3 Days In Barcelona – Ultimate Itinerary

So, you have just 3 days in Barcelona and you are wondering how you are going to fit everything in? Admittedly Barcelona is a huge city and you are not going to see every inch of it in three days. However, many tourist attractions are close to one another and the city has a brilliant public transportation network, you will be surprised how much you can see and experience in 3 days.

I have put together this 3 days in Barcelona itinerary full of my favourite things I did during my extended stay here. I have also shared some non-touristy and high quality places to eat for breakfast/lunch and dinner close to all the attractions I am suggesting.

Barcelona is one of my absolute favourite cities I have visited, it has so much to see and do. The weather is beautiful and the beaches give it a chill vibe that many big cities lack. It is also a foodies heaven!

In this 3 days in Barcelona blog post I have also shared some useful tips on getting to Barcelona, how to get around while you are there and where to stay. So lets go!

3 Days In Barcelona Itinerary

Day 1 – La Ramblas, Gothic Quarter, Park, La Barceloneta

Today involves a lot of walking but it will be worth it!

La Ramblas

Start the day by exploring one of the most famous and iconic boulevards, La Ramblas. This 1.2km tree-lined, pedestrian-only street is bustling with energy and packed full of restaurants and shops.

Although there isn’t a lot to do, it’s nice to take a walk and just admire all the great architecture. The area gets very busy later in the day, so visiting in the morning allows you to take things in at a slower pace.

Here are some things I recommend you check out on La Ramblas:

– Casa Bruno Cuadros is an eclectic building adjourned with a Chinese Dragon, umbrellas and mosaics.
– Mosaic de Joan Miró memorial for the victims of the 2017 terrorist attacks
– Güell Palace museum dedicated to Gaudis early work. Tickets are €12.

Please be aware that La Rambla is a pickpocketing spot so keep an eye on your belongings, I personally never had any issue here but it’s good to keep your guard up.

Where to Go For Breakfast In La Ramblas

Mercat de La Boqueria is a famous market in the city, try a traditional Spanish breakfast here at the stall El Quim, it iss delicious!

Restaurant Núria is a beautiful little restaurant, breakfast menu includes international cooked breakfast, french toast and pasteries.

Ancora Restaurant Boqueria is a street side eatery located beside the Boqueria Market.

Gothic Quarter

Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter consists of a labyrinth of narrow streets with towering medieval-style (Gothic) buildings. Due to the height of the buildings, there is a lot of shade, making it a nice retreat from the Spanish heat. This also causes it to be dark, which adds to the Gothic vibe!

There really is so much to do in the Gothic Quarter that you could spend the full 3 days in Barcelona here alone. There are many museums, amazing shopping options including small boutiques, and endless cafes and restaurants. I would advise choosing about two museums (only if they genuinely interest you) and spending the rest of the time just walking around the streets.

Cathedral Of Barcelona

In the heart of the Gothic Quarter stands the 500-year-old Cathedral of Barcelona, known as Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia. It is dedicated to and serves as the burial place for the patron saint of Barcelona, Santa Eulàlia, a martyr who died in 290 AD.

This impressive building features a pond with 12 wild geese, an estimated 40 altars, 215 keystones, and 200 gargoyles. You can also visit the rooftop, accessible via an elevator, and the museum which houses the Monstrance and the sacrarium on the throne of King Martí I El Humano.

Tickets for Cathedral Of Barcelona can be purchased here.

Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar

Santa Maria Del Mar is a 14th-century Catholic church. Built by the Kingdom of Aragon, it has withstood earthquakes, fires, and wars.

The stained glass in the interior is spectacular. This grand church will not take up too much of your time; I spent 20 minutes here.

Tickets cost €5 between 1 pm and 5 pm. To gain access to the rooftop, a guide is required, which costs €3, and visiting the crypt is €2.

Jon Cake

This place sells the most delicious cheesecake! If you like cheesecake, you have to come here, seriously! They have many different flavours, from classic and chocolate to brie and blue cheese. They also have special flavours available for a limited time, which you can keep up to date with on their Instagram @joncake.es. Not to mention, the cheesecakes are the perfect combination of creamy and not too sweet, if you only eat one sweet thing over your 3 days in Barcelona you will not regret eating this!

Prices depend on the weight, but expect to pay about €12 per slice. Gluten-free options are available too!

Location: Carrer dels Assaonadors, 29, 08003

MOCO Museum

This was my favourite museum that I visited in Barcelona. It showcases contemporary modern art with work by artists including Banksy, Kaws, and Andy Warhol.

