What To Do In Barcelona In The Rain
THE BEST RAINY DAY ACTIVITIES IN BARCELONA
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain… But what if it catches you in Barcelona during your holidays? You don’t want to stay in your hotel playing games and wasting your precious time here. So what should you do? Don’t worry: today I have plenty of ideas for a rainy day.
Barcelona isn’t a very rainy town: when it’s raining in Barcelona, it usually doesn’t last long. Plus most of the time it rains at night, not really affecting your day activities. But eventually we might get longer and more intense storms (and locals are usually surprised at them and ask themselves what’s wrong with the weather, then, LOL).
A few top hotels in town provide umbrellas to their customers or rent them for a small fee (ask the concierge). Otherwise, don’t worry: with the first drop street-vendors show up selling cheap ones. And now that you are well equipped, let’s see what the options are…
Are the Gaudi sites a good option when it's raining in Barcelona?
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Sagrada Familia Church
When I see other blogs recommending people to head to Sagrada Familia when it rains, I go facepalm! This famous church is definitely NOT a place to shelter if all of a sudden it starts raining... unless you already have tickets. Because this site sells out EVERY DAY. And I mean it, even in the low season. There's no way you'll show up without tickets and be able to get in. You can try, miracles happen. Go online and check it out (since they don't have physical ticket boxes anymore and you can only get tickets online . But don't say I didn't warn you.
But what happens if you already have tickets? Well, that’s a different thing. You are NOT getting your money back in case of rain, so you need to go, and skipping it will be a bad idea since it’ll be your only opportunity to get there. Expect some waiting in line under the rain at the entrance to go through the security check. But once there you’ll be able to stay mostly dry. There’s enough covered space to admire the sculptures of the façade without getting wet (although some details are best seen from where it’s not covered.
And the inside of the church is still mesmerizing even on a rainy day, when the colors of the stained glasses are more subdued. And then there’s the exhibit of furniture in the cloister, the sacristy and the museum about Gaudi’s architecture, his models and the history of the church. All in all you can easily spend there 1 to 2 hours. And maybe by the time you leave, it’s already stopped raining!
One thing you won’t be able to do on a Barcelona rainy day is going up the towers, though. They require a specific ticket, so if you didn’t get that when you purchased your admissions, the following doesn’t apply to you. But if you did, you’ll find the access to the towers closed, and a hostess will inform you that the additional cost of the tickets will be automatically refunded back to the credit card you used to purchase the tickets.
2
Park Guell
- Park Guell is mostly an outdoors visit, with only a few covered areas (the column room and a few viaducts). Consider if you are OK being under the rain.
- Park Guell will be muddy. Consider what kind of shoes you’ll be wearing and if they could get ruined.
- It’s extremely difficult to find taxis to get back to the city center when raining in Barcelona. Consider if you are OK using public transportation.
So is there anything good about going to Park Guell under then rain? Actually yes: nobody will be seating in the ceramic bench, so you’ll be able to take lots of pictures and see all the details without people in the middle of the way (it’s usually crowded with people seating on it and taking pictures).
3
La Pedrera (Casa Mila)
So let’s see: if you don’t have tickets purchased yet, consider other options. If you already have tickets, you won’t get a refund. Go anyways! You’ll stay dry, you get to see a lot of things (an apartment with vintage furniture, an exhibit about Gaudi’s architecture, the cool arches of the attic…). And when you visit the apartment take your time to look at the rooftop views that you get from the windows of the corridor around the courtyard. They’ll give you a good idea of what you would have seen if it wasn’t raining.
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Casa Batllo
And what happens if you don’t have tickets yet? Well, you’d rather check if there’s any available before you head there: many time slots sell out in advance, at least for their basic (“Blue”) tickets. However, if budget is not an issue consider getting their premium (Silver and Gold) rarely sell out and you’ll be able to get in right away, plus you’ll get some extra perks such as a cool VR tablet and access to an apartment with vintage furniture (Gold tickets only).
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What about the other Gaudi sites?
Casa Vicens
The first house built by Gaudi is a good option when it rains because everything stays open, including the rooftop. It’ll keep you busy for about one hour. The downsides are that you won’t be able to enjoy the gardens much under the rain (but you can enjoy their view from the cafe), and that you’ll need a taxi to get there, or walk 5 minutes from the L3 Fontana subway station.
