Ultimate Barcelona: Gaudí, Food & Local Secrets

As an Anglo-Spanish company, we have been inextricably linked to Spain since our beginnings in the 1990s. Therefore, it was with great pride that in 2023 Pura Aventura was handselected by TourSpain - the UK's official Spanish tourist board - to form a partnership based around promoting sustainable travel.

The trip you see before you bears the fruits of this collaboration. In doing so we are able to pair our love of Catalonia and 25 years' experience of travelling in the region, with the first-hand knowledge and connections of both the official Spanish and Catalan Tourist Offices.

Simply put, the result is a trip you cannot find elsewhere. You can put the mountain of guidebooks away and instead let us do all the thinking and all the logistics, giving you a week of travel that blends Barcelona's famous sights with the kinds of local experiences which only a true specialist can deliver.

This is a private trip to Barcelona, with mainly private transfers and tours. The Gaudí night visit and Montserrat day will be shared with other visitors, but we promise they won't bite.

Barcelona is a year-round destination. It'll be hot, hot, hot in the summer months, cool and crisp in the winter, but it's not a city which ever really packs up in the way that some others do. Here's an overview of what to expect, with the usual caveat of historic weather patterns becoming less helpful/consistent in a changing climate:

Spring (April through June) and autumn/fall (September through November) can be lovely times to visit. Days tend to start fairly cool, warming up in the afternoon before settling back down again in the evenings. It's all very comfortable. If you want to swim, stick closer to the summer months. Rainfall is technically highest in May and October, but Catalonia has experienced some of its worst droughts in living memory recently. Things are getting drier, and warmer. So if it does rain on you, spare a thought for those tending vines and orchards in the hills around the city! Temperatures hover around 18-24°C (64-75°F).

Summer (July through early September) will be the busiest and hottest time of the year. We tend to advise you steer clear of these months where you can, though we understand that's not always possible. At this time of the year, we advise you to do your exploring early or later in the day. The sea is right there if you ever need to jump in, and also helps to keep things a little cooler than inland Catalonia. Temperatures are generally 25-30°C (77-86°F), rainfall is low and days are loooong.

We love coming to Barcelona in the winter months (late November through March). You can get consecutive days of blue skies, comfortable temperatures and some lovely late afternoon light at this time of the year. The city draws breath and feels quieter, not exactly quiet but certainly calmer. Sunset is between 17:30 and 19:30, the chance of rainfall is historically around 10% each day and temperatures range from 10-15°C (50-60°F).

Barcelona has a lot of very good hotels, but location is very important for your time here. The hotels we use are all within a short walk of a well-connected Metro stop, as well as a choice of good restaurants and close to the heart of the city. We look for quiet, comfy rooms, good service and a bit of personality. We like some luxury touches, but not necessarily luxury for the sake of luxury.

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The simplest way is to fly into and out of Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN). Be careful though as some airlines take you to Reús (Gaudí's hometown, incidentally) and call it Barcelona. It's not, it's 100km down the coast. If you do need to fly there though, let us know and we can make arrangements.

But we'd also love you to consider travelling either one or both ways by train. From London St Pancras you can be in Paris within a couple of hours, and from there it's a six-hour ride through the French countryside and across the Pyrenees to reach Barcelona. Whilst it can be done in a day in either direction, we find it nicer to stay a night or two in Paris if you can, and we work with a lovely hotel right by the Gare de Lyon station to make life easy.

Trip suggestion: Ultimate Barcelona with Paris by Train

One thing you could think about is flying one way and doing the train in the other direction. It's always lovely setting off on a journey by train, but coming back by rail means you can stock up on wine and olive oil whilst you're in Catalonia without worrying about extortionate excess baggage fees!

If you'd like to know more or discuss ideas, just let us know.