The exhibits are fun, thought-provoking, and some are even interactive. For me, the highlight was the digital immersive art room.

Tickets for MOCO Barcelona can be purchased here.

Other Museums in the Gothic Quarter

There are many other museums to see in the Gothic Quarter, here are some others which may be of interest to you:

– Barcelona History Museum MUHBA showcases ancient Roman building ruins. Find out more here.
– Picasso museum is dedicated to Picasso’s early work. Find out more here.
– El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria has preserved medieval streets of Barcelona.

Where To Eat In The Gothic Quarter

All that walking deserves a delicious lunch ! Here are some great eateries close to the Gothic Quarter.

Orvay puts their own modern twists on traditional tapas. Think chicken curry croquettes, kinder bueno foie gras and duck cannoli.

Bar del Pla causal traditional tapas restaurant, famous for their oxtail sandwich.

Ziryab Fusió Tapes Bar Middle Eastern fusion tapas bar, dishes include dates wrapped in bacon, and tagine

Sandwicherie just large delicious fresh sandwiches, cannot go wrong !

Narciso is an inexpensive bar serving up delicious Italian style sandwiches.

Arch de Truif + Parc de La Ciutadella

Arch de Truif

After lunch, walk towards the Arc de Triomf. You’ll want to use the entrance on Pg de. St. Joan, which will give you an incredible view of the arch, and you can then walk through it and down the adjacent park.

The Arc de Triomf was built as the main entrance to a World Fair held in 1888 in Parc de la Ciutadella; it was then restored in 1990. Made of red brick and towering at 30 meters, this arch is one of the most iconic sights in Barcelona. Make sure to pause and check out the intricate details on each side of this arch. The north side displays how welcoming Barcelona is to other cities, and the south side displays a religious scene involving Jesus Christ.

Walk to the end of the park and cross the road to Parc de la Ciutadella.

Parc de la Ciutadella

Ciutadella Park has a number of attractions to check out, the star of the show is the eye catching and very grand fountain Cascada Monumental. Cascada monumental is was inspired by the Trevi fountain with the centre piece a gold sculpture of Aurora representing light and freedom. There is a small lake where you are allowed to rent paddle boats and the Palau del Parlament de Catalunya.

Where to go for Dinner near Parc de la Ciutadella

I have put together a small list of high quality restaurants near Parc de la Ciutadella.
Clicking the restaurant name will take you to their GoogleMaps reviews.

Cafè Menssana, casual and cosy restaurant serving dishes such as burgers, curry, and tacos.

La Terrassa de La Marina Restaurant is an Italian restaurant with dishes like pizza, burrata, and also Spanish paella.

Casa Cabo, casual tapas bar with a daily menu that includes octopus, paella, and honey and lime eggplant.

Restaurant Estrella is an upscale traditional Catalan restaurant located down a quiet alley. This restaurant has been in the same family for five generations! Their refined menu has dishes such as salmon tartare, smoked deer, sea bass, and veal confit.

Day 2 – La Sagrada Familia, Casa Batlló + Casa Mila, Park Güell, La Barceloneta

No 3 day Barcelona itinerary is complete without the cities most celebrated architect, Antoni Gaudi! Today. is all about him! Many of Gaudi’s designs were inspired by nature, he preferred to work with natural materials to replicate what he saw in nature. His designs were thought-provoking and forward-thinking. We’re starting the day with his most ambitious project, La Sagrada Familia. But first, breakfast!

If you are looking for a bit of adrenaline, you could always opt for a fully guided tour of all the best Gaudí sites, such as this crazy Barcelona 3-Hour Discover Gaudí GoCar Tour in a mini self driven car.

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Where to go for Breakfast near La Sagrada Familia

Clicking the restaurant name will take you to their GoogleMaps reviews

Café Fargo has great coffee and a selection of tasty toasts! It is a cosy place just around the corner from Sagrada Familia.

Naman Cafè is a small Italian cafe with good coffee, pastries and sandwiches.

O. Grove is located across the street from Sagrada Familia so expect prices to be a little higher.

MIAM is a cosy cafe with meals including pancakes, breakfast burritos, and acai bowls.

La Sagrada Familia

Gaudí’s masterpiece and Barcelona’s most famous cathedral, La Sagrada Família, is a must-visit during your 3 days in Barcelona. Still unfinished and not due to be completed until 2026, when finished, it will be the tallest church in the world.

