12 Tips for Visiting Barcelona

Before heading to Barcelona, there are a few things that will help make your trip planning process easier. Here are our top 12 tips for visiting Barcelona that will save you time, money, and headache.

1. Stay at Ivan’s Place

Barcelona is a big tourist destination and accommodations can be expensive. Ivan’s place (sign up for Airbnb here to save $40 off your first trip) is very simple but very affordable for 2 travelers. The location is perfect right off of Placa Catalunya and right near a metro station. We could easily walk many places and there is a convenient supermarket downstairs.

2. Aerobús

Depending on where you’re staying, the Aerobús is an extremely easy way to get to and from the airport. It’s $7 per person one way no matter your stop. And there’s free wifi on board! They have so many buses going all the time there’s never a wait.

3. Unlimited Metro Pass

This is the best value if you know you’ll be using it frequently to get around the spread out city. If you don’t think you can get your money’s worth out of that one, you can get a 10 ride pass that’s still a better deal than the single tickets.

4. Eating Breakfast Early is Difficult

It’s incredibly hard to find good breakfast places open before 10am. If you’re an early riser, you may have to do some extra Yelp research to find something open and you may have to travel farther to get there. The only places that do seem to be regularly open early in the mornings are cafes and bakeries that serve pastries.

5. Check Restaurant Hours Before Going

A lot of restaurants don’t have consistent hours. If you look up a place you want to eat on Yelp or TripAdvisor, make sure you check if they’re open. Some close for a few hours a day, some aren’t open on a few days, some open later on the weekends than during the week, etc.

6. Buy Attraction Tickets Ahead of Time

If you’ll be visiting La Sagrada Familia, any Gaudi buildings, Park Güell, Picasso Museum, etc. make sure to buy your tickets online. The lines in person can get very long. Generally speaking, the earlier you can go, the less crowded these places will be. Most places you can show your tickets on your phone and don’t need to print anything.

7. Don’t Eat on Las Ramblas

Our Airbnb host, as well as some other people who had visited, warned us not to eat on Las Ramblas as the prices are very high. We didn’t eat there or check any of the prices so I don’t know if that’s the case or not, but I believe it. This shouldn’t be a big deal though since there are so many places to eat in Barcelona.

8. Pay Attention While Walking

A lot of the alleys and walkways around town, especially in the gothic quarter, are actually streets. They often don’t look like it until you see a car coming behind you. Some are so narrow you actually have to duck in storefronts to let cars pass. Just keep your eyes open!

9. Dress Appropriately at Religious Sites

To enter La Sagrada Familia you can’t wear tank tops, hats, flip-flops, or shots above the knee. The Barcelona Cathedral has similar restrictions so make you plan outfits based on when you might be visiting those types of sites, and check the dress codes ahead of time.

10. Water Isn’t Free

No free water at restaurants was a shock for me. And they tend to give small servings. Load up on large water bottles at the local convenience stores for 1 Euro.

11. Tipping Isn’t Expected

For me, this made up for having to pay for water. During our week visit, I think I only saw one receipt that even had a line on it for tips.

12. Save Money on Attractions

Here are a few money saving tips for some popular Barcelona attractions:

Castell de Montjuic is free on Sundays.
Picasso Museum is free on Thursday afternoons.
Park Güell is apparently free everyday before 7:45am. Wish I knew this one ahead of time!
Laberint d’Horta Park is free on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Don’t pay for the elevator to get to the top of Arenas de Barcelona. There are free escalators inside the building to the top.
Check for attraction discounts before purchasing tickets. Many have discounts for seniors, kids, students, and even people under 30.