Top Rated Attractions in Barcelona

This street stretches from Las Ramblas to Plaça de la Catedral. One of the gates to the city of Barcelona was built here. The street is a wonderful mélange of people buying, looking, walking, talking, and generally living life. It is one of the most popular streets for shopping. There are a lot of cafés and milk bars, especially in the Petritxol Street beside Portaferrissa where one can have a hot chocolate and rest a while after shopping. What a charming area!

Casa Felip is an early 20th-Century decorative-art building that is a striking example of modernist art. This building was the home of Manel Felip and features beautiful stained-glass windows, elegant mosaics, ornamental sculptures, and most of the original furniture. Guided tours of the building lend an insightful look into the life and times of the rich and influential in the early 1900's.

Museu del Perfum is located in one of the downtown shops of the Regia Perfumeries chain, in a building in Passeig de Gràcia. The collection includes almost 5000 perfumes and aromas from different cultures and civilizations, dating from Ancient Egypt up to the present day. It was created with objects related to the perfume industry that the owners of this shop collected over the years. Their collection of china perfume bottles from the 18th and 19th Centuries is noteworthy. Among other interesting items, they display limited editions, such as a bottle designed by Dalí. In short, visiting this museum is like going on a trip to a world of aromatic sensations without the travel expense!

The Església de Betlem, or Church of Bethlehem, is a Baroque Catholic Church located right on Barcelona's famous Las Ramblas. Constructed between the years 1680 and 1729, it was founded as a Jesuit church until their expulsion from Spain in the 1767. Fitting to its namesake city, the facade of the church features a nativity scene. Unfortunately, the church's ornate interiors were destroyed by fire during the Spanish Civil War, but during the Christmas season it displays delightful Nativity scenes.

Set inside an old textile factory from the 19th Century, Ici et Là is one of the best stops in Barcelona for unique, artisanal objects to beautify your house. Opened in 1995, this gallery and showroom is elegantly decked with limited editions, singular pieces and decorative items that are hard to find anywhere else. Showcasing Barcelonian designers, you will find their range of paintings, light fixtures and furniture very appealing. Since these are handmade, the prices are also steep, but the quality and craftsmanship is worth it.

Part of the Illa de la Discòrdia, or Block of Discord, Lluís Domènech i Muntaner's design displays a spectacular use of mosaic, as well as stained-glass windows by Lluís Rigalt and sculptures by Eusebi Arnau. These decorative elements reflect Hellenistic, Gothic, and Renaissance influences, especially the stained-glass windows. Built between 1902 and 1906, the landmark stands in the same residential block as two other outstanding modernist buildings created by different architects in hugely different styles, hence the collective name: Block of Discord. Guided tours are available though tickets must be purchased online as they do not sell tickets at the house.