With around 20 million tourists per year, Barcelona is on the popular side...But it's with good reason. It's a sophisticated beach-side party town with world class architecture and there's always a festival of some sort on.
Barcelona's architectural delights span the last two millennia, from the labyrinth of narrow cobbled streets and piazza's of the Gothic Quarter (which still bear traces of ancient Roman Barcino), to the organic sculptural Modernist pieces of Gaudí. However, you're unlikely to get the works of Gaudí all to yourself, so you'll be have to be content to share (especially in July and August).
Whatever time of year you visit, sight-seeing is a hungry business and thankfully Barcelona has a mouth-watering dining and drinking scene with excellent tapas bars to be found all over the city .
Highlights
Pay homage to the city's Gaudí masterpieces - Sagrada Familia (awe-inspiring church not to be missed), Parc Güell (unique and colourful urban ornamental park), Casa Batlló and La Pedrera (two wavy buildings which started off as residential apartment blocks)
Stroll around the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic) where you'll also find Barcelona's beautiful Gothic cathedral
Visit Parc de Montjüic - big urban park with fortress topped hill that can be reached by cable car. The park also contains the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya - MNAC (showcasing Catalan art up to the 1940s), Fundació Joan Miró (museum founded by the artist himself), Olympic stadium (1992 games) and the popular magic fountain
Visit Camp Nou - the largest football stadium in Europe and home to FC Barcelona
Sun yourself on Barcelona's 5km of sandy beaches
Station stroll ideas
Tourist info in Barcelona have published a series of themed walks which you can get here. They have also been busy bees creating a series of apps for your mobile device to help guide yourself around the city.
For my part, I've taken a couple of strolls from Barcelona Sants which you can also look at here.
2km leg-stretch to Arenas de Barcelona - shops and great views, with 2km optional extension to Montjüic park
10km walk across Barcelona's Eixample ('Expansion District') via Modernist works by Gaudí and Josep Puig i Cadafalch, finishing at the Sagrada Familia and exploring the Catalan concepts of seny and rauxa on the way. (Walk can be reduced to 5km if you take the Metro back).
Guided tours
If you would like a guided tour then you can find out more here.
Luggage
If you want to stroll without a care in the world, including your luggage, you could try using the nannybag app to find a place that will take your bags.
Getting there
Taking the high speed trains, you can travel directly from Paris in around 6 1⁄2 hours (4 hours from Avignon / 3 1⁄2 hours from Nimes).
It's also about 2 1⁄2 hours from Madrid.
However, you could take the slower regional trains and see some other interesting places en-route. Trains from Portbou on the French border take just over two hours.
Useful links
Tourist office: https://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/en/
UNESCO - work of Antoni Gaudí: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/320