The Best Guide to Barcelona*
*In my humble opinion 🙈
I ♥️ Barcelona. I’ve loved it since the moment I stepped out of the airport bus onto Plaza Catalunya for the very first time over a decade ago.
The grand tree-lined boulevards of the Eixample, the instantly recognisable architecture, the easygoing attitude of a mediterranean city (yet that doesn’t completely shut down in the off season)! Barcelona is buzzing with creative energy and there is something going on at all times.
In 2014 I spent a year living in a compact but beautiful studio apartment in the eaves of an old bank building, my balcony surrounded by carved cornicing with views over the rooftops to the gothic cathedral like a pointy ice cream cone in the distance.
I had the most fun imagineable, made friends from all over world and have always left a piece of my heart there. I’ve returned many times over the years and even got married near Barcelona in 2019!
I love spotting all the things that have changed upon each visit, and am often asked for my favourite addresses and things to do. So here are my favourite haunts in the Ciudad Condal from my time spent living there & all the lovely time I’ve spent there since!
(I originally put together this guide in March 2020, but have updated it in February 2022 as sadly some of my old favourites didn’t survive the tough times of the Pandemic. 🙁)
Getting There: I always use Skyscanner to compare and find the best possible flights (using the “whole month” search option when I’m flexible with dates).
Skip ahead to Breakfast & Brunch, Coffee, Easygoing Lunch Spots, Tapas, Celebration Dinners, Addresses By The Sea, Rooftop Terraces, Cocktail Bars, Things To Do & Where to Stay in Barcelona.
Breakfast & Brunch
Go-to places for breakfast, brunch, coffee and lunch…
Durango Diner
“The Most American Diner in Barcelona”, From the team behind The Fish and Chip Shop, they have a mechanical horse under a disco ball and the nicest service I’ve encountered in the city.
Insta / +34 931 25 34 48 / Aribau, 18
Billy Brunch
Serving breakfast dishes all day, every day, Billy Brunch is a super easygoing restaurant group with a passion for local ingredients. Keeping up with popular demand, they have opened several new venues. Their cafe on Muntaner has a lovely garden.
Website / Insta / Calle de Bailèn, 115 + Calle Muntaner, 64 + Caller Bailèn, 113 + Calle Blai, 28
Robot House
Conceived by One Big Robot House creative agency as a space for the local community, this is a great spot for working with a laptop. There’s even a tiny book shop selling curated titles + an events programme for artists, writers and other creatives. The food is farm to table - and delicious !
Website / Insta / +34 933 42 90 62 / Carrer de Provença, 316
Cremat 11
Tucked down a Borne side street, Crema 11 serve the fluffiest pancakes in all of the land in a lovely chilled setting. They also have a great tapas menu and impressive cocktail list. They’ve opened a second location on Diputació (Cremates Lounge) for brunch, cocktails. and fusion cuisine in the evenings.
Website / Insta / +34 682 03 83 77 / Carrer Cremat Gran, 11 + Diputació 200
Coffee / Grab + Go
Nomad
Nomad is an innovative multi-faceted company roasting, distributing and serving coffee from their beautiful coffee shops as well as hosting workshops covering everything from brewing basics to advanced coffee knowledge.
Website / Insta / +34 628 566 235 / Passatge Sert, 12 (El Born) + Carrer de Joaquín Costa, 26 (Raval) + Calle Pujades, 95 (Poble Nou)
Funky Bakers
A delicious collaboration between bread makers, artists, designers, bakers and chefs, using fresh local products and recipes from all over the world. Their deli is a small corner shop / bakery and they’ve just opened a beautiful eatery in the Born.
Website / Insta / +34 681 959 323 / Diputació, 347 (DELI) + Passeig del Born, 10 (EATERY)
Easygoing Lunch Spots
(Almost all of the places mentioned above serve lunch and almost all of the following also serve brunch, but I’ve categorised them separately anyway).
More newcomers I have have heard amazing things about include: Inquiet, Xuba Taxos and Gandul (specialising in charcuterie and small plates).
Tapas
Ciudad Condal
Ciudad Condal is a perpetually busy tapas institution. They don't take bookings so you put your name down and have a drink at the bar (so go before you're hungry!)
Website / Rambla de Catalunya, 18
Celebration Dinners
The Green Spot
One of my favourite restaurants in Barcelona serving delicious vegetarian food in a seriously a cool setting behind the marina. Always book as it gets really popular in the high season. Follow them on Instagram as they announce great live music.
Website / Insta / +34 938 025 565 / Carrer de la Reina Cristina, 12
JOK
Recently opened in the space formerly occupied by Rilke, JOK is a magnificent Wes Andersonesque ballroom-like space with a formal dining room, cocktail bar, gardens and cool private hire spaces (the red room sits 8 in a private booth with wall to wall velvet). Yeah baby.
Oleum
Òleum is set in the historic Throne Room of the Palau Nacional in the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya on Montjuic, with views to die for. Serving Mediterranean cuisine with top quality products, their €28 menu is great value.
