Planning a weekend in Barcelona? The city’s reputation as a vibrant, lively city makes it the ideal destination for a weekend vacation. You can sense the energy in everything from the quirky and unique architecture to the beautiful beaches. The city attracts millions of tourists every year and has much to offer with captivating landmarks like Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell and museums like Picasso Museum and National Art Museum of Barcelona, rich culture and traditions, delicious cuisine, pulsating nightlife and fantastic beaches.
If a holiday in Barcelona is on the cards, it is possible to cover all the sights and experiences as long as you have a well-planned itinerary. We have done the homework for you and created the perfect itinerary for your weekend in Barcelona.
How to Spend a Weekend in Barcelona Under 150 Euros
Looking to explore Barcelona on a budget? Headout with us and we'll show you how !
Day 1 : Las Rambla, Boqueria Market, Flamenco Show
€22
Day 2 : Gaudi Monuments, Picasso Museum, Sagrada Familia
€62
Day 3 : Camp Nou tour, Montjuic Hill, Barceloneta Beach
€62
Total
€146
Book your Barcelona Attractions tickets on Headout, and spend just €146 on your weekend vacation in Barcelona! Hit up all the prime attractions in the city and save more while you explore more. Read on to see our detailed 3-day weekend Barcelona Itinerary and learn more about visiting each of these attractions.
Weekend in Barcelona - Detailed Itinerary
Friday in Barcelona
Las Rambla is a popular pedestrian boulevard that runs along for a distance of 1.2KM from Plaça de Catalunya to Port Vell. Plaça de Catalunya is the best place to kickoff your Barcelona weekend as you can easily find public transportation to get there. Plaça de Catalunya is the city’s main square where the old city meets the new, and it is quite a sight with several fountains and statues dotting the square.
When you start walking down the Las Rambla you will find the old part of the city, Gothic Quarter, on your left side and the El Raval on the right. Several smaller streets keep branching off Las Rambla and you can duck in and out to explore them. The street is lined with restaurants, coffee shops and souvenir stores. You will also find street entertainers like music bands and human statues along the way.
- Keep your wits about as you walk the Las Rambla, it is a popular spot for pickpockets.
- Try to avoid eating at the restaurants on Las Rambla as they are often tourist traps, get into one of the side streets for authentic Spanish restaurantsTry to avoid eating at the restaurants on Las Rambla as they are often tourist traps, get into one of the side streets for authentic Spanish restaurants like Can Reixes, Louro or Kiosko Universal.
As you walk down the Las Rambla you will find the marketplace ‘La Boqueria’ which means ‘Goat Market’. A historic market that dates back to 1217 when it was a meat market, it was only in 1911 that the current complex was built. You can find food and fresh produce stalls here that have been handed down the generations. Grab dinner and snacks from the market as it’s open until 8:30 PM from Monday to Saturday.
You will probably have to take your food on the go as finding space to sit is impossible, especially on a Friday night! Some of the iconic stalls are El Quim (Stall No. 606), Kiosko Universal (Stall No. 691) and the tapas stalls (Stall Nos. 466-470).
- The must-try dishes at La Boqueria are fried eggs with baby squid, garbanzo beans with blood sausage and grilled seafood platters.
- Take cash in small change as most vendors do not use debit/credit cards. Also, for safety avoid large bills.
The night is still young in Barcelona on a Friday and the best place to end your day would be to head to a Flamenco show. Book a show at Tablao Flamenco Cordobes, one of the most authentic Flamenco venues in Barcelona. The venue is right on Las Rambla and a short walk from La Boqueria and you can catch shows till 11:30 PM on most days.
- Enroute to Tablao Flamenco Cordobes, you will cross the Liceu Theatre, take a moment to stop and admire the floor mural by Joan Miro near the theatre.
Barcelona Travel Guide: What To Do | Budget Tips | Day Trips & More
Saturday in Barcelona
Antoni Gaudí is synonymous with Barcelona and has left his impressionable mark across all the major buildings and landmarks in the city. Spend Saturday morning visiting Gaudi’s top five architectural landmarks - Parc Guell, Casa Vicens, Casa Mila and La Pedrera, Casa Batllo and Guell Palace, which are all a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site under ‘Works of Antoni Gaudi'.
