Barcelona overview

• Essentials
  • Overview
  • Basics
  • Getting there
  • Getting around
• City sights
  • Top sights
  • Tourist trail
  • Offbeat sights
  • Nearby trips
  • Gaudi sights
  • Museums
• Things to do
  • Eating out
  • Cafe bars
  • Shopping
  • Nightlife
• Planning
  • When to go
  • Where to stay
  • Find a hotel

Barcelona holiday break overview

Barcelona has become one of Europe’s most popular destinations for a city break holiday. Once a run-down backwater, avoided by the crowds flocking to the Costa Brava, Barcelona got a seismic shot in the arm when it hosted the 1992 Olympic Games.

The event transformed the Catalan capital. Modern-day Barcelona oozes traditional atmosphere while accentuating the avant-garde - even the bizarre. Old and new architectural styles combine and contrast right across the city.

Barcelona's most famous son, architect Antoni Gaudi, made his mark here, not just with his incredible, if unfinished, Sagrada Familia, but with an array of magnificent buildings - even lampposts and fountains. Today Barcelona is bursting with examples of outstanding modern architecture.

Ever-improving transport links have pulled in the holiday visitors to help make Barcelona a major commercial centre, with tourism a driving force of the economy. Nearly a third of all tourist trips to Spain now take in a Barcelona holiday break.

Barcelona is a stronghold for the Catalan movement and Barcelona holiday visitors will hear Catalan spoken as much as Castillian Spanish. Local pride is never higher than when a capacity crowd at FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou football stadium cheers on a victory over arch rivals Real Madrid - and Barcelona celebrates in style.

Walking the famous Ramblas thoroughfare is a delight, but keep your wits about you for pickpockets. The ancient heart of Barcelona is hugely atmospheric and holiday visitors can't ignore the city's vibrant cafe and bar scene. The revamp of the old port and nearby Barcelona holiday beaches add to the appeal.

Art fans will find much to admire in Barcelona's range of museums. They include the Picasso Museum, for many 'the' Barcelona museum, housed in five medieval palaces in the Barri Gotic. Visitors can delight at the thousands of paintings in the collection.

With a pleasant climate all year round, Barcelona is worth a holiday break in any season and with cheap-flight budget airlines offering increasingly tempting deals there are few reasons not to take a Barcelona holiday break. Barcelona is one of the most popular short break holiday destinations in Europe - and not without good reason.

Make sure you include Booked.net if searching for Barcelona hotels. They list a good number of quality hotels, available at competitive prices. Also, you don't have to pay any extra fees for booking, administration or cancellation.

• Lisbon Apartments- Quality self-catering properties at a price that won't spoil your holiday