Local Things to Do in Barcelona to Get Off the Beaten Track in 2025
- Guillermo
- Aug 20
- 8 min read
There are hundreds of things to do in Barcelona, with an endless checklist of attractions from the awe-inspiring architecture of La Sagrada Familia to the action-packed streets on and around La Rambla. But why not take some time to enjoy more local things to do in Barcelona? Discover Catalan culture, regional cuisine and get off the beaten track to enjoy Barcelona like a local with these tips.
How to Enjoy the Best of Barcelona Like a Local
Living in Barcelona for so many years has given us the opportunity to slowly explore the city and truly understand why the Barceloneses are so passionate about their hometown.
The top local things to do in Barcelona include options for every kind of traveler, whether it’s food, shopping, architecture, or just taking in Catalan culture; there is something for everyone.
Take a look at our carefully curated list of the top things to do in Barcelona like a local and get our personal tips on how to get the best of Barcelona's attractions and go beyond the typical tourist sites.
Discover Catalan Cuisine and Eat Like a Local
Barcelona’s reputation as a gastronomic mecca sits somewhere near the top of every tourist’s list of reasons for visiting. To enjoy the top local things to do in Barcelona, you must taste all its flavors.
While you might know about patatas bravas (fried potatoes with a spicy sauce), there’s much more to discover on the menu in the Catalan capital. Not only influenced by the rest of Spain, but also Italian and to some extent French cuisine, the food culture of Catalonia is unique, and brings together influences from its location between the Mar i Muntanya - the sea and the mountains.
Key dishes include traditional stews like suquet and escudella, and delicious fresh seafood, but the most emblematic of all Catalan foods is the beautifully simple pa amb tomaquet, which literally translates to ‘bread with tomato’. It might not sound like much, but trust us, you will love it!
Tip: Designed to share traditional Catalan food using family recipes and farm-to-table produce, our private Barcelona cooking class is the perfect way to learn about traditional Catalan cooking. You'll head out to the countryside to meet local growers, pick your own fresh produce, and enjoy a cooking class with the owner of a farmhouse restaurant, so you can recreate the dishes at home!
Alternatively, our Private Barcelona Food Tour is a unique opportunity to taste a delicious range of Catalan dishes in some of the most authentic local venues of the city, before ending the evening in a fine dining restaurant with premium wine pairings.
Get Off the Beaten Path outside Barcelona
As much as we love Barcelona, a visit to Catalonia is not complete without experiencing the majesty of Montserrat.
Named after its jagged, saw-like peaks (Montserrat translates literally as ‘serrated mountain’), this other-worldly formation of rocks just outside of Barcelona is one of the region’s most recognizable sights.
Montserrat is also home to the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey and the Black Madonna statue, an important religious site for over a millennium, which means that over two million tourists visit the attraction every single year.
Understandably, many visitors have complained that the undeniable beauty of Montserrat can become tainted when shared with thousands of other people. A unique way to enjoy this stunning place is to get to know the people who live around the mountain.
On our Montserrat, Wine and Olive Oil Tour, you will meet the owner of an olive oil farm and taste 3 of the most emblematic olive oil varieties of the region, and a wine maker of a small-scale organic winery who will show you how they craft their wines, from vine to barrel and bottle - tasting their top wines as you go.
You'll also enjoy a traditional Catalan lunch prepared by a private chef. Choose to add on the guided visit to Montserrat Monastery and you'll have a day you'll never forget!
Discover Local Produce
For most Barceloneses, food plays a major role in day-to-day life. While the city is filled with high-end restaurants serving everything from sushi to ceviche, it is still Barcelona’s markets that truly bring visitors closer to the city’s gastronomic essence.
Teeming with beautiful produce, including fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and much more, they are social hubs for the city’s many different neighborhoods. Of course, the most famous market in Barcelona is the Boqueria, but there are fewer stalls catering to local people as tourists now make up the majority of visitors.
Be sure to visit a market in one of the other neighborhoods in Barcelona, as each local mercat possesses its own unique atmosphere, created by a cast of characters who work, shop and hang around there throughout the week.
The city’s incredible markets are definitely making it to our top things to do in Barcelona like a local, and especially some of the least visited ones, such as Gracia’s Mercat de La Llibertat or the Eixamples‘ Mercat del Ninot.
Tip: Visiting Barcelona’s local markets will give you a glimpse of day-to-day Catalan life, so why not visit a market like a local while picking up the ingredients for your very own Spanish meal. Let us know in the comments how it went!
Meet the Families behind the Best Wine in Catalonia
By now surely one of Catalonia’s most famous exports, Cava continues to be enjoyed across the region, and in the capital of Barcelona, bars specializing in this delicious sparkling wine seem to lurk around every corner.
Yet Cava isn’t the only wine that’s produced in the region. Dry whites and robust reds are produced across Catalonia, and organic wine is becoming a rapidly growing industry.
