Barcelona Things to Do

Enter to win 2 tickets to a unique sailing trip from Barcelona! Aboard a modern yacht, travel along the coast and then head out to sea on a Small-Group Mediterranean Sea Sailing Trip from Barcelona.

Antoni Gaudí – visionary or madman? This Catalan architect – whose legacy in Barcelona is one of the city’s most important draws for tourists – designed buildings with virtually no straight lines to be found in them. He was all about the organics of life and the shapes of nature.

His apartment buildings, such as the La Pedrera, are all twisting shapes and curving walls; Parc Guell, perched on a hilltop with its great views, is full of colorful ceramic tiles and has two lovely little gatehouses; and his masterpiece, the basilica La Sagrada Familia, is famous for its beyond-Gothic spires and heavy ornamentation. And for being left incomplete.

Going to Barcelona? Don’t miss the Pyrenees Mountains! On the Pyrenees Mountains Small Group Day Trip from Barcelona, you get out of the city and witness the beautiful Spanish countryside. This month, one lucky winner will win two tickets to this tour!

It’s bigger than Christmas! The Three Kings of the Orient take over the streets of Barcelona on Thursday, the 5th of January as their Majesties arrive by sea on the schooner Santa Eulàlia. The parade is called “La Cabalgata de Reyes Magos” in Spanish and “la Cavalcada de Reis” in Catalan, and takes place on the evening before Twelfth night (Epiphany).

This is a public holiday and the big day for giving presents in Spain. It is the night when the Three Kings (also known as three wise men: Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar), according to legend arrived at the crib of the baby Jesus.

The March supplement of Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia named Barcelona as the 2nd most liveable city in the world – coming only after New York – while Madrid made it to number 8 in the Top 10. National Geographic lists Barcelona first in the Top 10 Beach Cities, containing 7 beaches including easily accessible city beach Barceloneta with Rebecca Horn’s wonderful rusting tower: ‘Homenatge a la Barceloneta.’