10 Best Views in Barcelona

Barcelona has a particularity. Although it is a coastal city, it is surrounded by mountains and hills that allow us to have a privileged view of the peculiar structure of the city. If we add to this that there are several places and tall buildings in the heart of the city, what we get is a wide range of viewpoints and all with different views and perspectives. In my opinion, one of the best plans that Barcelona offers.

Surely the sum of all its viewpoints make Barcelona one of the cities with the best views in the world. There are so many options to see the city from above that choosing one or more of them can be a complicated mission. But to make it easier for you, I have gathered in this post what, for me, are the 10 best views of Barcelona including both paid and free viewpoints and from different perspectives.

Besides being one of the most visited monuments in Barcelona, Park Güell also has one of the best views of the city thanks to its location on the side of a hill. Within the park there are several places from which to contemplate the views divided into two areas. One is paid, and the other is less well known and free.

The paid area corresponds to the monumental zone where tourism is condensed. The good thing about this area is that we combine the views with the best architectural examples that Gaudí designed for the park as the Hypostyle Hall or the famous Trencadis lizard.

What not many people know is that there is a part of Park Güell that can be visited free of charge and that is also the one with the best panoramic views as it corresponds to the highest area.

My recommendation is to visit both areas, but booking in advance the tickets for the monumental part, otherwise you risk to find long queues. In any case the views of Barcelona from Park Guell are well worth paying an entrance fee. The schedules are available at this link.

Montjuic is a mountain located near the port of Barcelona and has several viewpoints, most of them free. To get to Montjuic it is best to take the funicular that leaves from the Paralel stop where the metro lines 3 and 2 arrive.

In Montjuic we find, among other things, the Olympic village of the 1992 games, although the best viewpoints are not here.

The best point of Montjuic to have good views is from the walls of the castle. The entrance fee is charged but in exchange you will have wonderful views from two different perspectives. From one side you will see the skyline of the city and from the other the port area and the Mediterranean Sea.

There are free alternatives such as the viewpoint of the Mayor or the Miramar viewpoint in the Montjuic park area.

If you travel to Barcelona you will surely visit the Sagrada Familia. For a reason it is the symbol of the city and its most visited monument. In that case, and if you go with time, I recommend you to see the temple in depth, from its facades to its interior and, of course, climb its towers. Currently the Sagrada Familia has 8 of the 18 towers that were projected in its construction and you can climb two of them to see Barcelona from its main monument.

These two towers are the tower of the birth from which you see the east side of the city, and the tower of the passion that covers the west side. You can climb both although the entrance fee is separate.

In any case if you want to go up to contemplate the views I recommend booking your ticket in advance because, as you can imagine, the queues at the Sagrada Familia to get tickets are considerable.

We begin this tour of the best views of Barcelona for which, in my opinion and that of many, are the most complete of all. I am talking about Tibidabo Mountain. This mountain protects Barcelona and on it are two of the best places to see almost the entire city.

The first point is the Tibidabo amusement park. To access it logically you have to buy the ticket, but in return, in addition to the more than 25 attractions, we get incredible views of the whole of Barcelona.

To further enhance the experience, my recommendation is to climb the Ferris wheel from which we will see Barcelona in fullness with the Mediterranean Sea in the background.

The second point is the highest in Barcelona. Near the same Tibidabo amusement park is located the Collserola tower. Adding the height of the mountain to that of the tower we have views from 560 meters high. This communications tower has the advantage that the view is 360 and in addition to the city we can see the landscape on the other side of the mountain. In this case it is also paid.

We move now to the Gothic Quarter, to the Basilica of Santa Maria del Pi from whose bell towers we can contemplate some of the best 360º views of the whole city.

Although it shares prominence with the Cathedral of Barcelona, this church has the advantage over the cathedral of having a terrace with views from all directions. It is the best place to see from the top the historic center of Barcelona.

To climb its bell towers you will have to do it with a guided tour as it is not freely accessible. The entrance fee for this guided tour is 10 euros and can only be done on Fridays and Saturdays.

But do not let that put you off because in addition to knowing the beautiful basilica you can admire the best views of the center of Barcelona.

Not everyone knows that inside the statue of Christopher Columbus, located at the end of the Rambla, there is a small viewpoint.