The cathedral’s design symbolises the mystery of Christianity, with 18 towers shaped like spindles dedicated to each apostle, the 4 evangelists, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus. It takes about one hour to walk through it all, with much of that time spent looking up at the colourful and detailed stained glass windows.

Ticket prices start at €26 for the cathedral and crypt, whereas tickets that include access to the towers are €36. Although the tickets are a bit expensive, it is worth noting that it costs approximately €60,000,000 a year to build, all funded by visitors to the cathedral.

There are two small but very nice parks beside La Sagrada, Plaça de la Sagrada Família and Plaça de Gaudí where you can take a distant shot of the cathedral.

Casa Batlló + Casa Mila

The second stop of the day is the beautiful Passig de Gracia, a major shopping avenue in Barcelona. Passeig de Gracia has all the designer shops you can think of, as well as high street shops such as Zara and Stradivarius. But that is not all that is here, two of Gaudi’s quirky building stand here, Casa Batlló and Casa Milà.

Casa Batlló is a converted building, which is fascinating to me to think that all of this work was a remodelling of a previous building! Gaudi never explained the meaning of the details of the house so you can let your imagination free. Caso Batlló was the private home of aristocrat Josep Batlló, who resided on the bottom two floors, the top two floors were rented out.

You are allowed access to the main room, a blue stairwell leading to an attic, servants’ quarters, and the rooftop. This comprises about 20% of the entire house. For me, the most impressive part was the outside facade; after all, the house was built to stand out from neighbouring houses!

After you’ve viewed the outside, you can walk towards Casa Milà up the beautiful Passeig de Gracia, it only takes about 5 minutes to walk between the two building.

Casa Milà was the last private home designed by Gaudí for Pere Milà a wealthy deeloper, this design became one of Gaudi’s most controversial. At the time, many people did not agree with the iron balconies and the total lack of symmetry in the design! The outside is made of stones from nearby mountains, which leads to its alternative name “La Pedrera,” meaning The Quarry, whereas the inside is bright with vivid colors, round floors, and natural ventilation. It truly is eccentric.

It will take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes for the audio guide tour. During the night, you can purchase tickets for the rooftop, which will give you stunning views across the city.

Where To Go For Lunch on Passig de Gracia

Passeig de Gracia has many tourist trap or overly expensive restaurants. Here are a few casual options that you might want to save for later.

Bella Itàlia is amazing value for money! They have a lunch menu with a main, dessert, and drink for just over €10. Not only is the value great but the food is delicious!

The Hardware Société is a cool little brunch spot, their menu includes pork belly & fried eggs, smoked salmon, and baked eggs topped with chorizo and cheese.

Vinitus is a street side tapas restaurant. Their menu highlights the most ordered dishes. Tapas include cod with honey aoili, mini hamburger, baguettes, and foie with apple.

2254 serves up innovative Italian tapas including dishes such as carbonara, duck and foie cannelloni, and spider crab.

Park Güell

This 12-hectare park was a playground for Gaudi’s imagination. Its original purpose was for 60 residential homes to be built here, but the project was never completed. The entire park is inspired by nature, which is why you will see no straight lines here, only curves!

The majority of the park has free admission. Güell Park Monumental Zone is not free; it is a small area covering approximately 5% of the park but allows you access to all the best parts of the park that you have likely seen online, such as the Hypostyle Room, dragon fountain, stairway, and Laundry Portico.

It is important to buy tickets in advance, as only 400 visitors are allowed in every hour. You will likely spend about 90 minutes in Park Güell.

Getting To Park Güell

Bus: The number 24 bus goes from stop Pg de Gràcia – Mallorca and will drop you a 3 minute walk from the entrance of Park Güell.
Metro: From Diagonal metro station take the L3 green line towards Trinitat Nova, just two stops to Lesseps station followed by a 17 minute walk to Park Güell.

La Barceloneta

After all of today’s sightseeing, it is time to wind down. The chilled out beach area of La Barceloneta is perfect for watching the sunset while sipping on a sangria beside the ocean. Pretty nice way to relax after day 2 of your 3 days in Barcelona.

La Barceloneta has over 5km of sandy beaches, and the atmosphere is incredible, with trendy bars, outdoor restaurants, and people rollerblading along the palm tree-lined promenade or playing volleyball on the beach.

In the evening, you can get a really great view of the sunset, and if you look towards the city (not the ocean), you will even see the Tibidabo ferris wheel in the distance.

