5-day itinerary

Barcelona

Montserrat is the day trip most visitors skip in favour of more city time — which is a mistake. The jagged mountain above Barcelona holds a Benedictine monastery with a 12th-century Black Madonna, and the rack railway from Monistrol delivers you to views that no building in the city can match. Take the first train up and the last rack railway down. This 5-day Barcelona itinerary covers all the Gaudí essentials across the first three days, then shifts into the neighbourhoods: Poblenou on day four — Barcelona's former industrial district, where the Rambla del Poblenou is a local boulevard that tourists rarely find — and El Born for a deeper look at the city's best bars and the Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar. Book Sagrada Família early-morning entry before anything else; those slots disappear weeks ahead.