Barcelona tips

Park Güell, a public park system in the district of Gracia, Barcelona, is spread over 17 hectares of hilly land and welcomes approximately nine million visitors annually. Originally designed by Antoni Gaudí as a residential estate, the failed housing project became a municipal park in 1926 and a World Heritage site in 1984. Within the park, every path you tread, bench you rest on, and vista you admire are a testament to Gaudí’s architectural brilliance. Whether you’re an art enthusiast or not, Park Güell deserves a spot on your travel itinerary of Barcelona. Because of its popularity, the attraction can be extremely busy, especially in the summer months. On all days of the week, between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM, you’ll be jostling for a view. One way around this is to stay close by in a Park Güell Airbnb and visit first thing in the morning or at sunset. The vacation rentals below are in or around the Gracia area and have rave reviews, outdoor spaces, and beautiful decor to complement the experience of visiting one of the world’s most colorful parks.

Every year, more than 20 million passengers take a cruise. 

Barcelona is closing its city centre to cruise ships.

A cruise ship holiday is the height of luxury; a time to sit back and have all your needs and travel yearnings met on one giant vessel.

After a summer of travel plagued by extreme heat, disruption and unpredictable weather, many of us are looking to holiday outside of the peak season.

Anthony Bourdain was a prolific chef, author, and TV personality who changed the world of travel and food. Today, five years after he committed suicide, there still hasn’t been anyone able to take his place in the culture, though many have tried. Throughout his career, Bourdain’s work emphasized cultural exchange, open-mindedness, and deep respect for the people he encountered in his travels in a way unlike any other, using food to bridge cultural gaps and explore the shared human experience.

If there’s one site you cannot pass on while visiting Barcelona, it’s La Sagrada Família. The immense basilica is famed architect Antoni Gaudí’s most celebrated creation and the most iconic edifice in a city filled with great architecture. Taking a guided tour of this UNESCO World heritage site is a no-brainer, but you can do much better than a quick visit if you want to admire the site. Booking a hotel near La Sagrada Família (maybe even a hotel with views of the basilica) will allow you to see Gaudí’s last and most cherished project again and again. After all, you can never get enough.

Scrawled across Barcelona’s opera house, along the city’s renowned La Rambla boulevard, is expletive-laden graffiti urging tourists to “go home”.

As pandemic travel restrictions began to ease in the spring of 2021, foreign tourists returning to Madrid discovered the city’s downtown had undergone a makeover.

Hey tourists — have you ever wandered into a shop to look around and take a picture? 

The most visited attraction in Barcelona, Park Güell gives La Sagrada Família, the most iconic building in the city, some stiff competition. Just like the extraordinary church, the park is one of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí’s marvellous creations, of which there are seven in Barcelona (all are UNESCO World Heritage sites). Now famous throughout the world for their extraordinary colors, pattern, shapes, and decorative elements, Gaudí’s works can easily be visited, including Park Güell where you can spend hours roaming the beautiful 30 acres.

Spain’s two biggest cities have long had a friendly rivalry – and it goes far beyond football. Madrid is, of course, Spain’s capital city and as well as being more or less geographically at the centre of the country, it is also the centre politically, economically and culturally – as well as the home of the Spanish monarchy.

Solo travel can be one of the most rewarding ways to explore the world. Whether you'd rather spend it on a desert island or in a frenetic new city, here's our pick of some of the best places to travel alone.

From the gorgeous coastline and buzzing cities to delectable food and delicious wines, there's plenty to see and do in Spain. Before we get stuck into the full list, here are 25 things you shouldn't miss.

Barcelona – Spain’s second city – sets the template for urban style, hip design and sheer non-stop energy. Where others tinker at the edges, time and again Barcelona has reinvented itself. And as you'd expect for somewhere this vibrant, there's plenty of choice when deciding where to stay in Barcelona.

Thanks to its ample coastline there are hundreds of incredible beaches in Spain. With so many options, choosing where to go can often be a troublesome decision. To save you the pain of searching for your perfect stretch of sand, here’s our round-up of the best beaches in Spain.

City breaks can be hard to plan. You want it all – art, culture, quirky hotels, top restaurants – but also the chance to relax. Fortunately, there are enough cities in Europe where you can find it all. These city breaks in Europe don’t skimp on urban culture, and have nature on their doorstep for when you need a breath of fresh air.