Visit Barcelona's Most Famous Tourist Attractions For Free

Although during this period we can’t travel because of the coronavirus pandemic, we hope to do it again soon. All our plans have been messed up and, although we’re already thinking about our next destination, we can’t reserve anything because we don’t know when it’s all going to end. However, we are very happy that we have seen Barcelona just a few days before the lockdown.

For those who want to visit Barcelona in the future, today we have a super useful article with some tips that will help you to visit for free many of the main tourist attractions of Barcelona. In Barcelona you have to pay for most of the museums and attractions and the entrance tickets are not cheap at all, unlike London where all the big museums are free, as you can read in this article.

The most expensive ticket in Barcelona was the one at Sagrada Familia, where we opted for a visit to one of the towers (you can not visit both, you have to choose only one) and audio guide and we paid 33 euros per person. But you can visit this architectural gem for free. And no, not just to admire it from the outside, but from the inside. How? Attending Sunday morning service. On the official website you can find the schedule of masses, which usually take place on Sundays between 9 and 10 (but you have to arrive early to get a seat inside), but they also have masses on other holidays. You have enough time to admire the cathedral and see everything and we are convinced that the service in such a location is beautiful.
We didn’t choose this option because we wanted to see the tower and to take pictures. Anyway, the visit to the towers (we chose Nativity, those built after the original Gaudi sketch) was not impressive, you don’t see an amazing panorama of the city as we heard (probably depends on what phase of the construction you get, now you could see more the towers that are built in the Resurrection wing) and we had to descend hundreds of stairs and the the space being extremely tight it was a horrible experience as we (especially Cristina) have altitude sickness. We spent about an hour and a half in Sagrada, and the audio guide took about 45 minutes, but if you do a good research from home, you don’t need it, you can see and understand the symbols and stories behind the sculptures by yourself.

Park Guell it is probably the second most visited tourist attraction in Barcelona after Sagrada and in the last years you have to pay to enter the monumental area (the most famous area of the park, the one with the salamander fountain and colorful mosaics- it roughly occupies around 5% of the total Park Guell area), the ticket is 10 euros. But how about not paying anything at the entrance and admiring the park quietly and taking pictures without dozens of tourists? Well, it’s possible, but with a small sacrifice: you have to wake up in the morning. If you arrive in the park before 8:20, you have free access to the entire park, including the monumental area and the fountain area. It’s just wonderful to see the sun rising in the pink sky among the gingerbread-like houses, you really understand how nature inspired Gaudi to create such wonder.

Hospital de Sant Pau (Hospital de Santa Creu i Sant Pau)– we think it’s the most beautiful museum in Barcelona, if we had more time we would have spent a whole day there. We know you may find strange that we’re saying this about a hospital, but you’re definitely going to convince yourself if you visit it. Colorful stained glass windows, sumptuous columns, light-bathed rooms and gardens full of palm trees and oranges with colorful parrots singing and flying everywhere. The ticket price is 15 euros, but if you choose to visit it on the first Sunday of the month you can enter free of charge. Tip: go in the morning because around noon very large queues begin to form.

Montjuic Castle – it’s one of the most famous sights in Barcelona because it’s one of the points where you can admire the city from above. We didn’t liked too much the panorama from the castle but we really enjoyed the view from the Montjuic cable car (Teleferic de Montjuic), as you can also see in the photos below. The ticket price for the castle is 5 euros, but if you go on the first Sunday of the month you can visit it for free. For the cable car you have to buy a separate ticket and it’s 13.5 euros round trip, but you can take it one way, too. We really love the teleferic experience, the view is amazing and you go up to the castle in just a few minutes!

Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya– we admired it only on the outside (it’s located on Montjuic hill) and it’s absolutely gorgeous but we didn’t get to see the interior because we didn’t make a reservation. Admission is free on Saturdays from 15:00, on the first Sunday of the month and on 11 and 24 September, but also on 18 May when there are International Museums Days.

You can also enter for free at the Picasso Museum, the Chocolate Museum, Jardi Botanic (Botanical Garden), Palau Guell and several other museums the first Sunday of the month, but you must make a reservation on their websites.

