Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar — iKent Wang (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Ready-made walk · Barcelona

Barcelona Essentials

8 stops · ~1 hr 55 min · 4.9 km

Highlights

A first walk through Barcelona’s defining sights, from Gaudí’s Casa Milà and Casa Batlló on the Passeig de Gràcia down La Rambla to the Boqueria market and the arcaded Plaça Reial. It continues through the Gothic Quarter to the cathedral, the Palau de la Música Catalana and the soaring nave of Santa Maria del Mar.

The stops, in walking order

iKent Wang (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Stop 1: Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar
~15 min here
Santa Maria del Mar is a church whose calm, compact exterior hides a surprisingly spacious interior.
iFernando (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Stop 2: Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia
~15 min here
Barcelona Cathedral is the great Gothic church before you, dedicated to the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia.
iPaux127 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Stop 3: Plaça Reial
~3 min here
Plaça Reial is a spacious arcaded square, created on the site of a demolished Capuchin convent.
iRalf Roletschek (GFDL 1.2)
Stop 4: La Rambla
~3 min here
La Rambla is Barcelona’s celebrated pedestrian thoroughfare, a broad, tree-lined promenade running 1.2 kilometres between Plaça de Catalunya and the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell.
iThingstodoinbarcelona (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Stop 5: Mercat de Sant Josep - La Boqueria
~3 min here
La Boqueria is the public food market opening onto La Rambla, and its stalls offer an unusually broad range of goods.
iDoomuu (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Stop 6: Palau de la Música Catalana
~3 min here
Palau de la Música Catalana is a concert hall whose façade turns music into architecture.
iChristianSchd (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Stop 7: Casa Batlló
~3 min here
Casa Batlló is the remarkable building directly before you, designed by Antoni Gaudí and known locally as Casa dels ossos, or House of Bones.
iThomas Ledl (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Stop 8: Casa Milà
~3 min here
Casa Milà is the undulating stone residence designed by Antoni Gaudí for Pere Milà and Roser Segimon.