Is Barcelona Worth Visiting?

The short answer, both ways

Barcelona is popular enough that the real question is whether it lives up to it. For most trips it does, provided you plan around the parts that are genuinely difficult.

What Barcelona does better than anywhere else

Barcelona’s case rests on a combination no other Iberian city has.

1. The Gaudí buildings. Sagrada Família, Park Güell, Casa Batlló and La Pedrera are unlike anything else in Europe.
2. A city with a beach. Barceloneta is a fifteen-minute walk from the old city.
3. The old city on foot. The Gothic Quarter, El Born and the waterfront make one continuous walk.
4. Montjuïc, a hill with a museum, a castle and the best free view of the city.
5. Day trips by train: Montserrat in about an hour, Girona in forty minutes and Sitges in thirty-five.

The downsides of Barcelona

The disappointments are real, and they are concentrated in a few places and a few months.

1. Crowds. In summer the Gaudí buildings, the Gothic Quarter and the beach are at their densest.
2. Booking. The four Gaudí sites use timed entry, and in summer turning up without a slot usually means not getting in.
3. Pickpocketing. La Rambla is the most pickpocketed street in the city.
4. Tourist pricing. Food on La Rambla and at La Boqueria is priced for people who will not come back.
5. The autumn rain. September and October are the two wettest months of the Barcelona year, at 81 mm and 91 mm (AEMET 1981-2010).

Barcelona or Madrid?

This is the comparison most first trips to Spain are making. Both are worth it; many trips include both, linked by high-speed train.

Temperatures are AEMET 1981-2010 climate normals. On a first trip, a day more in Barcelona than in Madrid suits most itineraries, because of the Gaudí bookings and the beach.

When Barcelona is not worth it

The city is open all year, but some months deliver far less of what people come for. These are the 1981-2010 climate normals for Barcelona Aeropuerto from AEMET.

1. August: a 28.5°C mean high, the joint-highest thunderstorm count of the year, the peak crowds, and many independent restaurants closed for holidays.
2. October: the wettest month of the year at 91 mm, and September close behind at 81 mm.
3. Late May to mid-June is when Barcelona is most worth it: warm, dry — June averages 30 mm of rain — and before the peak.
4. January and February are cool but among the driest months, and the museums are at their emptiest.

How to make Barcelona worth it

Most of what disappoints visitors can be avoided with a few decisions made before the trip.

1. Book the Gaudí slots first, then plan the days around them.
2. Walk La Rambla once, briefly, and turn off early.
3. Eat in El Born, Gràcia or the Eixample, on local hours — lunch from about 2pm, dinner after 9pm.
4. Give Montjuïc a half-day; it is the part most people cut.
5. Travel between late May and mid-June if the dates are flexible.