We didn’t find an article with all this but we were lucky that our first day of vacation in Barcelona was Sunday, March 1, so we discovered by chance that the entrance to Montjuic castle is free when we were trying to buy our tickets, so we started to see what else we could see for free on the first Sunday of the month and we found out about the rest. What we haven’t read is that for some of them you need a reservation, like Picasso museum or Palau Guell, but now you know 🙂

The Cathedral of Santa Creu y Santa Eulalia (Barcelona Cathedral) can be visited free of charge both in the morning, until 11:00, but also in the evening, after 18:00, the ticket costs around 7 euros. It’s a beautiful and imposing cathedral, built in Gothic style, which you will find very easily because it is in the center of the city.

If you find this article useful or if you know friends who want to visit Barcelona in the near future, don’t hesitate to share it! 🙂

Park Guell

RO : Desi in aceasta perioada nu putem calatori din cauza pandemiei, speram sa o facem cat de curand. Toate planurile ni s-au dat peste cap si, desi ne gandim deja la urmatoarea destinatie, nu putem rezerva nimic pentru ca nu stim cand se va termina totul. Totusi, suntem foarte fericite ca am apucat sa vedem Barcelona si ne-am intors chiar inainte cu cateva zile de a se declansa epidemia.

Pentru cei care isi doresc sa viziteze Barcelona in viitor, avem astazi un articol super util cu cateva ponturi care va ajuta sa vizitati gratuit o foarte mare parte din principalele obiective din Barcelona. Spre deosebire de Londra, de exemplu, unde v-am povestit ca am vizitat gratuit toate muzeele mari, in Barcelona majoritatea muzeelor si obiectivelor sunt cu plata, iar biletele de intrare nu sunt deloc ieftine.

Cel mai scump bilet a fost cel la Sagrada Familia, unde am optat si pentru vizita la unul din turnuri (nu se pot vizita ambele, trebuie ales doar unul) si ghid audio si am platit 33 de euro de persoana. Ei bine, noi venim cu o veste buna si va spunem ca puteti vizita aceasta bijuterie arhitecturala gratuit. Si nu, nu doar sa o admirati din afara, ci si in interior. Cum? Participand la slujba de duminica dimineata. Pe site-ul oficial gasiti programul slujbelor (masses), care, in mod obisnuit se desfasoara duminica intre 9 si 10 (dar trebuie sa ajungeti mai devreme pentru a prinde loc inauntru), insa mai au slujbe si cu ocazia altor sarbatori. O ora ai suficient timp sa admiri catedrala si sa vezi tot ce e de vazut si suntem convinse ca si slujba intr-o astfel de locatie e emotionanta. Noi nu am optat pentru aceasta varianta pentru ca ne-am dorit sa vizitam catedrala pe indelete si sa vedem si turnul, sa facem si poze (nu ni se pare normal sa stai in timpul slujbei sa faci poze si nici nu cred ca ai voie), insa daca sunteti on a budget e o varianta super ok. Oricum, vizita la turnuri (Nativity, cele construite dupa schita originala) nu a fost cine stie ce, nu se vede asa frumos panorama orasului, cum am auzit (probabil depinde si in ce faza a constructiei nimeriti, acum se vedeau mai mult turnurile care se construiesc in aripa Invierii ) si a trebuit sa coboram sute de scari pe jos (unele in spirala) din turn, spatiul fiind extrem de strans, a fost oribil, mai ales ca noi (in special Cristina) avem rau de inaltime.

Noi am stat cam o ora si jumatate la Sagrada, iar ghidul audio a durat cam 45 minute, insa daca te documentezi bine de acasa, poti vedea si intelege si singur simbolurile si povestile din spatele sculpturilor.