Savouring a chilled flute of cava or a warming glass of Montsant red wine in one of Barcelona’s best tapas bars is an experience not to be missed, but for those who want to delve a little deeper, our Penedes Private Wine tour gives you the opportunity to learn from the winemakers themselves, and see how their passion has created some delicious wines.
This special day trip from Barcelona includes organic wine and cava tasting at two boutique wineries, where you will taste a selection of incredible premium cavas, red, whites, roses or the ancestral, a natural single-fermentation sparkling wine, as well as enjoy a traditional Catalan country lunch with the winery owner.
Find your Favorite Neighborhood
It has been said many times that Barcelona is more a collection of distinct neighbourhoods than a city itself. From the down-at-the-heel charm of Barceloneta, to the swagger of Eixample, to the bohemian ambiance of Gracia, it’s true that each of the city’s many barris has their own unique identity.
If you haven’t found your accommodation yet, be sure to check out our list of best hotels in Barcelona for the eco-friendly traveler.
In order to gain an authentic insight into local life, it is essential to visit at least a few of the city’s different local neighborhoods. A slow wander around the alleyways of El Born or through the sloping streets of El Poble Sec can reveal as much about the Catalan capital as a whole weekend spent on La Rambla!
Marvel at Authentic Catalan Architecture
Even though the beauty of Barcelona’s most renowned Modernist buildings is undeniable, there is much more to this famous Catalan movement than La Sagrada Familia and Casa Batlló.
The works of architects like Lluís Domènech i Montaner and Josep Puig i Cadafalch more than hold their own against those of the more renowned Antoni Gaudi, and the stunning Palau de la Musica Catalana has to be the most beautiful concert hall in the world!
By straying just a little from the beaten tourist path in Barcelona, you can enjoy some of the most important and exciting architecture from the turn of the 20th century. I can’t tell you how many times we have accidentally come across a beautiful building we had never noticed while strolling through the city streets.
Tip: just remember to look up once in a while 🙂
Treat Yourself to Sustainable Souvenirs
The long, wide Passeig de Gracia is one of the most famous streets for shopping in Barcelona, but walk past all the high-end designer stores until you get to Gran de Gracia. Continue to your right and you will find yourself in what is arguably the trendiest neighbourhood in Barcelona, Vila de Gracia.
Strolling around this area is one of our favorite local things to do in Barcelona, as there aren't any major tourist attractions here, just lots of local vibes. It used to be a separate village until the Eixample extension of Barcelona joined it with the growing city, and it still has a different feel from the rest of Barcelona.
In addition to the hip bars, vegan bakeries and fresh sushi restaurants, you will find a flurry of sustainable shops. Just wander along cozy streets like Carrer Verdi, Carrer Torrijos or Carrer Asturies and you will come across local, sustainable fashion houses and lots of unique souvenirs to take home with you.
Witness Traditions Unlike Any You’ve Seen Before
The Catalans have a rich history filled with unique local traditions that you won't find anywhere else, and they have proudly continued to practice these customs through the centuries.
Castells are probably more nerve-racking for those watching the assembly of the human towers than those scrambling up one another to create them. The tradition dates back to 1712 and has become a highlight of most Catalan festivals, as well as being granted UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Status.
If that sounds impressive, you’ll love the Correfoc or fire run, an event that lights up the streets with fire as people dressed as devils light fireworks on pitchforks and dance through the streets.
Tip: Always wear protective clothes and hats if you want to join in the correfocs with the locals!
A gentler but equally special experience is to watch a sardana performance - the Catalan national dance, which has dancers holding hands in a circle and stepping in time to the music from a live cobla band. You can see this unique local tradition at festivals and in front of the Gothic Cathedral on Saturday afternoons.
The Calçotada is definitely our favorite authentic Catalan food tradition. It consists of eating giant burnt onions with a delicious homemade sauce while drinking wine and hanging out with close friends and family. What more could you want? If you join our farm-to-table private cooking class in calçot season, you can have the chance to experience this yourself!
Go Slow and Find More Local Things to Do in Barcelona
Barcelona is not the place for rushing around from place to place, ticking off tourist sites and the top things to do in Barcelona. For one thing, it can get so busy that it's impossible to rush, but also, you'll notice that the only ones rushing are the tourists!
Don't come to Barcelona just for a day or two, stay here for longer so you can really get off the beaten track and truly experience Barcelona like a local. Local people take their time. Whether it's chatting to vendors at the market, meeting friends for a beer or having a lovely long lunch, Barcelona is the perfect place to travel slow.
At Barcelona Slow Travel, we have created authentic, sustainable experiences for travelers who want to immerse themselves in the local culture. All of our experiences are verified by locals, follow sustainable guidelines and represent slow travel in every way. We've done the hard work, so you don't have to! Let us show you how to enjoy the best of Barcelona like a local on one of our private tours in Barcelona.
And don’t hesitate to contact us to find out more about the top things to do in Barcelona.
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