If you have decided to go to Barcelona for the weekend, you have just 2 days to experience everything it has to offer. It sounds like mission impossible but it can be done with the help of this guide and a good tourist map.

Day 1 

09:00  Starting at Plaça de Catalunya head down La Rambla taking in the stalls and street performers.  If you are broad-minded the Museu de l’Erotica is worth a visit if only for the “cringe factor”.

11:00  Plaça Reial is a melting pot of people and activities with Gaudi lamp posts either side of the fountain adding to the atmosphere.

11:30  You can walk through Plaça Sant Jaume to reach The Barri Gotic quarter but the narrow streets are worth exploring to see the royal palace in Plaça del Rei, once home to Queen Isobel and King Ferdinand, the financiers for Christopher Colombus’ voyage to the new world.  The most impressive building here is of course the Cathedral.

14:00  break for lunch in one of the many café’s surrounding the Cathedral square.

15:00  Going back onto La Rambla continue down towards the port.  Columbus’s column is situated at the end of La Rambla and for a few euros you can take a lift to the top for some pleasant views of the city.

16:00  Take the Metro to Sagrada Familia.  Perhaps the most impressive and certainly the most visited of Gaudi’s works.  Relying totally on public donation the project has followed a rather stop/start pattern. Begun in 1882 this was his most ambitious project.  He devoted himself entirely to overseeing the work, moving into the crypt beneath the nave and rarely leaving the site until his death.

18:00  By now you will be feeling a little jaded and need to refuel in one of the many excellent restaurants available in this area. 

After hours   One of the best things to see by night in Barcelona is the Magic Fountain of Montjuic. From 8pm until midnight Thursday to Sunday the fountains perform a display of light, colour and music attracting hundreds of spectators. The fountains run on reduced hours in the winter, Fridays and Saturdays only, between 7pm and 9pm.

Day 2 

09:00  Today is the day to get better acquainted with Antoni Gaudi, the modernist architect responsible for some very unique buildings in and around Barcelona. His inspiration came from nature, causing some considerable criticism during his lifetime as some felt his attempts to recreate natural forms was tantamount to mimicking God.  The first building to examine is the Casa Batllò on Passeig de Gracia. The house is a representation of St George and the dragon, with thousands of ceramic tiles decorating the façade like scales.

10:00  Casa Mila, also known as La Pedrera - the rock quarry stands opposite Casa Batllò on the corner of Passeig de Gracia and Carrer de Provença, the façade imitating sand dunes with a wind blown effect, the rock curving and undulating around the windows. Both buildings are open to the public with Casa Mila home to a gallery and also offering tours of the building and roof.

11:30  From La Pedrera catch the bus to the beautiful Parc Guell.  Originally intended to be a private housing development for the wealthy it had to be abandoned as the houses did not sell and it subsequently became a public park. 

14:00  Time for a light lunch before taking the Metro down to the waterfront area. From here you can either make your way to the Museu Picasso or up to the Arc de Triomf, Parc de la Cuitadella and the small zoo.

17:00  Make your way along the waterfront to the cable car that runs over the port and up to Montjuic where you can visit the Fundaciò Joan Mirò modern art collection and the lively Poble Espanyol full of shops and restaurants.

Evening  Your final evening should be spent back on La Rambla.  Most of the popular restaurants won’t open their doors until 8pm but the queues start from about 7.30pm onwards.

Barcelona is a vibrant and lively city and 48 hours hardly does it justice there will always be more to see and do but perhaps this will give you an excuse to return.