Things to do in The Gothic Quarter Barcelona

By Dom Bewley
Published: July 18, 2024
gothic quarter

Vacationing in Barcelona this year? Why not sample the cultural delights of the city's Gothic Quarter? There are so many things to do in Barcelona's older areas, so get reading and get picking! Here's our guide to the best things to do in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona.

Including:

  • Check out the Cathedral
  • Take a walking tour of the area
  • A taste of the Jewish Quarter
  • Eating out
  • Watering holes
  • and more!
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Cathedral de Barcelona

Let's kick off this historical and cultural extravaganza with one of Barcelona's most grandiose landmarks. Barcelona Cathedral, or 'Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia' to its friends, is a gothic cathedral that towers over the Gothic Quarter like some kind of cathedral.

Dedicated to one of the two patron saints of Barcelona, Eulalia of Barcelona, who it's said became a martyr during the Roman occupation of the city. Both outside and in, it's hard to deny its beauty.

After you've admired all that Middle Ages architecture, you can head to the top of the cloister for some of the best views in the city. Just make sure you're on your best behavior when you visit. As one of Catalonia's most sacred places, any hijinks will be heavily frowned upon. Oh, and dress appropriately. God doesn't like skin on show, it seems.

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Gothic Quarter Walking Tour

If you want to get your bearings, explore the Gothic Quarter, and learn all about its history, why not take a guided tour? With over 2000 years of history dripping from each corner of the neighborhood, you'll need a well-versed guide to make the most of it!

Learn about the Plaza del Rey and its Palace of Viceroy, as well as the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Mar.

Walk up the bustling Ramblas and sample the Catalan delicacies within the famous Boqueria Market. We recommend tucking into some cured Iberian ham, paired with a refreshing glass of cava. But really, all of the market's offerings are available to you, so pick what you please. Not only will this tour give you the lay of the land, but you'll pass plenty of hidden bars and local restaurants you can go back to once the tour's concluded. Easily one of the best things to do in The Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, especially for newbies!

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Old Jewish Quarter Experience

The Jewish have a rich history in Barcelona, dating back hundreds of years. In fact, there's a neighborhood of the city named after them. Why not take your exploration of the past into the future with a 3D Virtual Reality Tour of the Old Jewish Quarter?

Head to the "Call Barcelona Shop" and take a trip back to the Golden Age. Exchange your voucher at the meeting point to visit the Major Synagogue, the oldest one in Spain, and learn about its history. Then, use the self-guided map to explore the Jewish Quarter's most remarkable sites.

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Plaça Sant Felip Neri

As with many locales, some of the best cultural landmarks can be found off the beaten path. So take the road less traveled by tourists, and visit Plaça Sant Felip Neri. It's a residential square that may seem pretty eventless but, in fact, is quite the opposite.

During the Second World War, a bomb detonated in the Plaça Sant Felip Neri, killing 42 people, most of whom were children. In fact, you can still see the shrapnel damage present at the bottom of the nearby church's walls.

Nowadays, this cozy area has a fountain, school, and a hotel with an upmarket restaurant inside. How things have changed.

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Plaça de la Generalitat

While you're in the area, why not check out the beating heart of Barcelona's political scene? At the Plaça de la Generalitat, you'll find Barcelona's City Hall, as well as the Catalan government palace.

On Sundays, you can even venture into City Hall and explore it for yourself. And, if you're lucky, you may catch a group dance performance or other types of street performers in the big square in front of the building.

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Grab a bite to eat

If all that exploring has given you hunger prangs, then you're in luck. Barcelona's Gothic Quarter has some fantastic restaurants to discover.

At L'Antic Bocoi del Gòtic, you can chow down on delicious authentic Catalan dishes made with locally-sourced produce from the nearby markets. Sitting down to eat within its stone walls is quite the delight.

Or, if you're in the market for Tapas, head to Gourmet Sensi. With a wide variety of tapas dishes featuring meat, fish, or vegan options, as well as the welcoming, English-speaking staff, it's a great place to sit for a bite to eat if you don't want to embarrass yourself with your broken Spanglish.

Alternatively, if you'd rather go meat-free, check out La Cereria. Tucked away off the beaten path, you'll find a world of vegetarian and vegan delights waiting to be sampled, all surrounded by the quirky decor and a brilliant drinks menu.

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And get a drink while you're at it!

