BARCELONA, Spain— Barcelona is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. And why shouldn’t it be? It’s beautiful, the food is fantastic and while you can drop a lot of money on nightclubs and Michelin-starred restaurants, many of the city’s world-famous attractions are absolutely free to big spenders and backpackers alike.
• GAUDI
If you leave Barcelona without seeing the work of Antoni Gaudi, then you haven’t really seen Barcelona. The architect’s works include a massive church, La Sagrada Familia, still under construction nearly 90 years after his death. This living work of art — like all Gaudi creations — is fanciful, quirky, brilliant and complex, a mass of spires, pillars and mosaics. Gaudi’s strange and whimsical park, Parc Guell, is known for its undulating tiled seats and fairy-tale turrets. The city is also home to several Gaudi-designed apartment complexes, like La Pedrera, and you can even find Gaudi lampposts on Plaza Real.
• LAS RAMBLAS
This is another essential Barcelona experience: strolling Las Ramblas. The crowded, tree-lined pedestrian mall is filled with street performers, restaurants, bars and kiosks selling souvenirs, flowers and food. You’ll see a street mosaic by Joan Miro, a fountain and several landmarks, including theaters and the baroque Palace of the Virreina.
• LA BOQUERIA
Barcelona has dozens of markets, but La Boqueria is the most famous and the most visited by tourists — though locals shop here regularly, too. Dozens of stalls line the large iron-roofed building, spilling forth mountains of colorful fruits and vegetables, rows of Spain’s famous cured hams and a few things you don’t find in the average supermarket — goat heads, pig feet and the like.