Torre Bellesguard
This other early work also stays 100% open when it rains, but you won’t be able to enjoy the gardens much unless you like getting wet. The rooftop stays open, and the views from there on a rainy day can be quite striking (unless there’s thunder and lightning, in which case I wouldn’t want to be up there – too close to the pointy spire tops). You’ll definitely need a taxi to get there (no fun walking from the closes FGC station under the rain, and the buses taking you there are scarce). So let’s hope for the rain to have stopped after you finish visiting, or you might get in trouble getting back into the city center.
Palau Guell
Considered the last early work of Antoni Gaudi before his masterpieces, it’s the most centrally located lesser-known Gaudi site. However, its colorful rooftop and the backside patio are closed during the rain, so I’d advise heading somewhere else instead.
Or should you visit the museums of Barcelona on a rainy day, instead?
6
Picasso Museum
I know… When brainstorming for ideas for a rainy day, of course museums are everyone’s first thought. And the Picasso Museum is the top art museum in town, so of course everyone will be heading there. But be wiser than them: if you are planning to go to the Picasso museum buy your tickets online before leaving your hotel unless you want to wait in line under the rain (no fun!). Or even worst, find out it’s sold out for the next hours once you get there… If you already have your tickets you should be good: even if it’s located in a pedestrian streets, a cab will be able to drop you off just 50m / 165ft from it, and once inside you can expect to be there for at least one hour: enough for the rain to stop.
Oh, keep in mind that like most museums, the Picasso is closed on Mondays!
7
Miro Foundation
The Miro Foundation has a beautiful collection of Joan Miro’s artwork that will keep you busy for at least one hour, a lovely cafe where to bide your time if the rain hasn’t stopped yet after you finish visiting, and usually runs interesting contemporary art temporary exhibits. However… it’s up in the Hill of Montjuic. You might be able to take a taxi there to avoid getting wet on your way there. But if the rain doesn’t stop there’s no way you’ll find a taxi to get back in town. Your only option will be walking 5-10 minutes under the rain to the Funicular station and using it to get back down (there you can connect to the L2 and L3 subway lines if you wish).
The Miro Foundation rarely sells out, but you might find a line of people with umbrellas waiting to buy tickets. If you decide to head there, it’s better to buy tickets online before you leave. The museum is also closed on Mondays.
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MNAC
The upper floor is easier to relate to, because it covers modernist and early vanguards, and it’s more fun to explore even for those who don’t know much about these art movements. So if you already had tickets, by all means go because you must already know what to expect and it’ll be a great way to escape the rain for hours. But if you don’t have tickets yet, consider if it’s really the type of activity you’ll enjoy. Tickets don’t usually sell out and lines are rare, so it’s easy to play it by ear, and the only thing that closes when it’s raining is the rooftop. But it’s also closed on Mondays.
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Other Barcelona museums to consider on a rainy day
The rest of the museums in town rarely sell out, and will offer you protection for the rain for some time. But I’d only recommend them if you are already in the area and are interested in their theme.
MUSEUM | THEME | AREA | OPENING DAYS | VISIT DURATION |
---|---|---|---|---|
MUHBA | Roman ruins | Gothic Quarter | Closed on Monday | 1 to 2 hours |
MACBA | Contemporary local art | El Raval | Closed on Tuesday | 1 hour |
MOCO | International street art | El Born | Open every day | 1 hour |
Tapies Foundation | Antoni Tapies contemporary art | Passeig de Gracia | Closed on Monday | 1 hour |
Maritime Museum | History of navigation | La Rambla / Port | Open every day | 1 to 2 hours |
Wax Museum | Wax characters | La Rambla / Port | Open every day | 1 hour |
Cosmocaixa | Science museum | Uptown | Open every day | 2 hours or more |
Chocolate Museum | History of chocolate making | El Born | 1 hour or less | Closed on Monday |
Shopping under the rain in Barcelona
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Are the shops in Passeig de Gracia a good idea?