And if you want a nightcap to put a bow on the evening, or simply want to explore the Gothic Quarter's brilliant bar scene, check out our recommendations below!

If you're in the mood for a snug, romantic cocktail bar, check out Sub Rosa. This cozy joint has fashionable red lighting, a Mediterranean take on speakeasy decor, and a host of well-made cocktails to choose from.

If you want something a little bigger, louder, and less refined, go visit Bar Manchester. This British-themed bar has a whole host of cheap beers on draft, happy hour deals, and a playlist of 80s and 90s British indie rock on rotation.

And finally, if you like a little entertainment with your drinks, head to Craft Barcelona. Along with bar snacks and a burgeoning beer menu, you can also sit down and enjoy live music from local artists, as well as the occasional comedy show if you fancy a tickle.

And that's our guide to the best things to do in The Gothic Quarter of Barcelona!

Dom Bewley
Go City Travel Expert

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Various busts on display at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
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Best Art Galleries in Barcelona

Barcelona’s cultural wealth would be nothing if not for its many celebrated artists and artistic movements. Famous for its rich diversity of architecture and its output of such renowned figures as Antoni Gaudí, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró, the Catalan capital is brimming with fantastic examples of creative expression. To honor and preserve the works of its famous artists, Barcelona is full of museums and art galleries exploring their art, inspirations and lives in great detail. While it may be tricky to keep count of the city’s many cultural hubs, we’ve put together this directory of some of the best art galleries in Barcelona for you to mix into your itinerary. Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) Housed within the impressive halls of the Palau Nacional in Montjuïc, the MNAC boasts a collection of a thousand years of visual art from throughout the Catalonia region. Standing as the largest and most significant museum in Barcelona, the MNAC features the world’s largest collection of Roman frescoes and the most important collection of Catalan art. Exhibitions cover various different forms and eras of artistic expression, from religious art to civil war propaganda. It also offers an insight into the evolution of art movements throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as neoclassicism makes way for realism and the region’s celebrated art nouveau movement of modernism. Museu Picasso Spread across five Gothic palaces within the popular Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, the Museu Picasso is home to one of the world’s most complete collections of Pablo Picasso’s works. The museum prides itself on providing a key insight into the artist’s early life and career, having spent his formative years studying in Barcelona. With a collection of more than 4,000 pieces donated by various aristocrats, other Barcelona museums and Picasso himself, exhibitions vary throughout the year to explore different aspects of the painter’s life, inspirations and art style. Fundació Joan Miró Dedicated to the celebrated Catalan artist Joan Miró, this modern art museum was established by Miró himself in 1975. Widely considered one of Barcelona’s most influential artists, with examples of his art visible throughout the city today, Miró donated the majority of his works to the Fundació in the spirit of making art publicly available. Now one of the most significant attractions atop Montjuïc, the Fundació is home to over 10,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, carpets and other such pieces. The museum serves to honor the life and art of both Miró and other comparable modern artists, such as Joan Prats, Kazumasa Katsutas and Miró’s own wife, Pilar Juncosa. Museu d'Art Contemporani (MACBA) Situated in Plaça dels Àngels in the Raval district of Barcelona, the MACBA serves as both a contemporary art gallery and a statement to the cultural and political importance of artistic expression. Initially established