, another truly unique Gaudi-designed house. With a couple of stops for lunch and drinks, you can easily fill your first day admiring the Gaudi architecture.

For an evening to remember, check out the Magic Fountain. This is truly the best fountain show I’ve seen in the world. The music, lights and moving water are captivating. You can check out the show times here.

Day 2: Park Guell and La Rambla and Cathedral

For your second day of how to spend 4 days in Barcelona, I’d recommend starting your day with another Gaudi masterpiece. Park Guell was one of my favourite places in Barcelona.

The amazing vibrant colours and stunning views over the centre of Barcelona made it a truly stunning place to visit on a sunny morning. I particularly loved the colourful dragons that lined the stairways. You can easily fill a morning having a leisurely walk around and relaxing to enjoy the view.

After lunch, it’s time to take a break from Gaudi and see some of Barcelona’s other attractions. La Rambla is known as the most famous street in Barcelona, and it’s a really fun place. Markets line the wide street, selling some great souvenirs for low prices. But my favourite part of this street is the many street statues and street performers.

Not too far from La Rambla is the hugely impressive Barcelona Cathedral. Dating back to the 13th century, this immense Gothic masterpiece dominates the square it’s situated in. It’s just as impressive inside as well. Just make sure you’re dressed appropriately to go inside, as the guards on the doors are very strict about not letting anyone inside who doesn’t have their knees or shoulders covered. You can buy a shawl from one of the sellers outside if necessary, or take your own.

Day 3: Gothic Quarter, marina and beach

I’d recommend starting Day 3 by heading back towards Barcelona Cathedral and continuing to explore the Gothic Quarter. The narrow, winding streets are great to explore and really feels like you’ve stepped back in time. I love just wandering through the streets and exploring small shops on every corner. There are some great souvenir shops here, and also some amazing takeaway sandwich shops and cake shops with are perfect for lunch. It’s almost impossible to follow a map through these winding streets, so I’d recommend just letting yourself get lost for a bit, and only worry about the map when you want to escape.

After lunch in the Gothic Quarter, head to nearby Arc de Triomf. This is Barcelona’s equivalent of the famous arch in Paris, and it’s just as impressive.

After seeing the arch, your feet will probably want a break from all the walking. I’d recommend heading down to the marina and beach for the rest of your afternoon for a more relaxing time. The beach in Barcelona isn’t my favourite, I think there are many nicer beaches in Spain. But for a city beach, it’s nice and it’s a lovely place to relax at the end of a busy day.

Day 4: Take a day trip to Montserrat

For my final recommendation for how to spend 4 days in Barcelona, I’d suggest a day trip to Montserrat. Only about an hour outside the centre of Barcelona, it’s such a beautiful monastery set in the mountains. Plus it’s really easy to get to by public transport, so you can be free to explore there all day. Check out my more detailed guide to Montserrat as a day trip from Barcelona here.

Enjoy your trip to Barcelona! Remember to buy this guide book with map before your trip so you don’t get lost (affiliate)! And why not check out some more cities in Spain, such as Seville or Granada. Or if you’re looking for some other fun European city breaks, why not check out nearby sunny Lisbon with a day trip to Sintra? Or head into central Europe to visit Vienna, Berlin and Prague.