Hotel
Mandarin Oriental Barcelona
A luxury hotel on Passeig de Gràcia with a rooftop terrace and pool, a spa and restaurants overseen by chef Carme Ruscalleda.
A Ritz-Carlton tower hotel on the Port Olímpic seafront, with two outdoor pools, a fourth-floor spa and the two-Michelin-star Enoteca Paco Pérez.
Good to know
Rising 44 floors above the beach at Port Olímpic, Hotel Arts opened in the 1990s and is one of the two towers that dominate Barcelona's waterfront. Beside the pool stands Frank Gehry's golden fish sculpture, El Peix, made for the 1992 Olympics. The hotel has 483 rooms, including duplex penthouses, and many look straight out over the Mediterranean.
Facilities include a family pool and an adults-only infinity pool, the Arts Wellness spa and Enoteca Paco Pérez, which holds two Michelin stars. It suits travellers who want the beach on the doorstep and a resort feel; the old town is a taxi ride or a long seafront walk away. Some areas may be partly closed for works until mid-2027, so check before booking.
Reviewed by Lifestylemetro · Details checked October 23, 2026
Yes, two outdoor pools: a family pool and the adults-only Gehry Pool.
Yes, Enoteca Paco Pérez holds two Michelin stars.
Restaurant
Three-Michelin-star restaurant in the Eixample run by former elBulli chefs Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas, serving long, playful tasting menus.
Thing to do
Barcelona's best-known food market, entered from La Rambla under a wrought-iron arch, packed with produce stalls, fishmongers and busy counter bars.
Café
The original coffee bar of Nømad, the Barcelona speciality roaster founded by Jordi Mestre, tucked into a quiet passage near the Palau de la Música.
Bar
An El Born speakeasy reached through a fridge door at the back of a pastrami bar, named number one in The World's 50 Best Bars in…