Barcelona highlights – Photo Friday
There is so much to see and do in this vibrant and colorful city and for anyone that loves to take photographs while visiting, it’s a dream destination to visit this city and capture some amazing pictures and amazing Barcelona attractions.
Whether you are walking in any of the elegant neighborhoods, visiting a museum, garden or even sampling some delicious tapas or local cuisine, there is so much to experience in this lively city. Every district in the city is easily accessible by metro or bus, exploring the best views from above Barcelona and walking around the various attractions, or just focus on a key site you want to visit.
It’s easy to wander and get distracted by all the visuals, but keep your eyes open to interesting compositions, angles or personal stories that show itself well in a photograph. This is a wonderful city to experience and experiment with your photography and different techniques. If you are looking for inspiration to visiting the city, check out these 20 best things to do in Barcelona now for places to see and explore.
We share our favorite places to photograph the city and then head to explore the best things to do in Valencia on our continued journey around Spain.
Top places to visit for photography
Here are some photography thoughts and places to keep in visiting the top things to do in Barcelona.
1. Try to go to a high vantage point like Montjuic hill so you can get complete panoramic views of the entire city from the hillsides down to the ocean
2. Make sure that you try to visit some of the local specialty or farmers markets in town, the most well-known being La Boqueria on the famous Las Ramblas strip.
3. If your also into food, try some of the local cuisine, or the tapas at any of the many tapas bars. It’s great to photograph the local food, people and lifestyle enjoying the dining scene. (Do be conscious of either asking people for a photo or take broad shots so it doesn’t create any disturbance)
4. Barcelona is a perfect spot to do any urban or street photography, take the time to sit in a plaza or cafe and do some candid shots of things that attract your attention or capture some of the fun gritty, urban scenes you happen to come across.
5. There are many architectural buildings created by famous local architects like Gaudi, take the time to visit some of his architectural wonders like Sagrada Familia or Casa Mila in the Gracia area. It’s fun to get immersed into the design and creative elements of a city like Barcelona by walking though some of Barcelona’s main thoroughfares.
6. Barcelona parks, botanical gardens and green belts are great for nature, landscape and plant studies, there are so many beautiful parks with monuments worth visiting and capturing while touring around. Many of these parks are on located on hill tops like Park Guell, which offers beautiful vistas to the city and some of its famous monuments.
7. Walk the older districts of the city like the gothic quarter, El Born or El Ribera districts to see some of the historic Roman to medieval details that you will definitely want to photography. These have interesting trendy shops that add a different vibe to the ‘Old World’ charm.
8. The beach scene is happening and very accessible from the center. Also close by is the harbor and al-fresco dining with many seafood restaurants, this is a great area for people watching and capturing some lifestyle imagery.
9 There’s so much to check out walking down Las Ramblas, an expansive street worth walking down the entire length and taking some photographs of street scenes, the street performers or the early morning flower and bird markets.
10. Walking down the fashionable Gracia district will give you an opportunity to photograph the old and new in terms of neighborhoods, street scenes and fashion, architecture and trendy boutiques and window displays all worth visiting and finding some scenes to capture.
11. Explore the waterfront area from the Columbus monument to the harbor port, this Barcelona cruise port guide shares the places to discover for an easy day trip experience around the city and the immediate area.
Here are some of my photo captures of gorgeous Barcelona and photographing from different vantage points around the city.
Barcelona Panorama from Montjuic
The Castle at Montjuic
Inner courtyard of Casa Mila
Park Guell mosaic detail at the upper plaza
The mosaic salamander at Park Guell
Plaza Real in the Gothic Quarter
Interior detail and altar at the Sagrada Familia
Barcelona is more than the attractions, architecture and the food that gives the city so much flavor and character. What makes this city so exciting and alive is the cosmopolitan lifestyle, diverse culture and mediterranean way of living that is so wonderful to enjoy and experience.
If you would like to see more photos of Barcelona and some of the key monuments, architecture and attractions, please visit my Flickr website. Also, check out this one week in Barcelona itinerary for more inspiration and what to do in this fabulous city.
Where to stay in Barcelona
With so many fantastic places to enjoy and explore around the city, there are so many wonderful options for accommodations. Check out these top reviewed paces to stay here for reviews and updated prices
Alexandra Barcelona Hotel – a 19th century hotel with modern aesthetics and amenities with easy walks to Gracia and Las Ramblas, centrally located, good sized rooms, good breakfast and attentive staff.
Serras Barcelona – a luxury boutique hotel with award winning Michelin star restaurant, cool and trendy hotel with comfortable, with world class amenities and service
Majestic Hotel and Spa – a luxury traditional hotel centrally located and close walk to Ramblas with excellent service, amenities, rooftop terrace and outdoor pool
Check out these fantastic posts to visiting Barcelona
Barcelona attractions and key places to visit now
Free things to do in Barcelona
Enjoy the Mossen I Llobera garden at Montjuic
Conclusion to Visiting Barcelona Highlights to the city
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Love your photo Barcelona panorama – how the cathedral stands out! Also really liked Piazza Real in the Gothic Quarter with the two bikes in the foreground.
Thanks for the tips! I’m headed to Barcelona in April so I will be sure to keep them in mind 🙂
Love your photography! Looking forward to sitting a spell and reading through your photo tips. Hoping to finally get to Barcelona next year and these links are just what I was hoping to find.
I’m going back to Barcelona in October. So looking forward to it!
Will definitely visit some of the places you’ve listed:)
Great photos, great advice – Thank-you!
Gorgeous photos as always. Especially like the mood that you captured in the Plaza Real photograph. I’ll be saving this post for my next trip to Barcelona