This monument of about 80 meters high was inaugurated in 1888 on the occasion of the universal exhibition and is crowned by a statue of Columbus pointing in the opposite direction to America.

In its highest part there is a small viewpoint from which you get a panoramic view of the Ramblas and the port area. The disadvantage of this viewpoint is that it is quite narrow and does not have capacity for many people at the same time so you will probably have to queue to enter and you have to pay admission.

I recommend visiting it at sunset, as the views of the port area at this time are beautiful.

The viewpoint of the Cathedral of Barcelona is in line with that of the Basilica of Santa Maria, and in fact the views are similar and equally good.

But there is a detail why I have decided to include it in this list. And is that in addition to the views, we must add that the terrace of the Cathedral of Barcelona allows us to see in detail the spires of the towers and other architectural details that are well worth it in a temple of style. Without detracting from the panoramic view, far from it.

To climb to the terrace of the cathedral is necessary to buy the general ticket that costs about 9 euros, but includes, in addition to access to the roof, an entrance to the choir, the chapter house and an audio guide.

Unlike the basilica of Santa Maria, its views can be enjoyed every day except Sundays and religious holidays.

The place I'm going to talk about now is possibly the one that has the best views of Barcelona whose access is completely free. At the top of the hill of Turó de la Rovira, near Park Güell, are the bunkers of Carmel.

During the Spanish civil war they were anti-aircraft batteries and today they are conditioned to serve as a lookout.

On clear days the views are one of the most complete and we can see almost any area of Barcelona. In addition this place is surrounded by beautiful green areas with very good atmosphere perfect to enjoy the sunset and dine nearby.

This is one of my favorite places of the whole list and also there is not as much tourist affluence as there can be in other points. And, I repeat, it is free.

If you are a lover of art and museums , one of the best you will find in Barcelona is the National Art Museum of Catalonia. But now it is not time to review its excellent collection, but one of the virtues of its location. Its headquarters is in the Royal Palace of Montjuic in the foothills of the hill and whose access terrace has spectacular views of the Plaza of Spain and the skyline in the background.

In this case you can choose whether to stay with the free views that are at the entrance of the museum itself or pay the entrance fee to go up to one of the terraces. The difference is not very big so if you are not interested in the museum you can save the entrance fee.

The modern and luxurious Hotel W, or Hotel Vela because of its sailboat shape, has one of the most modern viewpoints in Barcelona. It is located on the 26th floor in the Eclipse bar. But don't worry, you won't have to pay for your stay at the hotel to access it.

The entrance is free although the drinks at the bar are quite expensive and it is common to find queues to go up. The views it has of the Mediterranean beaches and the coastal area may well be worth the queues that form, if you have patience of course.

The hotel is located at the end of San Sebastian beach in the port area. Its location is perfect for combining the views from the lookout point with a stroll along the harbor or the beach at sunset.

The list of viewpoints in Barcelona is practically endless. The 10 above are my favorites but as they say, there are different colors for different tastes. And if any of the ones we have seen do not convince you I leave you another less detailed list but with other points whose views are also candidates to be considered the best in Barcelona.

Viewpoint of the Urquinaona tower

It is the newest of all Barcelona and is located in the tallest building in the center, the Urquinaona tower. Located near Plaza Catalunya, you can enjoy its 360º views at about 70 meters high.

Terrace of Las Arenas shopping center

This shopping center is located in the old bullring of Las Arenas, which was adapted. At the top of it there is a terrace with good views especially of the area of the Plaza de España.

Restaurant of the Corte Inglés of Plaza de Cataluña

In the same Plaza de Cataluña is the building of the Corte Inglés shopping center in whose restaurant on the top floor you can enjoy a privileged view of the Plaza Cataluña and part of the Paseo de Gracia.

Terrace of the Pedrera house

From the roof of the mythical house designed by Gaudi there are also good views. But this time limited to the area of Paseo de Gracias with the Sagrada Familia in the background. To enjoy them you have to pay the entrance fee to see the Pedrera house.

Port cable car

From the port of Barcelona there is a cable car that connects to the top of Montjuic. The route of just over 1 kilometer and 10 minutes gives us moving views of the port and Montjuic highly recommended.

Helicopter ride

This last option is not a viewpoint as such. But what better views can there be of Barcelona than from a helicopter flying over the city. In this link you have all the information about these flights.