So you have 24 hours or less in Barcelona. What are you going to do with it?
Allow me to make my 3 recommendations.
If you have even the slightest appreciation for architecture or religion, Sagrada Familia is a must see. The church was designed by famous Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi and is amazingly still under construction over 130 years after its start! While there you can pay extra for an option to take stairs all the way to the top. If you aren’t claustrophobic or too afraid of heights I 100% recommend doing this. While it’s a little tiring, the view at the top is amazing and allows you to see the full city (especially great if you don’t have much time to explore other areas).
*Note- I arrived at the church wearing shorts and was told I needed to be wearing something more modest. While I myself am religious and appreciate being reverent in holy spaces, I was irritated that this wasn’t widely advertised or upheld equally — I could see many other women and men walking around inside the church in shorter shorts (it was the summer and extremely hot out). I half believe part of this ruling is to make you purchase from some of the local vendors outside the church. Anyway, I went and bought a scarf from across the street to cover the top half of my legs with. In my opinion, God doesn’t care what I’m wearing as long as I’m a nice human…but alas I wasn’t going to fight this one.
2. Check out the local cuisine.
Barcelona has soooo many fantastic eateries. We just wandered the streets and chose one that looked to have yummy food and happy customers. We loved eating outside where we could watch the streets come alive at night with wine in hand! Sometimes you find the best places just wandering, but if you need some recommendations check out this article.
3. Visit Park Güell for an iconic view of the city.
Jet-lag and extreme heat prevented us from making it to this one, but if you want a gorgeous overlook of the city, this is your place. While I’ve heard it’s a bit of a walk, the scenery looks so worth it. You can also often stop here as part of a larger Barcelona tour. Most of the park is free to access, though if you want to see more of Gaudi’s work, you’ll need to pay for access to that section (I’d recommend getting a ticket in advance for that part due to limited capacity).
Wonderful Roaming 