Places to visit in Catalonia, Spain
34 places to visit in Catalonia, Spain, each with LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own: Casa Batlló, Casa Milà, Casa Vicens and more. Stand at any of them with the app open and the stamp is yours, confirmed on site, in your Catalonia volume.
12 UNESCO World Heritage sites · 1 Heritage site · 16 Famous places to visit · 5 Hidden gems
UNESCO World Heritage sites in Catalonia (12)
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Casa Batlló
A townhouse on Passeig de Gràcia that Antoni Gaudí rebuilt between 1904 and 1906. Its wavy façade is covered in coloured glass and ceramic, and the roof is shaped like the back of a dragon.
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Casa Milà
A Modernista apartment building on Passeig de Gràcia, known as La Pedrera for its rough-hewn stone face. It was the last private residence designed by Antoni Gaudí and was built between 1906 and 1912. Its wavy facade and chimney-covered roof terrace are open to visitors.
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Casa Vicens
The first major house designed by Antoni Gaudí, built in the Gràcia district of Barcelona in the 1880s. Its walls are covered in coloured tiles, and it is now open as a museum.
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Church of Colònia Güell
An unfinished work by Antoni Gaudí, built as a place of worship for the workers of a company town near Barcelona. Only the crypt was completed, with slanting stone columns and rough brick vaults. Gaudí tested many ideas here that he later used in the Sagrada Família.
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Hospital de Sant Pau
A former hospital in Barcelona designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, with work starting in 1902. It is a group of brightly tiled Modernista pavilions linked by underground tunnels, and it is now a cultural centre.
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Palau Güell
A mansion near the Rambla that Antoni Gaudí designed for the industrial family of Eusebi Güell. It was completed in the 1880s, and its rooftop is crowded with colourful chimneys. It is now a museum open to visitors.
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Palau de la Música Catalana
A concert hall in Barcelona designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner and opened in 1908. Its Modernista interior is covered in tiles and sculpture, and a huge stained glass skylight fills the auditorium with light.
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Park Güell
A hillside park in Barcelona designed by Antoni Gaudí from 1900 as a garden city for Eusebi Güell. It is known for its mosaic covered lizard, the long curving bench and the stone columns of its market hall.
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Poblet Monastery
A Cistercian monastery founded in 1151 in the hills of Catalonia, and one of the largest in Europe. It served as the royal burial place of the kings of Aragon, and its cloister and walls survive well.
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Roman Tarraco
The remains of the Roman city of Tarraco, once the capital of a large province of Hispania. Its amphitheatre above the sea, its circus, forum and city walls are scattered through modern Tarragona.
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Sagrada Família
Antoni Gaudí's basilica in Barcelona, begun in 1882 and still under construction. Its Nativity façade and crypt are part of the UNESCO listing of Gaudí's works. Gaudí worked on it until his death in 1926, and visitors pass among columns that branch like trees.
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Vall de Boí Romanesque Churches
Nine small Romanesque churches built in the Pyrenean valley of Boí in the 11th and 12th centuries. Their tall bell towers rise against the mountains, and the wall paintings from Taüll are now kept in a museum in Barcelona.
Heritage sites in Catalonia (1)
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Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park
One of the fifteen Spanish national parks and the only one in Catalonia, set in the high Pyrenees. Its glacial lakes, granite peaks and streams that wind through meadows give the park its name. Walking trails link the mountain refuges.
Famous places to visit in Catalonia (16)
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Arc de Triomf
A red brick memorial arch in Barcelona, built as the main entrance to the 1888 Universal Exposition. Designed by Josep Vilaseca in a Moorish inspired style, it stands at the head of a broad tree lined promenade.
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Barcelona Cathedral
The Gothic cathedral of Barcelona, built mostly between the 13th and 15th centuries in the old Barri Gòtic. Its cloister is home to a flock of white geese, and the crypt holds the tomb of Saint Eulalia.
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Barcelona Pavilion
A small modernist pavilion on Montjuïc, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich for the 1929 International Exposition. It was taken down after the fair, and a reconstruction opened in 1986.
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Camp Nou
The home stadium of FC Barcelona since 1957, and the largest football stadium in Europe. It is being rebuilt and enlarged, and the club museum is one of the most visited in Catalonia.
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Dalí Theatre-Museum
A museum in Figueres, the home town of Salvador Dalí, created by the artist in a former municipal theatre. Opened in 1974, it is crowned with a glass dome and giant eggs, and Dalí is buried in a crypt beneath the stage.