Park Guell e probabil al doilea cel mai vizitat obiectiv din Barcelona dupa Sagrada si de vreo cativa ani pentru a putea vizita zona monumentala (zona cea mai faimoasa din parc, cu fantana si mozaicurile colorate ) trebuie platit un bilet de 10 euro (mai au si alte optiuni de vizita ghidata care sunt mult mai scumpe). Dar cum ar fi sa nu platiti nimic la intrare si sa admirati parcul in liniste si sa faceti poze fara ca zeci de turisti sa apara in ele? Ei, bine e posibil, dar cu un mic sacrificiu: trebuie sa va treziti de dimineata. De data asta proverbul romanesc „Cine se scoala de dimineata, departe ajunge”, e cat se poate de adevarat. Daca ajungeti in parc pana in ora 8:30, aveti acces gratuit in tot parcul, inclusiv in zona monumentala si zona fantanilor. E pur si simplu minunat sa vezi soarele cand se inalta pe cerul roz printre casutele ce par de turta dulce, chiar intelegi cum natura l-a inspirat pe Gaudi sa creeze asemenea minunatie.

Hospital de Sant Pau (Hospital de Santa Creu i Sant Pau)– noua ni s-a parut cel mai frumos muzeu din Barcelona, e absolut minunat si daca am fi avut mai mult timp la dispozitie am fi petrecut o zi intreaga acolo. Stiu ca poate vi se pare ciudat ca spunem asta despre un spital, dar cu siguranta o sa va convingeti singuri de ce spunem asta daca il vizitati. Vitralii colorate, coloane somptuoase, incaperi scaldate in lumina si gradini pline de palmieri si portocali cu papagali colorati care canta si zboara peste tot. Pretul biletului este de 15 euro, insa daca alegeti sa il vizitati in prima duminica din luna puteti intra gratuit. Pont: mergeti dimineata pentru ca spre pranz incep sa se formeze cozi foarte mari.

Montjuic Castle – e unul dintre cele mai faimoase obiective din Barcelona pentru ca e unul dintre punctele de unde poti admira orasul de la inaltime. Noua nu ni s-a parut cine stie ce panorama de la castel, ne-a placut mult mai mult privelistea din teleferic, cu care am mers pana acolo. Pretul biletului pentru castel este de 5 euro, insa daca mergeti in prima duminica a lunii puteti vizita gratuit. Pretul telefericului nu intra in pretul biletului de la castel, se cumpara separat si este 13.5 euro dus/intors, insa il puteti lua si intr-un singur sens.

Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya- noi am apucat sa il admiram doar pe afara (e situat pe dealul Montjuic) si e absolut superb peisajul de aici, ne pare rau ca nu am apucat sa vedem si interiorul pentru ca nu am facut rezervare. Intrarea e gratuita sambata de la ora 15:00, in prima duminica a lunii si pe 11 si 24 Septembrie, dar si pe 18 mai cand sunt Zilele Muzeelor.

Mai puteti intra gratuit in prima duminica a lunii la Muzeul Picasso, Muzeul de Ciocolata, Jardi Botanic (Gradian Botanica), Palau Guell si alte cateva muzee, insa trebuie sa va faceti in prealabil o rezervare pe site-urile lor.

Noi nu am gasit nicaieri un articol unde sa citim toate astea, insa am avut noroc ca prima noastra zi a a vacantei in Barcelona a fost duminica, 1 martie. Am cautat sa ne luam bilete la muzee si asa am decoperit intamplator ca intrarea la castelul Montjuic e gratuita si de acolo am inceput sa vedem ce mai puteam vedea gratuit in prima duminica a lunii si asa am aflat si de restul. Ce nu am citit e ca pentru unele iti trebuia rezervare, gen muzeu Picasso sau Palau Guell, dar voi o sa va duceti pregatiti 🙂

Catedral de la Santa Creu y Santa Eulalia (Barcelona Cathedral) poate fi vizitata gratuit atat dimineata, pana in ora 11:00, dar si seara, dupa ora 18:00, iar in rest biletul costa in jur de 7 euro. E o catedrala superba si impunatoare, construita in stil gotic, pe care o veti gasi foarte usor pentru ca e in centrul orasului.

Daca vi se pare util acest articol sau daca stiti prieteni care isi doresc sa viziteze Barcelona in viitorul apropiat, nu ezitati sa-i dati un share 🙂

Sagrada Familia