in 1959 by art critic Alexandre Cirici Pellicer, one of the museum’s earliest exhibitions, ‘Art and Peace’, was set up in 1963 in indirect protest of the Franco dictatorship. While this political provocation brought a brief end to the organization, the project was revived in 1985 by the then Minister of Culture of Catalonia. It wouldn’t be until 1995, however, that the gallery was officially opened to the public, after decades of changes in political policies and ownership. With a primary focus on the latter half of the twentieth century, the MACBA showcases contemporary art in its many forms and from various different prominent names. Exhibitions change every three to six months to showcase different painters, sculptors, filmmakers and other contemporary artists, along with various events, conferences and workshops to complement them. CaixaForum Opened in 2002 in the restored Casa Casarramona clothing factory at the foot of Montjuïc, CaixaForum is considered to house one of the most important collections of contemporary art in Europe. The museum is owned and sponsored by the Caixa banking foundation, and serves as their proprietary social and cultural center. Originally constructed by celebrated Catalan architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch, the building itself stands as a monument to the Catalan Art Nouveau movement of Modernism. Caixa’s acquisition of the site allowed for its restoration and extension, preserving its original style while also incorporating more modern stylistic features. Over 800 permanent exhibits showcase the works of prominent contemporary artists such as Anish Kapoor and Tony Cragg, while an additional three rooms house temporary exhibitions throughout the year. Previous exhibitions have explored the works of Salvador Dalí and various specific aspects of the contemporary art world as a whole. Museu del Modernisme de Català Perhaps the most famous art movement to come out of Barcelona, and indeed Catalonia as a whole, is the Catalan Art Nouveau movement known as Modernism. Perpetuated by such creative visionaries as celebrated architect Antoni Gaudí, the works of modernist artists can be found scattered throughout much of the city. The Museu del Modernisme is located on Carrer de Balmes, close to the Universitat de Barcelona. In maintaining its character, the building itself was built in the modernist style in the early twentieth century, originally serving as a factory and residential complex. Featuring over 350 works by 42 artists of multiple different disciplines, it houses an impressive collection of paintings, sculptures, furniture and other artworks created in various forms of the modernist style. Museu Can Framis Established in 2009 within a former factory building in the hip Poblenou district, the Museu Can Framis is home to the contemporary art collection of the Fundació Vila Casas. The museum features some 300 works by artists born or residing in Catalonia from the 1960s onwards. Its photography exhibition is the only exception to this rule, showcasing the works of both local and international photographers. The museum hosts a series of temporary exhibitions throughout the year with a specific focus on individual artists. One exhibition per year is reserved for the Fundació Vila Casas open art competition, within which the winner has the opportunity to showcase their work. Centre d'Art Santa Mònica Built upon the former seventeenth-century Convent de Santa Mònica a little ways off La Rambla, the Centre d'Art Santa Mònica stands as a celebration of art as a whole. Its diverse exhibitions cover all artistic disciplines from design and photography to performing arts and music. The museum showcases various different traveling exhibitions, from artists both local and international. As such, its collection never remains the same, offering a wholly unique experience every few months. Its main focus is to provide an exploration of creative expression and innovation, whether through architecture, literature, design, gastronomy, music or any other artistic medium.
Robert Heaney
Paintings on display inside the Museo Picasso
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Best Museums in Barcelona

