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The twin peaks of Els Encantats above Sant Maurici lake, framed by trees, in Aigüestortes National Park
The Dragon Khan and Shambhala roller coasters rising above the trees at PortAventura Park
The Castellers de Vilafranca raising a nine-level human tower in front of the town hall on Tots Sants day
The Roman amphitheatre of Tarragona on the shore, with the Mediterranean behind
Puig i Cadafalch's Modernista brick halls at the Codorníu cava cellars in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia

Things to do in Catalonia, from Barcelona to the Pyrenees

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Photo: Abel Cerezuela Sanjulián, CC BY-SA 4.0

Salou and Vila-seca (Costa Daurada)

Ride Shambhala and Red Force at PortAventura, near Salou

Check dates and prices

Photo: Sotti, CC0

Vilafranca del Penedès, Tarragona and Valls

Watch castells, Catalonia's human towers, on a festival day

Photo: SMP, CC BY 4.0

Tarragona

Walk Roman Tàrraco from the walls down to the amphitheatre

Check dates and prices

Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0

Sant Sadurní d'Anoia (Penedès)

Tour a cava cellar in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia by train

Check dates and prices

Photo: Angela Llop, CC BY-SA 2.0

Catalonia fills the north-eastern corner of Spain, between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean, and most visitors see it from Barcelona, its capital. Barcelona has its own page, and so do the two classic trips out of it: Girona and the Costa Brava, with Figueres and the Dalí sites, and the mountain monastery of Montserrat. This page covers the rest of the region and helps you choose between them.

South of Barcelona, the coast runs past Sitges to Tarragona, the Roman Tàrraco, and on to the beaches and theme parks of the Costa Daurada around Salou. Inland lie the cava cellars of the Penedès and the home towns of the castells, the human towers, in Vilafranca and Valls. To the west, the Pyrenees of Lleida hold Aigüestortes, Catalonia's only national park, and the Romanesque churches of the Vall de Boí, a long drive away and worth two nights.

Catalan and Spanish are both official, and station names, signs and menus often come in Catalan first.

Places in this region

7 things to do in Catalonia

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The Roman amphitheatre of Tarragona on the shore, with the Mediterranean behind

Walk Roman Tàrraco from the walls down to the amphitheatre

Tarragona

Half a dayGo alone or with a tour

A Roman provincial capital scattered through modern Tarragona, easiest seen downhill from the walls to the amphitheatre above the beach.

Check dates and pricesGuided walk through Roman Tarraco to the amphitheatre
The Castellers de Vilafranca raising a nine-level human tower in front of the town hall on Tots Sants day

Watch castells, Catalonia's human towers, on a festival day

Vilafranca del Penedès, Tarragona and Valls

Free

Watch amateur clubs build human towers up to ten levels high, with children on top, free in the town square.

The church of Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla, La Punta, above the old town walls of Sitges

Spend a day in Sitges, from La Punta to Rusiñol's Cau Ferrat

Sitges

A full dayNo booking needed

A seaside town one train ride from Barcelona that fills a day: a church on its rock, Rusiñol's studio and a swim.

Tours in Catalonia
Puig i Cadafalch's Modernista brick halls at the Codorníu cava cellars in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia

Tour a cava cellar in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia by train

Sant Sadurní d'Anoia (Penedès)

Half a dayBook ahead

Ride a small train through the underground cellars where Spain's first traditional-method cava was made, one train line from Barcelona.

Check dates and pricesCodorníu cellars by little train, with three cavas
The Dragon Khan and Shambhala roller coasters rising above the trees at PortAventura Park

Ride Shambhala and Red Force at PortAventura, near Salou

Salou and Vila-seca (Costa Daurada)

A full day per parkBook ahead

Ride Red Force, billed as Europe's tallest and fastest roller coaster, and the big coasters of PortAventura's China area.

Check dates and pricesPortAventura Park and Ferrari Land entry, one to three days
The Romanesque church of Sant Climent de Taüll and its bell tower below the mountains of the Vall de Boí

Take a park taxi into Aigüestortes, then see Taüll's churches

Boí, Taüll and Espot (Lleida Pyrenees)

Two daysNo booking needed

Close to 200 lakes in a national park closed to private cars, then Romanesque churches with their painted apse projected back on the walls.

Blue and green stained glass on the east side of the Sagrada Família

Book a 9:00 slot at the Sagrada Família for the morning glass

Barcelona

About 90 minutesTimed entry

Gaudí planned the stained glass around the sun; at 9:00 the east windows glow green and blue before the nave fills.