All these five buildings are on a 5-kilometer stretch across Passeig de Gracia and Las Rambla. You can take the metro or walk most of the way as Las Rambla is a pedestrian street.
Park Guell - Park Guell is a public park that was opened in 1926, it contains stunning murals and quirky architecture inspired from nature. It will take you an hour to explore the park’s highlights including Porter’s Lodge Pavilion, Dragon Stairway, The Hypostyle Room, The Greek Theatre, The Laundry Room Portico and Austria Gardens.
Casa Vicens – Casa Vicens was Gaudi’s first building and showcased his first expression of Modernisme. This is a colorful building and has influences of Mudejar, Indian and Japanese architecture styles. Everything from the ceramic tiles to the furniture was overseen by Gaudi himself.
Casa Mila – Casa Mila is Gaudi’s most controversial and unique building. It earned the nickname ‘La Pedrera’ because it looks like a Quarry with irregular shapes in the exterior. The highlights of the building are the terrace with sculptures, the attic, Pedrera apartments, courtyard and the exhibition hall.
Casa Batlló – Locally known as ‘House of bones’ the Casa Batlló is an intriguing building. Originally built as an apartment complex, today it is preserved as a museum. The highlights of the house are the hallway and the grand staircase, Patio de Luces that looks like a sea, the attic and the terrace with the chimneys.
Guell Palace – The urban palace was designed for Eusebi Guell and was inspired by Roman and Islamic architecture. Completely built with stone, wrought iron and brick, it was meant to inspire awe in visitors. The highlight of the palace is the roof with holes where lanterns were placed to make it look like a starlit sky!
- Each of the houses will take about half an hour to explore and walk around. It should take you around 4 hours to visit all of Gaudi’s monuments.
- You can book the tickets for each of the attractions at the venue, but since the queues are especially long, it is best to book online tickets. Headout sells skip-the-line tickets to all these attractions.
- You can learn more about taking a self-guided tour of Gaudi’s monuments in the blog here.
Take a break for lunch at Bodega La Puntual (100m away) or Taperia Princesa (50m away) for a quick Spanish or Catalonian lunch and then head to the Picasso Museum. The museum has 4,251 paintings and artworks belonging to Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and is the largest collection of his paintings in one venue. The museum itself is spread across five historic palaces and is worth spending an hour viewing Picasso’s works.
Pablo Picasso was known for founding the Cubist movement and the museum’s collection includes famous paintings like ‘Las Meninas’, ‘The First Communion’, ‘Science and Charity’, ‘Seated Man’, ‘The Pigeons’ and ‘Harlequin’. The ticket price is €12 and the museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday until 8:30 PM.
- The Picasso Museum tickets are sold online on their official website. It is advisable to purchase them in advance as only a limited number of tickets are sold each day.
- After a visit to the Picasso Museum, take a short walk of about 350m to the Cathedral of Barcelona. The cathedral is an impressive Gothic cathedral that dates back to 1339. Don’t forget to take a photograph of the magnificent facade!
Sagrada Familia is easily the most recognizable building in Barcelona and has become the symbol of the city. The building itself has been in the making for over 137 years, since 1882, and is touted to be finished in 2026. The Sagrada Familia is open till 7:00 PM and you reach there from Picasso Museum by taking a Number 19 bus from the Arc de Triomf bus stop. The Sagrada Familia is Antoni Gaudi’s last work and is the most unique in all of Christendom.
The Sagrada Familia is a mammoth architectural undertaking and is an amalgamation of Spanish Late Gothic, Catalan Modernism and Art Nouveau styles. You will need at least two hours to explore the entire church. The highlights you should look out for are the Nativity and Passion facades, the stained glass windows and the central nave that looks like a surreal forest.
- Sagrada Familia Fast track tickets start from €17 and are worth the investment because the visitor queues are quite long. You can book them on the official website or you can book on Headout for discounted and combo offers with the Fast Track Guided Tour of Sagrada Familia.