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La Rambla
A tree lined pedestrian street in central Barcelona, running about 1.2 kilometres from Plaça de Catalunya to the old harbour. Flower stalls, street performers and the Boqueria market line the way. It is one of the busiest walks in the city.
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Montjuïc
A hill overlooking the harbour of Barcelona, crowned by a fortress and covered with parks and gardens. It holds museums, the Palau Nacional and the Olympic stadium and pools built for the 1992 Games. Paths and a cable car lead up its slopes.
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Montjuïc Castle
An old military fortress on top of Montjuïc hill, with roots going back to 1640. It looks out over the port and the sea. The castle now serves as a municipal facility and is open to visitors.
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Montserrat
A jagged mountain range near Barcelona, its name meaning serrated mountain. The rock needles rise to over 1,200 metres, and hiking trails and a rack railway lead to the monastery set high on the slope.
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Montserrat Abbey
A Benedictine abbey high on the Montserrat mountain, home to the Black Madonna known as La Moreneta. Pilgrims come to see her, and the boys' choir here is one of the oldest in Europe.
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National Art Museum of Catalonia
A museum of Catalan art in the Palau Nacional on Montjuïc, a building from the 1929 Exposition. It is famous for its collection of Romanesque wall paintings, brought from Pyrenean churches. The museum is reached by a long flight of steps and escalators.
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Parc de la Ciutadella
A large city park in Barcelona on the site of a former military citadel. It has a lake with rowing boats, a monumental fountain, a zoo and the Catalan parliament building. It opened in the 1870s as the city's first major public park.
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Picasso Museum
An art museum in the Born district of Barcelona, set in several medieval palaces. It holds thousands of works by Pablo Picasso, with a particular focus on his early years. The collection was started with a gift from Picasso's friend Jaume Sabartés.
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Santa Maria del Mar
A Gothic basilica in the Ribera district of Barcelona, built in the 14th century by local sailors and merchants. Its tall, plain nave and slender columns are a high point of Catalan Gothic.
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Tibidabo
The highest hill of the Serra de Collserola above Barcelona, at 512 metres. A church crowns its summit, an old amusement park sits just below, and the views reach across the city to the sea.
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Torre Glòries
A bullet shaped skyscraper in Barcelona, designed by Jean Nouvel and finished in 2005. Its glass skin changes colour at night, and it is one of the most recognisable landmarks on the city skyline.
Hidden gems in Catalonia (5)
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Cap de Creus
A rocky peninsula and headland at the far northeast of Catalonia, about 25 kilometres south of the French border. It lies in the municipality of Cadaqués, close to where Salvador Dalí lived. Wind-shaped rocks and small coves line the cape.
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Girona Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Mary, seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Girona, standing above the old town. A broad Baroque staircase leads up to its facade. Its Gothic nave is among the widest in the world.
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La Boqueria
A large public market in the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona, entered from La Rambla. Its stalls sell fruit, seafood, ham and sweets under a high iron roof. It is one of the foremost landmarks of the city.
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Magic Fountain of Montjuïc
A fountain at the head of Avinguda Maria Cristina on Montjuïc, below the Palau Nacional and near Plaça d'Espanya. It was built for the 1929 International Exposition. In the evenings its jets of water are lit in colour and set to music.
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Tarragona Cathedral
The Primatial Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Saint Thecla, standing in the highest part of Tarragona as seat of the archdiocese. It was built on a site that had earlier held a Roman temple. Its Romanesque and Gothic cloister is a highlight.
Collecting in Catalonia
What are the best places to visit in Catalonia?
LOQAH lists 34 places in Catalonia. The best known include Casa Batlló, Casa Milà, Casa Vicens, Church of Colònia Güell and Hospital de Sant Pau. Each has a stamp of its own to collect when you are there.
How many LOQAH stamps are there in Catalonia?
34, and more are added over time. Each place has LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own.
How do I collect a stamp in Catalonia?
Open LOQAH at the place and get its stamp. LOQAH checks where you are once, at that moment; at the place itself the stamp is confirmed on site, with a gold badge.
I have been to places in Catalonia before. Can I add them?
Yes. In Earlier trips, choose Catalonia and swipe through its stamps, or import your Google Timeline. Each one goes into your volume with the date, if you know it.
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