Barcelona in 3 days: Your Ultimate Itinerary

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 your ultimate itinerary for visiting Barcelona in 3 days.

Last updated: May 2025

Barcelona is one of the most popular cities to visit in Europe. There’s lots to do in Barcelona, and there are activities in Barcelona to suit everyone. From history and architecture, to beaches and food and nightlife – Barcelona really does have something for everyone. Visiting Barcelona in 3 days will give you a great flavour of the highlights of the city. My ultimate itinerary for Barcelona in 3 days will show you how to make the most of your 3 days in Barcelona, with visits to the top sights. Keep reading for my top tips to help you plan your trip to Barcelona, and then my day-by-day itinerary for Barcelona in 3 days.

Top tips for a trip to Barcelona

Barcelona is a great city to explore and it’s easy to have a really fun time. To make the most of your time in Barcelona, I’ve got a few top tips to help you plan and enjoy your trip. Here are some of my top tips for how to spend 3 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 fairly nice, it’s still a fairly crowded city beach. For me, the beach wasn’t the highlight of my trip. I’d recommend focussing your time in the city exploring the sights rather than going to be beach. 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 in general. But like many big cities, there can be a slight issue with pickpockets. Just use your common sense and usual precautions and you should be fine. Just remember 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. It’s definitely worth planning an extra day to be able to take a day trip out of Barcelona. I suggest going to Montserrat monastery in the nearby mountains – 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.

These top tips will help you plan your trip to Barcelona. It’s a great city! So here’s my day-by-day itinerary for visiting Barcelona in 3 days.

Day 1: Sagrada Familia, other Gaudi architecture and the Magic Fountains

Start your time visiting Barcelona in 3 days with a trip with one of Barcelona’s most famous sights. The Basílica de la Sagrada Familia is such an iconic building and instantly recognisable. It’s a great idea to visit this iconic sight on your first morning in Barcelona.

Sagrada Familia

Construction of this Roman Catholic basilica started in 1882 and it 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 recommend buying tickets in advance, as the queues can be long. If you’re visiting in peak season, it’s definitely a good idea to book your tickets in advance so you won’t need to spend a long time waiting in the queue. You can find out opening times and buy tickets here.

If you’re planning to go inside Sagrada Familia, make sure you’re dressed appropriately. You’ll need to have your shoulders and knees covered to be able to go inside the building.

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. And it’s such an impressive building that you need time to take it in. I found the inside just as impressive as the outside. The Sagrada Familia is a short metro ride from the centre of Barcelona, so it can take a bit of time to get to it, and back again. So plan to spend your whole morning in the area.

Gaudi architecture in the centre of Barcelona

After spending the morning at the iconic Sagrada Familia, head back to central Barcelona for lunch and for the afternoon. After lunch, you can admire some other Gaudi’s other amazing works of architecture.

I’d definitely recommend visiting Casa Mila, also known as La Pedrera. This building 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 food and drinks, you can easily fill your first day of your time visiting Barcelona in 3 days admiring the Gaudi architecture in Barcelona.

Barcelona’s Magic Fountains

For an evening to remember, check out Barcelona’s Magic Fountains. This is truly the best fountain show I’ve seen in the world. The huge fountains come alive with light, colour, music and movement. It’s like the water of the fountains ‘dances’ to the music, with amazing coloured lights as well.

The music, lights and moving water are captivating. You can check out the show times here. I really loved seeing the fountains, and it was the perfect end to my first day in Barcelona.

Day 2: Park Guell, La Rambla and the Cathedral

For your second day of you ultimate itinerary for Barcelona in 3 days, I recommend starting your day with another Gaudi masterpiece, before heading to the famous La Rambla and Barcelona Cathedral.

Park Guell in Barcelona

Park Guell was one of my favourite places in Barcelona. It’s a huge park, just a short journey out the centre of 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. There’s a viewpoint in Park Guell, where you can look out across the whole city. This viewpoint was just stunning.

I loved just wandering around the park and taking in all the sights. I visited in spring, and the park was really lush and green. As well as the beautiful trees and plants, there are lots of interesting and colourful sculptures and other decorations here. 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.

La Rambla and Barcelona Cathedral

After lunch, it’s time to take a break from the Gaudi architecture 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. It’s such a lively place to visit, with great attractions for all ages. If you give money to the statues, then a lot of them will move, or they’ll pose with you for a photo. You can have a lot of fun on La Rambla, enjoying the street performances as well as enjoying the shops, bars and restaurants.

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.

Barcelona Cathedral is another really impressive building in the city. I didn’t spend as long here as I spent in Sagrada Familia, but I still enjoyed seeing the Cathedral.

Day 3: Gothic Quarter, marina and beach

On your final day of your ultimate itinerary for Barcelona in 3 days, I recommend spending more time in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter. You can then head to the marina and the beach for the afternoon.

Barcelona Gothic Quarter and the Arc de Triomf

To get to the Barcelona Gothic Quarter, head back to Barcelona Cathedral and continue to explore the area around the Cathedral. The Gothic Quarter is a large area and it’s really fascinating. So it’s definitely worth spending some more time here in the morning.

The narrow, winding streets are great to explore and it really feels like you’ve stepped back in time. I loved 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. It’s an often overlooked sight in Barcelona, and doesn’t have anywhere near as many tourists as many other spots in the city. But I thought it was definitely worth seeing.

Barcelona marina and beach

After spending your morning look around the Gothic Quarter and the Arc de Triomf, 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 marina in Barcelona is nice to wander around. There are lots of boats, and it’s nice and peaceful and open compared to a lot of the city.

The beach in Barcelona is also pleasant. To be honest, the beach in Barcelona isn’t my favourite beach, or my favourite part of Barcelona. I think there are so many nicer beaches in Spain, and in the world. The Barcelona city beach is fairly small, crowded and a bit dirty. But for a beach in a major city, it’s ok enough. Even though it’s not my favourite beach, I still enjoyed spending a bit of time here in the afternoon to relax. I didn’t swim in the sea, but I enjoyed just sitting on the beach to relax at the end of a busy day. There are some good bars and restaurants around the beach as well, so you can spend all evening here.

Day 4: Take a day trip to Montserrat

y ultimate itinerary for visiting Barcelona in 3 days will show you all of the main highlights of the city. But if you’ve got a bit of extra time, I definitely recommend spending an extra day in Barcelona. If you’ve got an extra day, you can take a day trip out of the city to one of the many stunning areas nearby.

I definitely recommend taking a day trip from Barcelona to Montserrat. Montserrat is only about an hour outside the centre of Barcelona. And it’s amazing. It’s an incredibly beautiful monastery set in the mountains. It’s really easy to get to Montserrat by public transport, so you won’t need to hire a car. And you can enjoy a full day in the mountains. It’s a great option to add to your Barcelona itinerary. Check out my more detailed guide to Montserrat as a day trip from Barcelona here.

Enjoy your ultimate itinerary for visiting Barcelona in 3 days! Make sure you also check out my guide to visiting Montserrat as a day trip from Barcelona. There are lots of other great places to explore in Spain as well. Check out my guides to visiting Seville in 3 days, one day in Granada, or a day in the Andalusia white villages. Or you could head to Spain’s capital city, Madrid and enjoy 3 days in Madrid, with day trips to Toledo and Segovia.