- Sunset is the best time to visit as the golden hour casts beautiful shadows through the stained glass windows. Also, you can carry your camera inside for photographs.
- Sagrada Familia is a religious place and you should be dressed appropriately.
Barcelona is known for its wild nightlife and the only way to spend a weekend in Barcelona is to go club hopping! The best way to maximize your time exploring all that Barcelona has to offer is by investing in a Barcelona Nightlife Card. The pass, which costs just €10, gives you free access to over 30 nightclubs in Barcelona. The list of nightclubs that can be accessed with the card are – Opium, Pacha, Shoko, Go Beach Club, Oak, La Terraza, Luz De Gas and many more.
- Most clubs are open until 6:00 AM on Saturday and you can enjoy till the wee hours of the morning. Metro runs all night long on Saturdays and buses are also available for easy commute.
- Avoid beachwear, flip-flops and sneakers to nightclubs unless it’s a beach club.
Sunday in Barcelona
Camp Nou is the home ground of F.C. Barcelona, and is the second-largest stadium in the world. Whether you are a football fan or not, you must take a tour of Camp Nou that offers a peek into the rich history of Spanish football and the legacy of F.C. Barcelona. A stadium tour starts at €26 for the complete 90-minute tour of the stadium and the museum. You can upgrade your experience to include a brunch or the complete player’s experience tour. The stadium tour includes a behind the scenes tour of the players’ tunnel and a chance to sit at the players’ dugout and see what it feels to be surrounded by thousands of fans. You can also view the ‘Messi’ area which showcases Messi’s Ballon d’Or trophies and the club trophy cabinet which includes 5 European cups and 24 La Liga titles.
- Make sure you check the stadium calendar before booking your ticket. The stadium tour is not offered on days of La Liga, Copa Del Rey and Champions League matches.
- It is advisable to book tickets in advance; you can do it on their official website or purchase combo tickets from Headout.
Once you are done with a stadium tour of Camp Nou, you can head to the Montjuïc Hill for an afternoon of sightseeing and history lessons. The funicular or cable car station of Montjuïc is about 7KM away from Camp Nou and you can take the Teleferic return ticket which costs €12 but is worth the cost. You can enjoy panoramic views of Barcelona and even as far as the sea as you climb up the hill. Your first stop should be at Parc Montjuïc which has a set of attractions to see, including the National Art Museum of Catalonia, Fundacio Miro, Barcelona Ethnological Museum and Poble Espanyol.
Montjuïc Hill has been a military post since the 17th century and the Montjuïc Castle is testimony to that. You can visit the castle and the nearby gardens to enjoy 360-degree panoramic views of the city. The hill was later developed during the 1929 International Exposition which led to the construction of all the modern buildings on the hill. You can easily spend 3-4 hours exploring all the attractions of Montjuïc.
- The cable car return timings are 9:00 PM (June to September), 7:00 PM (October), 6:00 PM (November to February) and 7:00 PM (March to April). You can plan your journey according to these timings.
- Poble Espanyol is a must-visit on your trip to Montjuïc and a ticket costs €14. The attraction is a 90-year old open-air museum that displays over 117 large-scale buildings that are representative of all regions of Spain. The unique architectural styles are worth witnessing.
- You can book National Art Museum tickets here, Fundacio Miro tickets here and Barcelona Ethnological Museum here.
After a hectic day in Barcelona, the only thing remaining to top off an exciting weekend in Barcelona is to head to the beach! Barceloneta Beach is the most happening in the city and the perfect place to relax and soak in the sea. The beach offers several photo opportunities especially at the curious ‘Homenatge a la Barceloneta’ building and the quirky ‘Peix d'Or’ sculpture near Port Olimpic.
The beach has several shacks and stalls where you can by food and drinks; however, you might be pestered by vendors who will try to sell you an assortment of things. Just ignore them at first and they won’t trouble you later. Sunday is the perfect day to spend time at the beach as it is the day when the Spanish cook their paella and nothing beats eating sumptuous paella as you watch the sun go down.