I would recommend taking the metro to either Barceloneta or Ciutadella Vila Olímpica and just walking down the promenade. If you arrive at Ciutadella Vila Olímpica metro station, then I suggest walking down the beach back to Barceloneta metro station, which is a very central location.

Where To Eat In La Barceloneta

Arenal Restaurant, Mediterranean restaurant overlooking the beach with paella and plenty of fresh seafood on their menu.

Maná 75 specialises in paella which is highly reviewed. You can see the chefs making the paella in the open kitchen.

La Malandrina is a simple and casual Argentinian-Uruguayan restaurant serving large portions of steak that have been cooked on a traditional parrilla grill. Sides include creamy potatoes and chimichiri.

FOC Barceloneta serves up some incredibly tasty Latin American food such as tacos, burritos, Coxinhas and patacones. It is also a fun place for cocktails.

NAP Mar is a traditional neapolitan pizza restaurant! It is delicious!

La Frites are simply takeaway fries with lots of choices for toppings. Topping include chilli, roquefort, mayonaise and much more. The portions are huge with the largest basically a bucket. You can cross the road and eat them on the steps of the port were there are often performers.

Day 3 – Mount Tibidabo + Magic Fountain of Montjuïc

Mount Tibidabo

The final day of this 3 day Barcelona itinerary takes you on an adventure a little bit outside of the city to Mount Tibidabo. Part of the Serra de Collserola mountain range, Mount Tibidabo is the highest peak at 1,680 ft. This hill offers sprawling views of Barcelona, and at the top there is even an amusement park and the Sagrat Cor church. This is one of the most visited attractions in Barcelona and a lot of fun!

If you are not in the mood for hiking Mount Tibidabo then you can take a funicular from this station at the bottom all the way to the top. A return ticket costs €12.

Climbing Mount Tibidabo

The hike is not bad; I would describe it as easy to moderate. The paths are well-marked, not too steep, and shaded by the surrounding trees. The views of the city are also incredible on the way up. As you progress further into the hike, the Sagrat Cor church becomes visible, along with the big wheel Giradabo. So, if you can, I would recommend hiking over taking the funicular! It is a busy path with lots of cyclists and joggers, and sometimes you may even encounter wild boars, so if you are going solo, you will not feel alone.

The hike takes approximately 3 hours in total, considering both the ascent and descent. Follow the signs to Cami de Vallvidrera.

Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor (Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

At the top is the beautiful mountaintop church, Sagrat Cor. Built between 1902 and 1961, the main features of the neo-Gothic church are a mosaic arch doorway, five towers, a bronze seven-meter statue of Jesus, and two large staircases that hug the exterior.

Tibidabo Amusement Park

Opened in 1901, Tibidabo Amusement Park is the oldest amusement park in Spain. There are over 30 attractions here including the iconic ferris wheel Giradabo, a carousal, the first ever flight simulator, and two rollercoasters.

Entrance tickets for the amusement park cost €35 for adults and €14 for children. However, you can pay €3 per ride in the panoramic area (free entrance) which has the Giradabo, Talaia, Avió, Museu d’Autòmats and Carrusel.

Magic Fountain of Montjuïc

End your 3 days in Barcelona on a high note at the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc. Every Thursday to Saturday from 9:00 to 10:00 p.m., masses of people turn up for this magnificent display of music, lights, and, of course, water. To say that this completely exceeded my expectations is an understatement; it was brilliant! At 9 p.m., the music starts, and the fountain roars to life, transforming the area into a street party.

Due to its popularity, if you would like a seat on the steps, I advise arriving about an hour early, as these seats fill up pretty fast.

Magic Fountain of Montjuïc is temporarily closed due to drought.

Where To Eat Close To Magic Fountain of Montjuïc

Spice Bcn Parallel is an inexpensive South African restaurant with super tasty chicken. Menu includes their famous spicy chicken in signature sauce, braai, and curry.

Restaurant Funicular, cosy seafood restaurant in a former winery. Do not be fooled by the unassuming experience, the food here is great! Dishes include ,Saint Jacques a la plancha, oysters, pan con tomate and Tarte Tatin.

Samurai Ramen, is a small Japanese restaurant with dishes like gyoza, onigiri, curry udon, miso ramen and sushi.

TAPS Bar serves up delicious traditional tapas in an intimate setting. Dishes include grilled aspargus, padron peppers, tacos, pork cheek, and grilled octopus.

Getting To Barcelona

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