Gimme Some Barcelona Travel Guide

El Born Barcelona

Ever since we moved to Barcelona, we continue to receive many requests for travel recommendations around the city for those of you and your friends who are planning a visit. So today, I’m happy to finally present to you our official Gimme Some Oven Travel Guide!

Barclay and I have done our best to compile a list of our favorite places to eat, visit and stay in the city. And we’ve especially worked hard on the restaurant recs, because with so much amazing food in this city, I firmly believe you should never have a bad meal here! (Always such a tragedy on vacation.) We’ve also created a list of Barcelona-specific pro travel tips for how to navigate the city like a local. And we have created a Google Map so that you can download to have easy access to all of our recommendations while you’re out and about.

We’ll try to keep updating this guide as often as possible as we continue to discover more great places around the city. But please, if you have your own Barcelona travel recommendations, be sure to share any of your favorites in the comment section below too. And if you use this guide in any way, would you mind leaving a comment below just to let us know what you enjoyed? We’ve received hundreds of emails and DMs from readers over the years who have used and loved this guide, but very few people leave comments here and I’d love for you to be able to read one another’s feedback and share recommendations too.

For more travel guides and general travel tips, feel free to also check out the archives in our Travel section on the blog. And if you would like to follow along with our adventures behind the scenes living in Barcelona, you’re always welcome to check out my personal Instagram. Alright, without any further ado, here are our favorite Barcelona travel recommendations including:

  • Our Barcelona Travel Tips
  • Our Barcelona Travel Map
  • Where To Eat
  • What To Do
  • Where To Stay

La Colmena Panellets in Barcelona Spain

We would really encourage you to download our (free!) Gimme Some Barcelona Google Map, which includes all of the recommended places listed in this guide. It’s a great way to navigate around the city and can also give you the option to make an impromptu stop somewhere nearby if a place on the list catches your eye. Be sure to also click through to read the notes for each restaurant pin, where we have included our recommendations for what to order.

Best Paella In Barcelona at Barraca | Gimme Some Barcelona Travel Guide
Our favorite paella in Barcelona — the “bomba” paella at Barraca.

Naturally, my favorite subject. ♡  And also the #1 question we’ve received from friends, family and all of you readers coming to Barcelona — where to eat!

There are literally thousands upon thousands of places to eat here in Barcelona, with new great spots popping up literally every week. And as someone who tends to plan my vacations — and, let’s be real, everyday life — around food, it’s critically important to me that each of your meals here be home runs. So here is our current list of places we love and recommend. There should hopefully be something for everyone here!

Brunch

Bakeries

  • Baluard (Croissants, bread, and more / Multiple locations)
  • Brunells (Croissants and pastries) / El Born
  • Chök (Cronuts, donuts, chocolate / Gothic)
  • Demasié (Cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, desserts / El Born)
  • Eric & Benjamin (French breads and pastries / Eixample)
  • Hofmann Pastelería (Croissants and pastries / El Born)
  • Origo (Breads and pastries / Gràcia)
  • Turris (Breads, pastries and more / Multiple locations)

Tapas

Paella & Fideuà

Vegetarian & Healthy Food

Pizza & Italian Food

Mexican Food

Middle Eastern Food

Southeast Asian Food

Desserts / Sweets

Coffee

Drinks

Sagrada Familia | Gimme Some Barcelona Travel Guide

In a city that offers so many great things to do, choosing places to visit isn’t always an easy decision! But whether you like to see a place through its sights, sounds or flavors, we’ve put together a list of our favorite ways to experience Barcelona. Two things that we would say that you can’t miss here — visiting La Sagrada Familia (trust us, it’s not like any cathedral you’ve ever seen) and taking a food tour (always our favorite way to get to know a new city).

Museums / Cathedrals / Top Sights

Our Favorite Parks

Live Music Venues

More Fun Stuff To Do

Day Trips

Recommended Guides / Tours

A Few Of Ali’s Favorite Local Places To Shop

  • Be (fun gift shop, multiple locations)
  • Biscuit (favorite boutique)
  • Charly Therapy (cute sunglasses)
  • La Nostra Ciutat (art, apparel, gifts, all made in Barcelona)
  • Natura (apparel, home goods, gifts)
  • Oysho (yoga apparel, leisureware and more)
  • Boutique-ing around El Born or Gràcia in general. There are so many great local shops in these neighborhoods!

Alma Hotel Barcelona Spain

We still have yet to do much research on where to stay in Barcelona, but we promise to report back with some updates on great places to stay soon! A few great places we have stayed and loved so far include:

Also, for more boutique/luxury hotels, we recommend looking here. For discount hotels, check out this list. For hostels, we recommend looking here.

Cocktails In Barcelona at Dr Stravinsky

Questions? Requests? Recommendations to share? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below. ♡

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86 Comments

  1. Susan Halcrow says:

    Hi Ali. My husband and I just returned from 2 weeks in Spain, with 4 days in Barcelona. Your recommendations were so helpful – we had a great breakfast at Faire and a delicious dinner at Las Sorrentinas….as much as we were enjoying tapas we needed a change for our last night and we never would have found this charming place without you! Not to mention a visit to the Chocolate museum 😊.
    I also really appreciated your insights on Catalonian history and culture. I had some awareness of these but your overview was the most concise and informative of a few I read.
    I completely understand why you chose Barcelona as your home for a few years…. What a wonderful city!
    And finally…. Congratulations on your two beautiful boys! And thanks for the recipes…. I know when I use one of yours it will be delicious.

    Reply
  2. Ruth Willett says:

    Hey! Thank you so much for all the helpful info regarding Barcelona! Your recommendations are invaluable. We are visiting in August with our family of 8 adults.

    I’ve checked out several hotels on your list of places to stay. Due to the fact that we don’t know the Spanish language, we are having difficulty comprehending the website. Any suggestions for translation of content and also pricing in US dollars?

    Thank you!
    Ruth Willett

    Reply
    1. Mar says:

      Hi Ruth,
      Since you visited Barcelona/Catalonia last August with large family, let me repply your nice comment with a lastminute opportunity for accomodation in Vilanova (closed to Sitges and 40min train from Barcelona), also with great gastronomy (like “el Xató de Vilanova”), aside from the beach, culture and festibals.

      Have you tried Vilanova (closed to Sitges and 40min train from Barcelona)?

      Here one possible accomodation this summer, and you can book directly with the local owner (no intermediaries): 0034 638 685 017

      Vacation rental at the Catalan beach, for 10 or 15 days, only this summer (between July 28 and August 31), apartment 2 min walking from the center and 5 minutes from the beach! 😎 From €69/night (up to 6 pax)