You’ll also find more affordable brands such as Zara, Mango, H&M, Benetton and even American brands. However, the distance between one and the other can be a few blocks. And most of them aren’t so big that you’ll spend hours there… So my recommendation is to plan well what shops you want to visit and where they are, to minimize your time under the Barcelona rain.
Or if you don’t have time for planning, head to the crossing of Passeig de Gracia and Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes. There you’ll find the largest Zara in town, which will offer you a long time of shopping fun. Then next to it there’s a decently-sized Mango, and across the street there’s a 3-storeys H&M. Uniqlo is also in that corner, and Nike is just a bit further. There you go! I gave you an easy plan for a couple of hours of rainy-day shopping!
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Heading to the malls on a rainy day
Other posts also suggest going to the malls. BUT, I don’t always agree with their suggestions. For once, Las Arenas seems to be a favorite because it’s a modern venue inside an old bullring. However, in my opinion is relatively small and you’ll be done fast. Plus it’s not very centrally located, so you’ll need to take a taxi or the subway to get there in purpose. Other posts also recommend La Maquinista because it’s one of the largest in town. But hello! It’s an outdoors shopping mall, and while there’s covered areas, you’ll still get wet at some point trying to get from one area of the mall to the other. Plus it’s quite far away from the city center, and it’s 15 minutes walk from the closest subway station…
Centre Comercial Glories has a similar outdoors problem, but at least it’s very close to the subway station… So if you really want to be 100% indoors, your options are Centre Comercial Diagonal Mar (acceptably close from the L4 subway line, even if it’s at one end of the city) and Illa Diagonal (from Maria Cristina on L3 catch the tram to avoid walking under the rain).
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Exploring the Barcelona food markets
Exploring the local food markets can be an easy thing to do in Barcelona in the rain if you don’t have other plans… As long as it’s not a Sunday or a public holiday. And after lunch and on Mondays you won’t get to see that much either: the fish section closes and the activity of the market slows down. The food markets in Barcelona are best seen Tuesday through Saturday in the mornings.
La Boqueria is the oldest market in town and the one with the most exciting variety of products. It’s easy to get there, since it’s in the middle of La Rambla and there’s a subway station right in front of it. But expect to find it sort of crowded with tourists when it rains: go past the stalls at the entrance and focus on the area at the bottom of the market to avoid the crowds and to find authentic shops, other than colorful juices and (Argentinian) empanadas.
Another market that is large enough to spend an hour or more exploring it, and depending on where you go, you’ll also find clothing stores there, is the market of Sant Antoni. But the eating options are way more limited there: if you are hungry you’ll have to head to one of the many restaurants in the area. There’s many more cool food markets in Barcelona, but they aren’t that big and they are more off the beaten path – and on a rainy day I usually feel too lazy to go outside of the city center…
Other Barcelona rain activities
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The Aquarium
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Taking the hop-on hop-off bus
It might be counter intuitive, but the hop-on hop-off bus can actually be nice option for a rainy day in Barcelona. Specially if it’s your first time in the city and you’ll benefit from getting an overview and a good idea of the city layout. There are basically two companies running hop-on op-off buses: one is owned by the City Council, the other is a private company. Both have two lines each: blue and red for the City Council bus, orange and green for the one run by Julia Tours.
Both are pretty similar, the main difference being that the one run by the city council also takes you to the uptown areas of Sarrià and Pedralbes, not covered by the other company, and they also give you a more complete discount booklet. Both have an open rooftop that is covered with a waterproof tarp when it rains – or you may opt by staying in the indoors lower floor of the bus. Each line takes 2 to 3 hours to complete the entire circle, depending on the traffic and amount of people at the stops.
15
Other Modernist sites beyond Gaudi
Not everything in Barcelona is Gaudi! His peers also created magnificent buildings worth seeing, specially if you’ve been to Barcelona before! But are they good options when it rains in Barcelona? Let’s see:
- Casa Amatller, by Puig i Cadafalch. Located in Passeig de Gràcia, it opens every day and it’s 100% indoors. However, the visit isn’t open, even if you purchase the audioguide type of tour: you’ll have a specific entrance time, and a strict amount of time to complete your visit. After that, you’ll be requested to leave the building. It’s beautiful, but it’s too much work if your main goal is to escape the rain for a while. Some time frames also sell out, so tickets in advance are recommended.
