With its sun-soaked beaches, Mediterranean hospitality, and unparalleled architecture, it’s easy to fall for Barcelona. The city appeals to all the senses: There are wines to be swirled and tapas to be gobbled, passageways to be explored, and paintings to be pondered. The ancient and avant garde intermingle in the Catalan capital, where you can find Roman ruins, Moderniste apartments, and high-fashion boutiques all on the same block.
With centuries of history to explore over miles of winding streets, sightseeing in Barcelona might seem a little intimidating. But all you have to do is tackle this list of 25 essential experiences to enjoy everything the city has to offer.
SEE ALSO: The 5 favorite hotels of wealthy people around the world
DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's lifestyle page on Facebook!
La Boqueria
A gastronomic mecca that attracts more than 45,000 visitors a day, La Boqueria may be the most famous food market in the world, and for good reason. Its endless stalls entice shoppers with abundant displays of the region’s finest cheeses, charcuterie, seafood, and produce. Some vendors have adapted over time to tourists’ demands, but for a taste of how things were at La Boqueria way back when, sidle up to the bar at Pinotxo, where quick-witted 75-year-old Joan Bayén (“Juanito” for the locals) has been churning out hearty country fare like cigrons amb botifarra negre (stewed chickpeas with black pudding) and calamarcets amb mongetes (tender baby squid and white beans) for a half a century.
Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor's Barcelona Guide
Santa María del Mar
To gain some perspective on the antiquity of Santa María del Mar—and the resilience of Barcelona’s architectonic tradition— consider that each boulder used in the church’s construction was hauled one at a time from surrounding mountainsides and shoreline by ordinary civilians. When the project was finally complete in 1383, 54 years after the first stone was laid, the citizens marveled at what they’d created: a soaring Gothic temple accented with vivid stained-glass panels, illuminated by natural light, and buttressed by sparse, improbably slender columns. Much of the original structure remains today, despite damages to the interior from an 11-day fire that broke out during the Spanish Civil War in 1936.
Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor's Barcelona Guide
La Sagrada Familia
Like many of Barcelona’s architectural feats, La Sagrada Família was, and continues to be, controversial. For years scholars have debated whether engineers strayed too far from architect Antoni Gaudí’s original vision (he died when just a quarter of the project had been realized). And while many citizens deem La Sagrada Família the greatest achievement of Catalan building, others view the structure as a glaring, expensive parody of it. Academic bickering aside, it’s hard not to get caught up in the magic of this place, which, pending completion in 2026 after 150 years of construction, will be the tallest religious building in Europe. Fusing Gothic and Art Nouveau styles in unprecedented ways, the basilica also draws on nature as a central inspiration. The hyperboloids, bright colors, and unconventional animal representations (e.g., chameleons, turtles, pelicans) epitomize Gaudí’s belief that nature and the divine were inextricably linked. Insider tip: Lines here are notoriously long, so it’s advisable to purchase tickets in advance.
Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor's Barcelona Guide
See the rest of the story at Business Insider