Tourist in the cathedral of Santa Cruz y Santa Eulalia, Barcelona

A perfect weekend in Barcelona: culture, Gaudí and football

Barcelona is a city bursting with life. It is one of those places you always want to go back to because there are always more things to do and places to discover. But if you want to start with a weekend visit to this wonderful city, don’t miss this guide full of recommendations to suit all tastes on what to see in Barcelona. So take note!

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Culture

If you like culture, these are some of the museums not to be missed:National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC)It’s located in the Montjuic National Palace, built for the 1929 International Exhibition. Its collection of Romanesque mural paintings is among the most important in the world. You can also see works of Romanesque art, Gothic art, Renaissance-Baroque art and modern art. Picasso MuseumIt houses almost 4,000 works from Picasso’s formative years, presented in chronological order to help you understand the evolution of his work.

Top: National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) / Below Picasso Museum in Barcelona © csp

Museum of the History of Barcelona (MUHBA)Discover medieval buildings and excavation findings and learn about Barcelona from when it was founded in the 1st century BC to the Middle Ages.Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA)If you like modern art you’ll love this museum spread over 14,000 square metres. It houses 5,000 works of art created from the second half of the 20th century to the present day.CaixaForumWhen you visit the city, take a look at the programme at this cultural centre. It usually has some very interesting exhibitions on.

Top left: Museum of the History of Barcelona (MUHBA) / Top right: Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) © Allard One / below: CaixaForum in Barcelona

Gaudí

One can not talk about Barcelona without talking about Gaudí. His works are the most visited in the city thanks to his unique and fascinating style. Here are some of the places not to miss on your visit:La Sagrada FamiliaPossibly one of the most famous monuments in Barcelona. It is the greatest exponent of Gaudí’s architecture. Admiring its still unfinished silhouette is an amazing experience, and one that carries on inside the building and will leave you lost for words.Park GüellIt is another one of the city’s icons, a park conceived as a complex of high-standing homes, it was built between 1900 and 1914. It could be considered an outdoor museum, a creation inspired by nature that will fascinate you.

Casa BatllóIts façade can only be described as spectacular. This magnificent building is the result of a commission by Josep Batlló, who requested a design to finish what was to be his new residence. It is also worth visiting the interior, with design, decorative elements and furniture also created by the artist. La PedreraCasa Milà, also popularly known as La Pedrera, is a building designed with impossible shapes at the beginning of the 20th century. Inside, it is also home to the Gaudi interpretation centre in Barcelona . The chimney pots on the roof are just one of the building's outstanding features.

Top: Casa Batlló © LuisPinaPhotography / Below: La Pedrera de Gaudí, in Barcelona © Distinctive Shots

Football

Barcelona Football Club is world famous, which is why the stadium is one of the most visited places in the city. If you want to discover the most sporty side of Barcelona, you can visit the Camp Nou stadium through one of the tours, from €26. They also include admission to the Barça Museum.Another of the options on offer is the Barça Virtual Experience, for enjoying a virtual reality experience of the ground. What’s more, if your visit to the city coincides with a match, you can buy tickets and enjoy a great game of football in one of the most famous stadiums in the world.

As you can see, it’s impossible to be bored in Barcelona. So if you want to spend a perfect weekend in Barcelona, you have plenty of great ideas to choose from here.

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