Best Weekend Trips from Barcelona (From Students Who Actually Did Them)
Here are the day trips and weekend trips that students studying abroad in Barcelona come home talking about. Not from a Google list. From students who actually went.
1. Montserrat (Day Trip)
This is the easiest and most underrated day trip from Barcelona. Montserrat is a monastery built into the side of a jagged mountain range about an hour outside the city. You take a train from Placa Espanya and then a cable car up the mountain. The views on the way up alone are worth it. Once you are up there, you can hike the Sant Joan trail which takes about an hour and gives you panoramic views of the whole region on a clear day. The monastery itself is beautiful and there is a famous boys choir that performs most mornings. Take a morning train because it is less crowded and bring a layer because it gets windy at the top even when Barcelona is warm. The whole thing costs under 30 euros for the train and cable car combined and you can be back in Barcelona by mid afternoon. Every semester I tell students to do this one first because it is so easy to pull off and it completely resets your perspective after being in the city.
2. Valencia (Day Trip or Weekend)
Valencia is about 3 hours by train from Barcelona and it is one of the most slept on cities in Spain. Look for the AVE or Euromed trains on Renfe, 20 to 40 euros each way if you book a week ahead. The City of Arts and Sciences is this wild futuristic complex that looks like it belongs on another planet. The beach is cleaner and less crowded than Barceloneta, and you can get there by tram from the city center in about 15 minutes. And the food is next level because Valencia is where paella was actually invented. Eat it here, not in Barcelona. A proper Valencian paella at a restaurant near the beach is one of those meals you do not forget. Fair warning, the summer heat in Valencia is brutal mid day so lean into late lunches and evenings. You can do it as a day trip if you take an early train, but staying one night lets you experience the nightlife in Ruzafa which is the cool neighborhood with great bars and restaurants.
3. Girona (Day Trip)
Girona is 40 minutes by high speed train from Barcelona and it is one of the most beautiful small cities in Spain. You have probably seen it without realizing it because they filmed Game of Thrones here. The colored houses along the Onyar River, the medieval Jewish quarter, the massive cathedral steps. it is all walkable and all gorgeous. Walk the old city walls for views over the rooftops. there is no better free activity in the city. Girona also has a ridiculous number of Michelin starred spots for a city this size, but you do not need a Michelin budget. Grab lunch at a local spot in the old town and wander. This is the perfect trip for a day when you want something low key and cultural without a huge production.
4. Costa Brava (Day Trip)
The Costa Brava has some of the most beautiful coastline in the Mediterranean and it is right in your backyard. Pick one town per trip, do not try to hit them all in a day. Tossa de Mar is a medieval town with a castle right on the beach, about an hour and a half north of Barcelona by bus. Cadaques is a bit further but it is the town where Dali lived and the drive along the coast is stunning. Sitges is the opposite direction, 35 minutes south by train, with colorful streets, a gorgeous waterfront promenade, and beaches that are actually relaxing instead of packed with tourists and vendors. Summer weekends get crowded and buses can sell out, so go on a weekday if you can. These are great trips for when you need a break from the chaos of Barcelona but do not want to plan a whole big thing.
How to Actually Make These Happen
The students who get the most out of studying abroad in Barcelona are the ones who book their first trip before the second week of classes. It sounds aggressive but the semester flies by. Montserrat and Girona are easy enough to do spontaneously, but Valencia and the Costa Brava towns need a bit more planning to get good prices on trains and accommodation. I have taken these trains, stayed in these neighborhoods, and made the mistakes so you do not have to. Text me and I will help you map out your whole semester of weekends so it does not blur together as "we stayed in Barcelona too much."