Barcelona is known the world over as a city brimming with history and culture. From its stunning architecture to its celebrated artists and its globally renowned cuisine to its impressive standing in the sports scene, the city makes sure to honor everything that makes up its unique character. Amongst its wealth of museums and exhibitions highlighting just about everything the city has to offer, there’s truly something for every type of visitor to enjoy. We’ve put together this directory of some of the best museums in Barcelona for you to add to your itinerary. Art & Design Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) Housed within the impressive halls of the Palau Nacional in Montjuïc, the MNAC boasts a collection of a thousand years of visual art from throughout the Catalonia region. Standing as the largest and most significant museum in Barcelona, the museum features the world’s largest collection of Roman frescoes and the most important collection of Catalan art. Exhibitions cover everything from religious art to civil war propaganda to the evolution of art history in Catalonia. Museu Picasso Located within the popular Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, the Museu Picasso is home to one of the world’s most complete collections of Pablo Picasso’s works. With a total of more than 4,000 pieces, exhibitions vary throughout the year to explore different aspects of the painter’s life, inspirations and art style. Fundació Joan Miró One of the most significant attractions atop Montjuïc, this museum honors the life and art of one of Spain’s most celebrated twentieth-century artists, Joan Miró. Home to a collection of over 10,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, carpets and other such pieces, the Fundació explores the work and life of both Joan Miró and comparable modern artists. Museu del Disseny Found on Plaça de les Glòries near the hip Poblenou neighborhood, the Museu del Disseny serves as Barcelona’s premier research center and museum for design, fashion and decorative arts. Housing over 70,000 items spanning across five centuries, the museum’s exhibits serve to bring attention specifically to individual Spanish and Catalan designers and their works. History Museu Marítim Barcelona’s Maritime Museum offers an exploration of the city’s naval history from the fifteenth century onwards. Based in the former shipyards of Drassane, the museum houses various to-scale reproductions and models of some of Barcelona’s most important historical vessels, alongside wooden submarines, simple fishing boats and racing boats. Museu d'Història de Catalunya Located on Port Vell, this museum offers an exploration of the history of the Catalonia region. Its permanent main exhibition covers everything as far back as the hunter-gatherer populations of the region to the age of the Romans to the more recent suppression of Catalan culture under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Temporary exhibitions held throughout the year also serve to explore specific elements of Catalan history and culture in greater detail. Museo de Historia de Barcelona (MUHBA) Comprising five different museums, the MUHBA allows visitors to discover over 2,000 years of Barcelona’s history. Exhibitions include everything from remnants of the original Roman city to an air raid shelter active during the Spanish Civil War. By exploring all of the museums in their order of choice, visitors can discover the evolution of Barcelona from its prehistoric origins to the modern metropolis we know today. Sports FC Barcelona Museum / Camp Nou Home to the globally celebrated Futbol Club Barcelona, one of the city’s top attractions is the team’s home stadium, Camp Nou. While the stadium isn’t in use, it serves as a monument to the team’s successes, both historical and ongoing. Visitors can take the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of soccer legends on a tour of the stadium grounds, broadcaster booths, press rooms and changing rooms. Once that’s done, they can then peruse the exhibition rooms detailing FC Barcelona’s most notable players, matches and victories throughout the years. Joan Antoni Samaranch Olympic and Sports Museum Perhaps the most significant catalyst for Barcelona becoming the tourism hotspot we know today was the 1992 Olympic Games hosted by the city. The Olympic and Sports Museum located on Montjuïc commemorates the momentous occasion with exhibitions exploring the history of the Olympic Games as well as that of other sporting events such as Formula 1 and the Tour de France. A portion of the museum is also dedicated to the private art collection of Joan Antoni Samaranch, after whom the museum was named. Having served for over two decades as chairman of the International Olympic Committee, his collection demonstrates the inherent interconnectedness of sports, art and culture. Miscellaneous Museu de la Xocolata While Barcelona may not be particularly renowned for its chocolate, that doesn’t stop its Chocolate Museum from serving as a shrine for everybody with a sweet tooth to worship. This culinary exhibition offers an insightful history of the sweet treat, along with hands-on workshops for all ages and displays of intricate chocolate models representing a number of the city’s top monuments. And if that isn’t enough to satisfy your hunger, the admission ticket is itself made from edible chocolate! Museo Erótico de Barcelona Barcelona’s Erotic Museum fits in very well among the city’s hedonistic appeal, serving as an homage to sexuality and eroticism in its various forms. The museum retraces the history of human intimacy throughout the ages, offering a refreshing exploration of a subject often still considered taboo. Far from the sleaze and lewdness you might expect of such an organization, the museum aims to shed light on human sexuality as a whole, in an engaging yet wholly informative manner.
Robert Heaney
Art at the Picasso Museum in Barcelona (Image credit: Museu Picasso)
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Museu Picasso vs Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya - (MNAC) Comparison