Website / Insta / +34 932 89 06 79 / Palau Nacional, Parc de Montjuïc, s/n, 08038
By The Sea (Chiringuitos)
Surf House
Surf House is a chilled beachfront spot for brunch and cocktails (they also rent paddle boards).
Website / Insta / +34 932 507 023 / Calle L’Almirall Aixada 22
Eye Scream & Friends
On your way back into town have an adorable ice cream with a face Eye Scream and Friends on Joan de Borbo! Cute AF!
Website / Insta / +34 932 215 310 / Paseo de Joan de Borbó, 30
Xiringito Escribà
Stop at family-run Xiringuito Escribà for the most renowned paella on the stretch. Founded in 1992, their seafood and rice dishes are supremely well known.
Website / +34 932 21 07 29 / Av. Litoral 62
Rooftop Terraces
Terraza Martínez
Attic Terrace
Claim a deck-chair or comfy lounge corner and gaze in awe upon Gaudi’s most breathtaking masterpiece from a unique vantage point. Surprisingly reasonable considering its location (though I haven’t tried the food)!
Website / +34 936 009 200 / Carrer Rosellón, 390
Cocktail Bars
Paradiso
Also on the list of World’s 50 Best Bars - Paradiso is a sophisticated speakeasy disguised behind the freezer of an unassuming pastrami shop.
Website / Insta / +34 933 60 72 22 / C/ de Rera Palau, 4
Things To Do
Gaudi, Gaudi, Gaudi…
Gaudi was an absolute genius, who took so much inspiration from nature. His buildings and spaces are so unique and special that it is sacrilege not to visit. Perhaps stating the obvious but whether you are visiting Barcelona for the first time or need a regular top-up as a local, no guide to Barcelona could be complete without the big G.
The Sagrada Familia
The Sagrada Familia is the most incredible space I think I’ve ever seen - definitely book a time slot in advance to avoid any queues and walk right in. Magnificent (and still unfinished)!
Casa Batlló & La Pedrera
Casa Batllo and La Pedrera are two more unmissable sites, both designed as residential buildings on Passeo de Gracia. In the summer there are amazing jazz concerts on the rooftop of Casa Batlló at night.
Park Guell
Absolutely magnificent views over the city. Book in advance for a timeslot at the end of the day, just before sunset. The park quietens down right at dusk, leaving you with the park (almost) to yourself. We did a supremely romantic engagement shoot here before our wedding.
The Mies Van Der Rohe Pavillion
My mind cannot compute that this modernist masterpiece was created in 1929. It’s only tiny, but truly unmissable. *Holy moly I’ve just seen that you can hire it for private events!
Stay
My favourite neighbourhood has always been the Eixample - from here you can easily stroll through the Old Town / down into the Borne (another one of my favourite areas), and beyond to Port Vell and Barceloneta. It has fantastic Metro access to the whole city and the airport bus conveniently drops off + picks up here, so you can’t go wrong.
Casa Bonay
Set within a beautiful historic mansion on one of the Eixample’s iconic blocks, Casa Bonay is a beautifully designed hotel with a collective of Barcelona-based makers, entrepreneurs and designers at its heart.
With a juice bar, coffee roaster, tiny book shop, decadent hotel bar and more all within the same building, the hotel feels like a microcosm of the city itself. They’ve even struck up an agreement with a local sailing club offering free paddle boards to hotel guests down at Barceloneta. There is also a dreamy rooftop garden terrace with a series of outdoor showers and hammocks. I’ve stayed here many time and it feels like a home from home.
Website / Insta / +34 935 45 80 70 / Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 700
Soho House Barcelona
Margot House
Super homey, ultra discrete Margot House is located in a residential building directly opposite Gaudí’s iconic Casa Batlló. With just 9 all-white rooms, the Japandi inspired minimalism ensures a perpetually chilled atmosphere in one of Barcelona’s most popular hotspots.
Numa Roca
A luscious mid-century retreat in the Eixample. They don’t have a traditional reception, instead embracing a “digital guest journey” with everything done via smartphone (definitely a bit of a marmite approach but super efficient). Stunning rooms and a mosaic-tiled patio make this an excellent value place to lay your head.
Website / Carrer de Girona 81 and 85
Praktik Bakery
Wake up to the smell of freshly baked bread in the world’s first hotel-bakery, 100m from Paseo de Gracia. With interiors by the indomnitable Lázaro Rosa-Violán, dreamy Praktik Bakery offers arguably the most delicious breakfast in the city and you can even learn how to make your own bread. 😭❤️
Website / Insta / +34 934 88 00 61 / Carrer de Provença, 279
Special mentions go to the Kimpton Vividora Hotel and the H10 Casa Mimosa for their stunning rooftop spaces, views and excellent value for money.
Where are your favourite places to spend time in Barcelona? I’m always looking for new places to try and would love to know any tips you might have!
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