Madrid → Barcelona

Don't miss

• 🕌Skip the Sagrada Família entrance queue by booking the tower access ticket (€36) — you get a timed slot, a lift up into the spires, and views that justify the extra cost. Go first thing at 9am when the morning light hits the Nativity facade from the east.
• 🍅Pan amb tomàquet is the Catalan staple you'll eat daily: bread rubbed with fresh tomato and drizzled with olive oil. Do it properly at Bar Electricitat in the Barceloneta neighbourhood — it's been serving it since 1947 and costs under €3.
• 🌊Barceloneta beach is fine but crowded; instead take the short metro ride to Ocata beach (line R1 from Passeig de Gràcia, 30 minutes) for the same Mediterranean water with a fraction of the people, especially on summer weekday mornings.
• 🏛️The Palau de la Música Catalana — a UNESCO-listed concert hall dripping in stained glass and mosaics — runs lunchtime concerts for €18 that let you experience the interior without committing to a full evening. The guided tour is good but the live music version is unforgettable.