Barcelona is such a beautiful city at the Mediterranean Sea. It offers iconic buildings designed by Antoni Gaudí, the Gothic Quarter, multiple historic sites, a vibrant culture, beautiful beaches, and delicious local cuisine. And of course, it has incredible spots for panoramic views. In this blog post I will share the top locations for the best views of Barcelona. This post contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase I may get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Find out more here.
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- Flights
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- Activities, tours, and day trips
Park Güell
Parc Güell is probably my favorite park I’ve ever been to. There is so much green space. Plus, you get to enjoy Gaudi’s architecture and you get some incredible views of Barcelona since the park is on a hill.
The plaza that offers these great views is also the perfect spot to take pictures.
The park is a popular spot, so to avoid overcrowding, you need to buy a ticket before you visit. It’s so worth it though! This park is the perfect place for a stroll. It’s so beautiful that it feels magical. You should spend a few hours here to be able to explore everything.
Montjuïc cable car
I feel like Montjuïc is Barcelona’s hidden gem. Seriously. It’s still an off the beaten track attraction. Everyone goes to Las Ramblas and very few people come here. Not sure why it’s not more popular.
You can take the Montjuic cable car here that takes you up Montjuïc Hill. This is one of the best viewpoints in Barcelona!
And since there aren’t a lot of people visiting, you can get an entire car for yourself. How cool is that?
The cable car takes you all the way up to Montjuïc Castle. On the way down there is an optional stop at Mirador de l’Alcalde for more incredible views.
Montjuïc Castle
Montjuïc Castle is a military fortress that was built in the 1600’s on the Hill of Montjuïc. There are plenty of rooms with exhibits on the ground floor of the castle.
However, the coolest thing about it is the rooftop terrace. It’s an enormous terrace with spectacular views of Barcelona. There are also a few benches where you can sit down and enjoy the view. It’s such a great place if you like panoramic views of a city. It’s also a great spot to take some pictures.
Tibidabo amusement park
This is one of the oldest amusement parks in the world. It is located on Mount Tibidabo and it has a panoramic area that offers some of the best views of Barcelona. Tibidabo Hill is also the highest point in the city.
The Tibidabo Panoramic Area is open every day from March 4 to January 5 (except December 25 and 26 and January 1 and 6).
It’s one of the best places to see the whole city from 500m above sea level, especially on clear days. It’s a very unique view!
Rooftop terrace of La Pedrera (Casa Milà)
The architecture of Antoni Gaudi is a symbol of Barcelona. The most well-known buildings designed by him are La Sagrada Familia, Casa Battlo, La Pedrera (or Casa Mila), and Park Guell. It’s really hard to pick a favorite because all of them are so beautiful and unique in their own way.
La Pedrera offers a sunrise tour at 8am, 1 hour before it opens for regular visitors. I think you should take advantage of this since you’ll be able to explore the place with a guide and no crowds.
My group had only about 10 people, so it’s really not crowded at all at that time. They offer this sunrise tour in English, Japanese, Korean and Chinese.
If you like taking instagrammable pictures, know that during this tour you will have about 15-20 minutes on the rooftop so you can take all the pictures and videos you want. With no people! This rooftop offers an incredible view of Barcelona, so I highly recommend you book the sunrise tour to be able to properly enjoy.
If waking up early is not your thing, though, you can opt for a regular visit. While the difference in ticket prices for the two options is not that big, ticket prices for the main attractions in Barcelona are steep. Around 30 euros or more. I was surprised when I saw these prices. Barcelona is definitely one of the most expensive destinations in Europe when it comes to entrance fees for attractions.
Rooftop terrace of Casa Batlló
Casa Batlló is another house designed by Gaudi in the heart of Barcelona. In my opinion, this one is more beautiful than La Pedrera as it’s more colorful and it has such a unique facade and stained glass windows.
If it’s your first time in Barcelona you should definitely go see this house. The house has a rooftop terrace where you can enjoy a beautiful view of Barcelona.
