See Barcelona With Someone Who Knows It

Gothic Quarter Walking Tour

Two hours through the cathedral, the Chapel of Santa Agata and Placa de Sant Felip Neri, meeting beside the cathedral at Pla de la Seu. English-language guests also get free entry to the Museu Frederic Mares afterwards. Around 28 euro per person; free cancellation up to 24 hours.

Travelling as a family? A private version works out cheaper for four

Tapas and Wine, Small Group

Three or four stops through the Gothic Quarter and El Born, wine at every one, finishing at Santa Maria del Mar. Enough food to replace dinner. Maximum fourteen people; about three hours, midday or evening. Around 73 euro per person.

Sagrada Familia, Guided and Skip-the-Line

An official guide, radio headsets and a fast-track ticket, about 1h45, maximum fifteen people. Around 63 euro per person. Worth the guide here more than anywhere else in the city - the building is unreadable without one.

Remember: tower tickets go up the Nativity or Passion towers. The new central tower's viewing platform is not expected until the end of 2027.

Montserrat Day Trip

About seven hours, small group, guided, leaving at 08:00 from Placa Espanya, with free time at the monastery. Around 53 euro per person; funiculars and lunch are extra.

Flamenco at Palau Dalmases

Nobody in Barcelona will pretend flamenco is Catalan - it is Andalusian, and it arrived here with twentieth-century migration. But the city has hosted serious flamenco artists for three generations. This one is a singer, a guitarist and two dancers in the courtyard of a seventeenth-century Baroque palace in El Born; 50 minutes, around 32 euro, shows at 17:30, 18:45, 20:00 and 21:15.

For something actually Catalan and free: the sardana is danced outside the cathedral on Sunday mornings.