- The best restaurants to eat at near Barceloneta Beach are Kaiku, Cal Papi, Restaurante Barceloneta, and El Vaso de Oro.
- Be careful of swimming in the beach, keep a lookout for the warning flags. The Red Flag indicates swimming is not allowed, the Orange flag warns of strong currents and the Green Flag tells you that the water is safe to swim.
Are 3 Days Enough in Barcelona?
Barcelona is a rich city, full of culture and arts, history and sport. There is much to be seen in here, notwithstanding the hidden gems in the nooks and crannies of the great city. That said, three days is perfectly enough time to get taste of everything the city has to offer.
Outlined in this itinerary are sites and places symbolic of Barcelona, and you'll be able to make the most of the jewel of Spain.
If you plan to stay longer, however, we've got you covered! Here are other Barcelona itineraries you can explore.
Getting around in Barcelona
The city has a well-connected public transportation network which makes commuting fairly convenient during your weekend in Barcelona. A lot of the main attractions are concentrated in an area that you can walk around as well. The best way to save time and money buying tickets for transport is to buy the Hola Barcelona Travel Card, which can be chosen for a 2-day variant that would be ideal for your 48 hours in Barcelona itinerary.
The other travel cards are a combo of attractions plus transport including The Barcelona Pass, Barcelona All Inclusive Card and Barcelona IVenture Card.Taking a taxi is ideal if you’re living far from the city center, are travelling during odd hours and/or are with a group to split the expense. A flat rate of €39 applies while traveling from the airport to the city center; anything further and standard charges apply.
Here are all the modes of public transport you can use to plan your Barcelona weekend itinerary:
- Metro: The Metro has 12 lines with 160 stations and it runs from 5 AM to midnight on weekdays, till 2 AM on Fridays, uninterrupted on Saturdays and till midnight on Sunday. It is the most convenient mode to travel on a weekend.
- Bus: There are 230 bus routes and it’s the cheapest way to get around. These run from 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM, while the night buses run from 10:00 PM to 5:00 AM.
- Tram: The tram has 6 lines and they connect the city to the suburbs, you cannot rely much on them in the city.
The other travel cards are a combo of attractions plus transport including The Barcelona Pass, Barcelona All Inclusive Card and Barcelona IVenture Card.Taking a taxi is ideal if you’re living far from the city center, are travelling during odd hours and/or are with a group to split the expense. A flat rate of €39 applies while traveling from the airport to the city center; anything further and standard charges apply.
Everything You Need To Know About Public Transportation In Barcelona
Handy Tips for Your Trip to Barcelona
- Bike in the center of the city – While Metro is a great way to get around the city, another convenient way to explore the city is via bike. The city administration has started ‘Bicing’ which has over 400 electric bicycle stations and you can simply book a cycle online and use it.
- Beware of scamsters – Barcelona is one of the busiest tourist destinations in the world and while it is a safe city, there are always pickpockets and scamsters trying to make a quick buck.
- Walking tour of Gothic Quarter – The Gothic Quarter and Jewish Quarter are wonderful neighborhoods full of history and legends. Take a walking tour on your weekend in Barcelona to learn more about the history of the city.
- Pick the right restaurants – Make sure you check the menu and prices before you order in restaurants as you might have to pay a hefty bill at the end otherwise!
- Dig into authentic foods – Paella is a must-have dish on your trip to Barcelona but if you are spending a weekend in Barcelona, then don’t forget to try other traditional dishes like Gazpacho, Tortilla Española, Gambas al ajillo, Patatas bravas and Pollo al ajillo.
- Stay safe in the sun – Barcelona has sunny weather almost throughout the year and if you are spending a weekend in Barcelona in the summer then you should be careful in the sun. Carry sunscreen, hats, umbrellas and scarves to keep yourself from a sunburn.
- Plan your airport transfer – The best way to save time is to plan your airport transfer ahead of your travel. An Aerobus return ticket will cost you around €11 and is the quickest way to get to and from the airport.
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