Sights by rating
Summary: Cross-cutting reference page. Every Barcelona sight that Rick Steves rates in his overview, organized by his three-triangle system. Use this to quickly judge what’s worth fitting in if your time is tight.
Sources: Barcelona.md
Last updated: 2026-05-13
Rating system
Rick Steves uses three tiers (source: Barcelona.md):
- ▲▲▲ — don’t miss
- ▲▲ — worth going out of your way
- ▲ — worth knowing about
▲▲▲ — don’t miss
- picasso-museum — extensive collection of the artist’s early years
- sagrada-familia — Gaudí’s unfinished basilica
▲▲ — worth going out of your way
- ramblas — Barcelona’s pedestrian thoroughfare
- palace-of-catalan-music — best Modernista interior; reservation required
- la-pedrera — quintessential Modernista building
- park-guell — colorful Gaudí park overlooking the city
- catalan-art-museum — world-class regional art, strong Romanesque collection
▲ — worth knowing about
- La Boqueria Market — touristy but colorful produce market, off the ramblas
- Palau Güell — early-Gaudí curvy interior and fantasy rooftop
- Maritime Museum — in a medieval shipyard
- barcelona-cathedral — colossal Gothic cathedral
- Sardana dances — see catalan-culture
- Gaudí Exhibition Center — biographical exhibit on antoni-gaudi
- Frederic Marès Museum — 19th-century bric-a-brac, in the barri-gotic
- Barcelona History Museum (Plaça del Rei) — Roman-to-modern survey, in the barri-gotic
- Santa Caterina Market — Modernista hall with a Gaudí-inspired wavy roof, in el-born
- Church of Santa Maria del Mar — Catalan Gothic, in el-born
- casa-batllo — dragon-roofed Gaudí house on the block-of-discord
- fundacio-joan-miro — Joan Miró collection on montjuic
- Magic Fountains — evening fountain show near Plaça d’Espanya
- caixaforum — Modernista factory turned cultural center
- Barcelona’s beaches — see barceloneta