As part of your trip you'll have your own travel app which is packed with background information, useful tips, sightseeing advice and personal recommendations from us and our team. This will help you plan your days, from your hotel's front door and back again. We'll give you everything you need for the week, including using the Metro (it's really easy) and how to explore each part of the city. If something happens, you also have a 24/7 emergency contact for us.

Like all great cities, be it London, New York, Hong Kong or Paris, you're going to share it with a lot of visitors. It's part of the fun, frankly.

Tourism can range from being a powerful force for good to being a a bit of a nuisance, and it's no different in Barcelona.

The city has generated headlines in recent years for its struggles with overtourism. This relates to some very specific instances, such as popular sights getting very busy at peak times, cruise ships depositing large quantities of people who spend relatively little time or money in the city and outsiders buying up apartments to let to tourists, driving up house and rental costs. In the last year or two, the local authorities have taken positive steps to address these issues. In the latter case, digital nomads are actually becoming a greater problem than tourist lets.

As we've mentioned, we work closely with the official Spain and Catalonia tourist teams in the UK. We share a vision of positive tourism, where visitors stay for longer, explore more locally and go off the beaten track to experience Barcelona's different neighbourhoods. That's a win for the city, and it's also a win for you.

Yes there will be large tour groups in the old town and you'll never have the main Gaudí sights to yourself, but that's ok. There's always an interesting shop hidden down a quiet backstreet, or a modernist jewel in one of the quieter barrios. There's always green spaces to relax in, seafront strolls as the city wakes up and neighbourhood hangouts as it goes to sleep again. Embrace everything that comes with your travels and know that you're here doing some good.

No, though you'll find that Catalan is actually the lingua franca in these parts. This being a city, this being Barcelona, you'll be just fine. The only time you might struggle is if you go to a proper neighbourhood restaurant away from the tourist centre (there's a good one by Sants station). The language might be in Catalan only, though everyone speaks Spanish so if you've got some of that, this would be the time to use it. Aside from that, no te preocupes - you'll be fine.

This is a trip which rewards you getting out and about to explore the city on foot, and the occasional eBike. Naturally, there are ways for you to dial this up and down as you go though.

We don't pack your days too tightly. Let's say have a self-guided walking tour that typically takes 3-4 hours to complete. Well that could very easily be stretched over a whole day if you stop for coffee and lunch, and pop into a museum, art gallery or some interesting shops. There's really no need to ever rush.

Equally, you don't have to do what we tell you. Yes the old town audio tour is a lot of fun and shares some great stories, but if you just want to sit and chill by the beach or a shower sets in outside, then you simply skip it or leave it for another day. There's a lot of flex built in, with time for you to adapt things.

The only fixed elements are the guided tours. The eBike excursion is designed for everyone. As long as you can ride a bike in a straight line, you'll be fine. Having a private guide means you can adapt things to you, so if you want to cover less ground and spend more time in one specific area, that's usually just fine.

In Montserrat, we encourage you to do a bit of a walk by riding the funicular up above the abbey. There's a simple circuit that anyone can do, reaching the smaller chapels and opening up views over the plains and limestone peaks. There's also a more adventurous option that involves a bit of clambering and ducking, but that's not for everyone. You'll have great views whichever direction you wander in.

We can adapt things to a certain level, such as taking out or adding a night, or adding time elsewhere in Catalonia.

The city has winegrowing areas to the west and the lovely beaches of the Costa Brava to the east, plus by using the high-speed train network, it's also easy to add time in cities such as Madrid, Seville, Girona or Paris (as mentioned above) to either end of the trip.

That's the idea, yes. Barcelona is a great city with some truly wonderful, world-famous monuments and galleries. But it's actually quite easy to leave without getting a real feel for the city and the people who call it home. We won't let that happen. As well as the time you spend with your guides, you'll also have lots of recommendations for interesting independent shops, bars and restaurants and if you're an adventurous sort then do have a go at speaking in Spanish. Although Catalan is the dominant language, they'll always dust off their Castilian to chat with anyone cultured enough to have a go!