How to spend 3 days in Barcelona?

Barcelona is a beautiful and popular tourist destination in Spain. It is a city full of culture, history, and architecture under UNESCO world heritage. Barcelona is not only about sightseeing, it is a lively city with delicious traditional food, Sangria, and always smiley people.

Moreover, Barcelona is also a great beach destination, with several beautiful beaches close to the city center. You can spend a week in this city and you will not be bored. However, I’m going to tell you how to spend 3 days in Barcelona in order to see the most important sights, enjoy the food, have fun and relax at the beach.

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Barcelona day 1

We started our day one in Plaza Catalunya, which is a big square, considered the city center of Barcelona. This square is known for fountains and statues and also leads to several important streets, like La Rambla.

From Plaza Catalunya, you can go to see Catedral De La Santa Creu y Santa Eulalia (Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia). It is a Gothic cathedral and the seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona. It is a beautiful cathedral from the outside, however, you can visit the inside temple and the cloister for free, terraces, choir, chapel, and museum is paid for. There is also a souvenir shop to buy some small presents.

Before continuing to the next important sights, don’t forget to stop for a lunch. We chose a restaurant close by serving traditional paella that tasted delicious. If you fancy, you can have a Spanish drink called Sangria, or you can leave it till the evening.

The next stop is the Church of Santa Maria del Mar. It is located in the Ribera district surrounded by narrow streets. This church is not so popular as the first Cathedral, however, is worth visiting when you are in Barcelona. On certain days and hours the entrance is free, some others you need to pay.

One of the most favorite and well-known streets in Barcelona that you should not miss is La Rambla street. There are a lot of shops, restaurants, and cafes to visit and enjoy the Spanish vibes.

We ended our first day with a lovely walk along the sea on a seafront promenade called Moll de la Fusta with a huge shrimp sculpture. This promenade is popular for concerts and other cultural events in Barcelona.

Barcelona day 2

The second day of our holiday was here and we were so excited to see the most important and famous art, The Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, which most people know as Sagrada Familia. Sagrada Familia is the largest Roman Catholic church. It was designed by Antoni Gaudi and it is a part of Unesco World Heritage.

Gaudi started his work in 1882, and by the time of his death, it was still not completed. Then it was interrupted by the Spanish civil war and later on by the Covid 19 when the work had to be stopped for some time.

Even though Sagrada Familia is still not finished, it is a must-see when in Barcelona. It is an extraordinary monument to observe from the outside, however, you can also visit the inside to see the beautiful piece of art, museum, and the shop. You can get your Fast-track Access ticket here.

After visiting Sagrada Familia we took a walk through the city to see Casa Mila, Antoni Gaudi’s favorite building, which is also listed under Unesco World Heritage. Not only the building was built in an unusual way, but what is special about it are the balconies. 32 balconies are made of iron sheets, chains, and bars formed into remarkable decorative components.

There is also a possibility to see the building from the inside, where you will find a stylish restaurant to have your lunch. When going to the roof, you will be gifted with an amazing view of the city and have a close look at the mosaic ornament chimneys. You can get your tickets in advance here.

To continue our walk we saw another of Gaudi’s extraordinary buildings, Casa Batllo, which looks like a castle from a surreal fairy tale. Like the previous two, even Casa Batllo is under Unesco World Heritage site.

The last thing on day two was Barcelona Football stadium Camp Nou. Its name has officially been changed to Spotify Camp Nou on the 1st of July 2022. This football stadium is the largest in Europe and the fourth largest in the world.

Whether you are a football fan or not, you should not miss visiting this stadium. You can see the stadium from the visitor’s chair, from the coach seat, or even from the reporter’s seat. Moreover, you will walk the same aisle that the famous footballers walk when entering the pitch and you can also go inside the changing room to see how it looks there. There is also a museum with pictures, trophies, and footballers’ historical outfits. You can get your tickets in advance here.

In the evening I recommend having a nice walk on the Port Olympic promenade and enjoying a nice dinner and drinks in one of the restaurants. We chose a Jerusalem restaurant where we had dinner, drinks, and shisha.

Barcelona day 3

What kind of holiday it would be without a beach? Whether you came to Barcelona for 3 days or longer, definitely spend some days at the beach. Barcelona has several long beautiful beaches with restaurants and facilities alongside.

We spent our last day on Barceloneta Beach as it was the closest to our accommodation and I can highly recommend it. Beautiful soft sand, warm clean sea, and fish and chips in a nearby restaurant.

If you don’t have any plans for the evening, definitely go to see the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc. It is located near the Plaça de Carles Buïgas and it is free of charge. You can get there by metro or by bus.

The fountain is a combination of light and water power with music creating amazing shows for visitors of all ages. The Magic Fountain is very popular and it gets busy, therefore I advise you to come early to get a good place to watch from.