Barceloneta
Hotel Arts
A Gran luxe tower on the beachfront by the Port Olímpic, with rooms over the sea or the city and two outdoor pools in its gardens.
Barcelona guide
Four days in Barcelona: an itinerary
Four days in Catalonia's capital, for a first visit.
By Ramin Jafari · Facts checked
Gaudí’s houses on the Passeig de Gràcia, the Gothic Quarter and the Boqueria, Picasso and the sea, a day out to Montserrat and the Penedès or in the city’s shops, and Miró on Montjuïc. Treat it as a starting point for a private, tailor-made stay in Barcelona, planned by Avelia from Málaga; every part of it can change.
Highlights
Three moments of the four days
Tapas in El Born
A guided round of tapas, after a drink on the 26th floor of W Barcelona.
Montserrat, for a day
The Benedictine monastery founded in 1025 on a mountain of rock needles, then the Penedès.
Dinner at Disfrutar
The third evening ends at a table with three MICHELIN Stars.
Days 1–4
Day by day
Day 1
Arrival, and Gaudí's houses
Morning
A private chauffeur meets you at the airport and takes you to your hotel.
Afternoon
Casa Batlló and La Pedrera
Gaudí’s two houses on the Passeig de Gràcia, with a private guide. At Casa Batlló the main salon’s great window looks over the avenue, under a ceiling that undulates like the sea; at La Pedrera, the house’s own Premium visit, for a small group, opens the mezzanine, the rear courtyard and a lift of the period, which the general visit does not.
Evening
Dinner
A first dinner at a table we book for you before you arrive.
Day 2
The old city, the market and the sea
Morning
The Gothic Quarter and the Boqueria
The Gothic Quarter with a guide: the Roman town beneath the city’s history museum at the Plaça del Rei, and the lanes around the Cathedral. Then the Boqueria with a chef, and a cooking class with what you bought, on request.
Afternoon
Picasso, and seafood
The Museu Picasso on Carrer Montcada, on a private visit in English with one of the museum’s own guides. Then lunch at Botafumeiro, on Gran de Gràcia: seafood from Catalonia and Galicia, cooked in the oven and over oak embers since 1975. Or spend the afternoon at sea instead, on a private boat with a skipper, with cava and tapas on board.
Evening
Flamenco, and a starred table
Flamenco at one of the city’s historic tablaos, such as the Cordobés, open since 1970; then dinner at one of Barcelona’s restaurants with MICHELIN Stars. Our Barcelona food and cuisine guide has them.
Day 3
Montserrat and the Penedès, or the Passeig de Gràcia
A day out: Montserrat and the Penedès
By car to Montserrat, the Benedictine monastery founded in 1025 on a mountain of rock needles, then on to the Penedès for a private tasting at a winery and lunch among the vines, on request.
Or
A day in the city's shops
A morning on the Passeig de Gràcia with a personal stylist, on request, and lunch nearby.
Evening
Sunset, tapas and Disfrutar
A drink at NOXE, the cocktail lounge on the 26th floor of W Barcelona, then a guided round of tapas through El Born, and dinner at Disfrutar, with three MICHELIN Stars.
Day 4
Miró, and a last lunch above the port
Morning
The Fundació Joan Miró
On Montjuïc, in the building Josep Lluís Sert designed for it, open since 1975. The Fundació offers private visits to its permanent collection, which we can request for you. Or a slower morning in your hotel’s spa: Hotel Alma’s, with a heated indoor pool, or massages and facials at Hotel Arts.
Lunch
Martínez
A last lunch of rice or grilled fish at Martínez, on Montjuïc, with views over the port and the city, and then a private transfer to the airport.
Where you stay
Two hotels: the sea or the Eixample
Hotel Arts stands on the beachfront beside the Port Olímpic, for a stay with the sea outside the window and two pools in its gardens in summer. Hotel Alma is the quieter house, behind an Eixample façade a few doors from the Passeig de Gràcia, with a garden restaurant and a spa, and Gaudí’s houses on foot.
Eixample
Hotel Alma
Behind an Eixample façade by the Passeig de Gràcia, a quiet garden restaurant and a spa with an indoor pool.
Every hotel we recommend in Barcelona, by area and compared side by side, is in our Barcelona accommodation overview.
What the four days include
Plan this journeyYour proposal sets out the arrangements included in your trip.
- Planned with you — by Ramin Jafari, who shapes the order, the pace and the days around you; every part can change.
- Your hotel — Hotel Arts by the sea, or Hotel Alma by the Passeig de Gràcia.
- Private transfers — from the airport on arrival and back at the end, and by car to Montserrat and the Penedès.
- Private guides — at Casa Batlló and La Pedrera and in the Gothic Quarter, one of the Museu Picasso’s own guides on a private visit, and wherever else you would like one.
- Tables and tickets — Casa Batlló, the Museu Picasso, flamenco at a historic tablao, Botafumeiro and Martínez, reserved ahead. We reserve La Pedrera’s small-group visit and the starred tables first, as soon as your dates are fixed: Disfrutar always has a waiting list.
- Experiences on request — the Boqueria with a chef and a cooking class, an afternoon at sea on a private boat, a tasting and lunch at a Penedès winery, a personal stylist on the Passeig de Gràcia and a private visit to the Fundació Joan Miró, each arranged for your dates, subject to availability.
- Support while you travel — if a transfer is delayed or a booking changes, we coordinate with the partners involved and take you through the options.
Barcelona in a longer journey
Barcelona works as the start of a longer journey through Spain, or as one of its stops: the Costa Brava, Madrid and the south, the Basque coast or the islands. Four of our journeys stay here, each a starting point we plan around you.
Catalonia Experience
from $13,200 per person
The Grand Spanish Tour
from $27,200 per person
Luxury Spanish Honeymoon
from $16,800 per person
Spanish Family Adventure
from $9,400 per person
Questions
Questions we are asked
How many days in Barcelona do you need for a luxury trip?
Four or five. Four, as here, cover Gaudí’s houses, the old city and the market, Picasso and Miró, and a day out or a day for yourself, without rushing; a fifth adds the Sagrada Família and Park Güell. With a week, add another day out: the Penedès, or Figueres and Girona.
Can Avelia Travel help with my Barcelona trip planning?
Yes. We plan the whole stay around you: the hotel, private transfers and guides, the timed tickets and the tables, and days out of the city. Every part of this itinerary can change, so tell us your dates and who is travelling, and we start from there.
Barcelona guides
- Barcelona travel guide
When to go, where to stay, the food, the great buildings and three days in the city.
- Things to do in Barcelona
Gaudí with a guide, the table, the evenings, the sea, and days out beyond the city.
- Barcelona food and cuisine
Barcelona's table, where to eat, and the markets and the wines of Catalonia.
- Best time to visit Barcelona
Season by season and month by month, with the festivals and the beach months.
Across Spain: luxury trip planning, the best time to visit Spain, luxury hotels in Spain, private architecture and cultural tours, culinary and wine tours, the 12 treasures of Spain, Spain’s castles and palaces, the most beautiful coastal towns in Spain, Spain’s national parks and a luxury honeymoon in Spain.
Plan this journey
As it is set out here, or shaped around your dates, your pace and who is travelling. Tell us when you would like to go.
Plan this journey Our Barcelona page
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