Barcelona has quite the pedigree when it comes to art. Not to put too fine a point on it, we’re talking about the self-same region that nurtured Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró. Heck, this part of Spain is about as central to the development of European art as just about anywhere else on the continent. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the city’s fine art museums, among which the extraordinary Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya and epic Museu Picasso are among the very best. We took a closer look at these two titans of the Barça art scene, including a little bit of history and the treasures you can expect to find within… Museu Picasso: The Lowdown Vital Statistics: Opened in 1963, Barcelona’s Museu Picasso was the world’s first museum dedicated entirely to the maestro’s work, and the only one to open in his lifetime. Even today, the museum’s collection of 4,000+ pieces, located in the very neighborhood where Picasso lived and studied as a teenager, makes it one of the three largest Picasso collections on the planet, alongside the Picasso Museum in Paris, and the mighty Prado in Madrid. The museum attracts over a million visitors annually. Picasso Museum in Brief: Picasso’s fledgling art career first took wing in the medieval streets of the medieval Gothic Quarter. Here’s where he lived with his family, studied at the School of Fine Arts, and found inspiration for his celebrated ‘Les Demoiselles d'Avignon’ at a Carrer d'Avinyó brothel. It’s appropriate then that this extensive collection of his work – and particularly his earlier, pre-Cubist work – should be exhibited here, close to the very neighborhood Picasso once called home. This is no ordinary museum either. Art of this quality deserves a setting just as impressive, and the series of five adjoining medieval palaces in Le Ribera, in which the collection is housed, more than delivers. The mind-boggling number of exhibits (some 4,251 at last count) is helpfully organized into sections that primarily cover Picasso’s early years, training period and celebrated Blue Period, taking in a fairly substantial hoard of sketches and paintings from those eras, as well as a much smaller collection of pieces from his Cubist period and beyond. Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya: The Lowdown Vital Statistics: A stalwart of the Barcelona art scene since 1934, MNAC is *the* go-to for anyone with even a passing interest in Catalan art from the last 1,000 years. Set high on Montjuïc hill, this majestic collection is displayed within the historic Palau Nacional, a jaw-dropping confection that marries elements of St Peter's Basilica, Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, and other major masterpieces of European architecture. Something of a work of art in its own right then, this palatial Italian-style confection also just happens to command some of the best Barcelona panoramas in town. No wonder then that it draws in a similar number of tourists to the Picasso Museum – around a million – every year. MNAC in Brief: Go for the art and stay for the sweeping city views: visitors to the museum enjoy access to the roof terrace for unrivaled panoramas of the skyline, taking in everything from the Montjuïc Magic Fountain below to the familiar lines and angles of the Sagrada Família, and the Mediterranean beyond. It’s worth taking a peek inside too, of course. For here’s where you can marvel at Romanesque religious murals par excellence, lovingly transported here from crumbling medieval churches in the Pyrenees, as well as key pieces from the Gothic and Renaissance eras, and some of the modern masterworks that inspired Dalí, Picasso, Gaudí and Miró. In summary, MNAC boasts what is quite possibly (nay, almost certainly) the finest collection of Catalan art, ancient and modern, on this planet we call Earth. Museu Picasso: Highlights & What to Expect The Museu Picasso works hard to convey the artist’s relationship with Barcelona, from the formative years spent learning his craft in this very district to his continuing connection with the city in death. Guided tours of the local neighborhood flesh this out, revealing Picasso’s family homes, teenage hangouts and more. One such tour is included with a Barcelona pass from Go City, which also includes entry to the museum, as well as other Barcelona attractions including Gaudí’s Casa Batlló and the Sagrada Família. Find out more about the Barcelona pass and buy yours here. Cool fact: during renovations in 1960, the Mural paintings of the Conquest of Majorca were discovered concealed beneath plaster in Palau Aguilar, one of the five medieval palaces in which Museu Picasso is housed. Considered a masterpiece of 13th-century Catalan art, these magnificent murals now form the focal point of the Gothic galleries at MNAC. Back to the present day Museu Picasso now, where highlights include: ‘The First Communion’ and ‘Science and Charity’. Some of his earliest major works, these oil paintings date from 1896-1897, when Picasso was still a teenager. Must-see Blue Period works at the museum include ‘The Dead Woman’, a striking portrait of a recently deceased subject, rendered in the trademark sickly blues and greens Picasso favored between 1901 and 1904. In 1957, Picasso set about re-imagining Velazquez’s iconic 17th-century royal portrait ‘Las Meninas’, bringing his own inimitable style to the project across 58 (count ‘em) separate paintings. The resulting collection, displayed in its entirety here is, quite frankly, unmissable. MNAC: Highlights & What to Expect  For an overview of Catalan art across the centuries, the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya is second-to-none, taking in everything from medieval Romanesque and Gothic murals to Renaissance masterpieces and modern art. Highlights of this 300,000-strong collection are many, but here are a few you absolutely must not miss: Baroque and Renaissance Spanish art provides some of the museum’s undisputed highlights. We’re talking masterpieces from the likes of El Greco, Velázquez, Zurbarán and more. Don’t miss one of the collection’s signature pieces: the unsettling ‘Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew’ by José de Ribera’, in which the titular Bart’s desperate, pleading eyes seem to meet the gaze of the unsuspecting viewer (i.e. you). Murals including the Master of Taull’s majestic ‘Apse of St Taull’ and the epic Linear Gothic Catalan masterpiece that is the Mural paintings of the Conquest of Majorca, are among some of the finest examples of early medieval Romanesque art anywhere on the planet. The modern art collection covers around 150 years from the early 19th century onwards, with Romantic, realist and neoclassical pieces that preempt the work of Gaudí, Miró, Picasso et al. Check out sculptures by Campeny and the Vallmitjana brothers, and paintings by Flaugier and Fortuny, for the win. Top tip: admission to MNAC is free after 3PM on Saturdays and on the first Sunday of each month. You can book tickets for these as well as paid entry slots here. Save on Attractions, Tours and Activities in Barcelona Save money on Barcelona attractions, tours and activities with a pass from Go City. Check out @GoCity on Instagram for the latest top tips and attraction info.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak

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