FAQs about Barcelona
Where should I stay in Barcelona?
Mid-budget hotels
Barcelona has plenty of hotel options in central locations for a decent price. Here are some of my favorites: Hotel NH Collection Barcelona Gran Hotel Calderón, HG City Suites Barcelona, Hotel Duquesa de Cardona Barcelona.
Luxury hotels
If you have a higher budget and are seeking a more luxurious option, then Mandarin Oriental, El Palauet Barcelona, or The Barcelona EDITION are all great options.
Hostels
Unfortunately, I am not the right person to recommend you any hostels. I am in my 30s and I value comfort, so I will always choose to stay at a hotel vs a hostel. I can see how a hostel is a great option for younger people, but I’m at a different stage in life, so I prefer hotels.
Airbnb
I also tend to pick hotels over Airbnbs because I feel like it’s less of a risk and it’s a more reliable option. One time when I visited Miami with my friends we booked an Airbnb that looked great in pictures but looked really bad in reality. We ended up going to a hotel instead. After that experience I tend to avoid Airbnbs altogether.
How can I get around Barcelona?
Barcelona is a very walkable city and it has a great subway system with stations near all major attractions in case your hotel is further away from the city center. There are a few ticket options for public transportation
Single tickets
These are tickets that are valid for one trip. If you won’t travel a lot by metro or bus, they can be a great option. Otherwise, it makes more sense to go with a T Casual pass.
T Casual
This is a pass that’s valid for 10 trips on any metro, bus, and the airport train. It’s a great option if you are in Barcelona for a few days and will use public transportation a few times.
Hola Barcelona Travel Card
This is a card that can be valid for 2, 3, 4 or 5 days. It offers unlimited trips on public transportation, including the metro to and from the airport. It’s perfect if you know you’ll use public transportation a lot during your trip.
Do I need to book tickets for attractions in advance?
I highly recommend you book all the tickets online in advance of your trip. Barcelona is a very popular destination so it’s very likely that tickets will sell out. Especially if you visit during the summer months. Booking in advance will give you peace of mind.
How to get cell phone data when visiting from abroad?
The cheapest and most convenient way to get data while visiting from abroad is to buy an eSIM. An eSIM is a digital SIM that lets you activate a data plan from a provider without having to use a physical SIM card. They are super easy to use.
I use Nomad eSIM (use code IOAN43TM for 25% off your first purchase). You can go to their website, select the country you’re traveling to, select how many GB of data you want, and how many days you want the eSIM to be active for. After you pay you will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to activate the eSIM.
You can activate it on your phone and the process takes under 1 minute. Once the eSIM is activated you don’t have to do anything else. When you’re at your destination you will automatically get data.
Is Barcelona safe for a solo female traveler?
I saw so many posts on social media about Barcelona being full of pick pockets. On top of that, everyone I met in Barcelona on my first day there warned me to always keep an eye out on my cell phone as there are a lot of thieves and they operate so smoothly that you can’t even tell you are being robbed.
Suffice to say I was a little scared. However, I never had any problems in Barcelona. I took the subway, I visited all the popular spots, and I took pictures and videos with my phone and tripod and nothing happened. I also didn’t see any pickpockets or people getting robbed.
Maybe I was just lucky. Maybe the situation is a bit exaggerated. I don’t know what to say. I think that as long as you’re on high alert, as you should be anytime you travel solo, you’ll be fine.
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Ioana was born and raised in Romania, lived in NYC for 14 years, and is now back in Romania. She fell in love with traveling when she was little and used to visit her aunt in Vienna. Then in high school she was able to visit Siberia, Turkmenistan, Istanbul, and Tokyo through chemistry competitions. As an adult she started to travel solo once she turned 30 and visited 20+ countries so far. Ioana is a full time travel blogger and content creator with an audience of 75K+ people on Instagram. She loves to share travel recommendations and tips.