- Palau de la Musica Catalana by Domenech i Muntaner. A gorgeous building close to the city center, the visit is only available in the morning and early afternoon. If there are tickets available, it’s a great choice for a rainy day.
- Hospital de Sant Pau by Domenech i Muntaner. The largest modernist ensamble in Europe, this hospital is located just 10 minutes walk from Sagrada Familia or 2 subway stations away. It’s nice, but you’ll have to walk under the rain to go from one pavilion to the next…
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Spas and pools
That’s another thing other blog posts recommend. They tell you: “head to Aire de Barcelona!”. And I laugh. There’s no way you can just walk in to Aire and find they miraculously have spots available. They always sell out and you need to book sometimes even weeks in advance. And the same happens for most spas in Barcelona: you can’t just say “oh it’s raining, I’ll go get a massage”. They’ll rarely have availability last minute. But if you want to try, here are our recommendations for hotel spas, and our recommendations for independent spas in Barcelona.
So what are your best options? Gyms that have water circuits and day passes. And the ones that never fail are the ones run by the city council. The most central ones are:
- CEM Sant Sebastia (Club Natacio Barceloneta) – Barceloneta district
- CEM Claror Maritim (Olympic Village)
- CEM Can Ricart (Raval district)
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Some more carefree leisure
There’s even more great ideas to spend a rainy day in Barcelona unplugging and having fun:
- Go (indoors) ice skating at the FC Barcelona Palau de Gel.
- Visit the FC Barcelona stadium (at the moment it’s being refurbished, but the interactive museum can still be visited).
- Visit one of those playful “museums” (for lack of better word) such as the Museum of Illusions, the Big Fun Museum or the Bubble Planet.
- If it’s the afternoon or the evening, go watch a movie in English at the Verdi cinemas in Gracia.
What to do if the rain cathes you in the Old Town
But if getting wet isn’t your thing, try these ideas instead:
- Head to Petritxol street for some hot chocolate and churros.
- Visit the Cathedral (even if you are’t allowed into the rooftop, the church is quite impressive and it’ll keep you entertained for a while). Santa Maria del Mar is also an option, but if the rooftop is closed you’ll be done faster…
- Explore the Boqueria and Santa Caterina markets.
- Museums in the area: Picasso, MUHBA, MACBA, Wax Museum, Maritime Museum.
- Architectural wonders: Palau de la Música and Palau Güell. Liceu Opera House.
Things to do if the rain catches you near Passeig de Gracia
- Architectural wonders: Casa Batllo and Casa Mila. Casa Amatller.
- Museums: Tapies Foundation, Egyptian Museum.
- Shopping.
- Market of La Concepció.
What if it starts raining when you are in the Hill of Montjuic?
Hum, if the weather forecast says it’ll rain today, you’d better not head to Montjuic, just in case (unless you have tickets already purchased that can’t be changed). If the rain catches you there you’ll be most likely out in the open and you won’t have many chances of avoiding getting wet. But if you must, keep these locations in mind:
- Museums: MNAC, Miro Foundation, Caixaforum, Museum of Archeology, Museum of Ethnography, Museum of Sports.
- Shopping at Las Arenas.
What to do in Barcelona when it rains at night
I’m not sure people needs ideas for what to do in Barcelona when raining at night… Most of your plans are indoors anyway, isn’t it? Restaurants, flamenco shows (no, you can’t just walk in: they need to be booked in advance!), concerts, cocktail bars…
Some blogs recommend the Magic Fountain… Can I eye-roll again? Sure, the show still goes even when it rains, but there’s no nearby roof that will protect you from the rain, and the trees don’t do a great job either. Who wants to stand for 10 minutes (what lasts one of the shows) or more under the rain… and at the same time be sprayed by the fountain as soon as the wind changes direction? Don’t fall for this trap! (BTW, the shows are currently discontinued due to the draught anyway).
Enjoy my ideas for what to do on a rainy day in Barcelona!
Marta
Marta is the founder of ForeverBarcelona. She is a passionate tour guide that loves Barcelona and loves writing too. She is the main author of our Blog, and is committed to sharing her knowledge about Barcelona and her best tips with our readers.
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