Barcelona

1. 9:00a◆Sagrada Família, first entry

   Book the opening slot plus the Nativity tower — the nave's stone forest in morning light is the single best interior in Europe. Audio guide over tour group.

2. ~11:30a→El Born lanes

   Medieval streets around Santa Maria del Mar — duck into the basilica, Barcelona's purest Gothic space, free before noon.

3. ~1:30p●Tapas crawl lunch

   Stand at the bar: pa amb tomàquet, jamón ibérico de bellota, anchovies from L'Escala, and a bomba — with a glass of cava or house vermut at each stop.

4. ~4:00p◆Gothic Quarter & the Cathedral

   Roman walls, the Pont del Bisbe, and the cathedral cloister with its thirteen white geese.

5. 8:30p✦Disfrutar ⭐⭐⭐Anchor table

   The El Bulli heirs' tasting menu — among the most celebrated tables on earth. The frozen-gazpacho 'panchino' and multi-spherical pesto are signatures. Book months ahead; dinner runs ~3.5 hours.

Spain eats late — the 8:30 seating is normal here, and the long lunch crawl is designed so you arrive hungry but not desperate. Sagrada tickets release ~2 months out; take the first slot.

1. 9:00a◆Park Güell early entry

   The mosaic terraces over the city before the hill fills — book the first window and start at the Nature Square, working down.

2. ~11:45a●La Boqueria counter lunch

   Stand at El Quim or a sister bar: chipirones with egg, razor clams a la plancha, and a juice from the front stalls on the way out.

3. ~2:00p◆Casa Batlló or La Pedrera

   Pick one Gaudí house and do it fully with the rooftop — Batlló for the dragon-back roof and light well, Pedrera for the warrior chimneys.

4. ~6:30p✦Vermut hour in Gràcia

   Plaça del Sol aperitivo culture — house vermouth on tap, olives, anchovy gildas, and crisps. Order 'un vermut preparado.'

5. ~9:00p●Neighborhood dinner in Gràcia

   Stay local: a mid-sized menú at a Catalan bistro — look for trinxat, botifarra amb mongetes, or the day's suquet.

Park Güell and Batlló both sell timed entries that vanish on weekends — lock them when you book flights. Gràcia keeps the evening walkable so the big-ticket day stays unhurried.

1. 9:30a◆Picasso Museum

   Timed entry for the Las Meninas rooms — the master deconstructing Velázquez across 58 canvases is the reason this museum exists.

2. ~12:00p→Barceloneta boardwalk

   Out of the old town to the sea — the W hotel walk, a swim in season, and xiringuito beers on the sand.

3. ~2:00p●Paella done right

   A beachfront arrocería: seafood fideuà or arroz negre for two, minimum 20 minutes, and ask them to scrape the socarrat — the caramelized crust is the point.

4. ~6:00p✦Golden-hour bunkers or cable car

   The Bunkers del Carmel 360° lookout, or the harbor cable car back over the marina if the legs are done.

5. ~9:00p●Cava & conservas bar

   Tinned-seafood culture at its peak: berberechos, mussels in escabeche, ventresca tuna — with a bottle of brut nature cava.

Paella at dinner is a tourist tell — locals eat rice at lunch, which is why it anchors midday here. The conservas bar is the relaxed counterweight to last night's tasting menu.