Tours in CataloniaTicket guide

Plan your trip

  • Which destination for what

    For Gaudí, the Gothic Quarter and the big museums, Barcelona. For a mountain and a monastery in one day, Montserrat. For a medieval city, Dalí and coves, Girona and the Costa Brava. For Roman ruins, Tarragona; for a beach town close to Barcelona, Sitges; for wine, the cava cellars of the Penedès; for roller coasters, PortAventura near Salou. For lakes and high mountains, Aigüestortes and the Vall de Boí. Further from the railway, the Poblet monastery on the Cistercian Route, the steep wine villages of the Priorat and the rice fields and lagoons of the Ebro Delta are easiest by car.

  • Combining Barcelona with the rest

    Most of Catalonia works as day trips from a base in Barcelona. Montserrat, Sitges, the Penedès cellars, Tarragona and Girona are each a train ride out and back in a day, and Figueres pairs with Girona on the same high-speed line. The Costa Brava and the Pyrenees do not work that way: the coves and villages of the coast need nights in Girona or by the sea, and the Vall de Boí is about 300 km from Barcelona. A simple order is Barcelona first, then a loop north to Girona and the coast or west to the mountains, ending near the airport you fly home from.

  • How many days

    In must30's view, a week covers Barcelona and its best day trips: three or four days in the city, then Montserrat, Girona with Figueres, and one day south in Sitges, Tarragona or a cava cellar. With ten days, add three nights on the Costa Brava or two in the Vall de Boí. A long weekend means Barcelona plus one day trip at most.

  • Getting around

    Trains reach almost every place on this page. High-speed trains run from Barcelona Sants to Girona in under an hour and on to Figueres-Vilafant. Rodalies line R2 Sud follows the coast to Sitges, line R4 goes inland to Sant Sadurní d'Anoia and Vilafranca del Penedès, and regional lines R14, R15, R16 and R17 stop at Tarragona's city station; the AVE to Camp de Tarragona leaves you outside the city. Montserrat is an FGC train from Plaça d'Espanya, then a rack railway or cable car. Hire a car for the Pyrenees, the Priorat and the Ebro Delta. Rodalies lines are often hit by works, so check the service notices on rodalies.gencat.cat the day before.

  • When to go

    The Pyrenees are easiest from late June to September, when the Bus del Parc links the valleys around Aigüestortes; in winter, bad weather can cut the park taxis. The castells season peaks from late August to early November. Calçot season, when long spring onions are grilled over vine shoots and dipped in sauce at outdoor calçotades, starts in late November, and Valls holds its Gran Festa de la Calçotada on the last Sunday of January (31 January 2027). Sitges has its Carnival in the week before Lent and its film festival in October. The Roman sites of Tarragona switch to shorter winter hours from 27 October.

Questions travellers ask

What are the best day trips from Barcelona?

Montserrat, Girona with Figueres, Sitges, Tarragona and the cava cellars of the Penedès are the classics, and all of them are a train ride away. Montserrat and Girona have their own pages; Sitges, Tarragona and the Penedès are covered on this one.

How many days do you need in Catalonia?

A week covers Barcelona and four or five day trips without changing hotels. Ten days let you add nights on the Costa Brava or in the Pyrenees, which do not work as day trips from Barcelona.

Can you visit Catalonia without a car?

Yes for Barcelona, Montserrat, Girona, Figueres, Sitges, Tarragona, the Penedès and PortAventura, which all sit on train lines from Barcelona. The Pyrenees, the Priorat villages, the Ebro Delta and the smaller Costa Brava villages are much easier by car. For the Vall de Boí, ALSA buses only go as far as El Pont de Suert.

Where and when can I see castells?

At the big festival days, free, in the square in front of the town hall: Sant Fèlix in Vilafranca del Penedès on 30 August, Santa Tecla in Tarragona on 23 September, Santa Úrsula in Valls in late October and Tots Sants in Vilafranca on 1 November. In Barcelona, La Mercè has a diada in Plaça de Sant Jaume on 24 September. Programmes are set each season, so check the dates before you travel.

When is calçot season in Catalonia?

Calçots, long sweet onions grilled over a fire and eaten with a romesco-style sauce, are served from late November into spring. Valls, the home of the calçotada, holds its Gran Festa de la Calçotada on the last Sunday of January: 31 January 2027. Restaurants around Valls serve calçotades all season, and weekends fill up first.

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