Klemio
Browse destinations
Home Spain Barcelona Day trips
Barcelona

Best Day Trips from Barcelona (Ranked, with How to Get There)

By the Klemio team · Updated June 3, 2026

Catalonia is small and Barcelona sits right in the middle of it, so a lot of very different days out are within an hour of the city: a monastery on a saw-toothed mountain, walled medieval towns, Roman ruins above the sea, a beach, and the strangest museum in Spain. The trains and buses are cheap and frequent. Here is how to spend a day away from the city.

aerial view of city buildings during daytimePhoto by Logan Armstrong on Unsplash

Because the regional rail and coach network is so dense and so cheap, none of this needs a hotel change or a car. You can be on top of a holy mountain, threading the lanes of a film-set medieval city, or lying on a beach, all within a short ride and back for dinner. For each trip below you will find who it suits and exactly how to get there, so you can choose by mood and by how far you feel like traveling that morning.

  1. 1

    Montserrat

    About 1 to 1.5 hours each way by train plus a rack railway or cable car

    A monastery jammed into a ridge of weird rounded peaks, home to the Black Madonna and a famous boys' choir. Be honest with yourself: the monastery building is fine, but the mountain is the reason you came. Take a funicular higher and walk one of the trails, because the views over that landscape are what you will remember. The ride up, by rack railway or cable car, is half the fun.

    Getting there: Take the FGC R5 train from Placa Espanya (about 1 hour) to either Monistrol de Montserrat for the rack railway (cremallera) or Aeri de Montserrat for the cable car, then ride up to the monastery. The rack railway is wheelchair accessible; the cable car is not. Combined transport-and-entry tickets are sold.

    Best for: Anyone who would rather hike to a viewpoint than stand in a chapel, and does not mind sharing the trails.

    This photograph depicts the monastery at Montserrat in Catalonia, Spain. This is the second of two such pictures that I am uploading.
  2. 2

    Girona

    About 40 minutes each way by high-speed train

    A medieval city that has kept its shape: a tight Old Town, colored houses stacked above the river, a cathedral with the widest Gothic nave going, and one of the best-preserved Jewish quarters in Europe. Forty minutes on the fast train is barely a commute. If you watched Game of Thrones you will recognize several streets standing in for Braavos, which is a fun bonus rather than the point.

    Getting there: Take a Renfe high-speed AVE or Avant train from Barcelona Sants to Girona, as fast as around 40 minutes; slower regional trains also run. From Girona station it is a short walk to the river and Old Town.

    Best for: Anyone who likes wandering an old town slowly with no fixed plan and a coffee stop or two.

    General view of the city of Girona, Catalonia, Spain
  3. 3

    Tarragona

    About 35 minutes to 1.5 hours each way by train

    A seaside city built on top of a Roman capital, and the Roman bits are genuinely good: an amphitheater on the cliff above the Mediterranean, a circus, a forum, an aqueduct just outside town, several of them UNESCO listed. Add a Gothic cathedral and a balcony over the sea and it fills a day comfortably. One catch worth knowing: a lot of the sites shut on Mondays, so do not come then.

    Getting there: Take a fast train from Barcelona Sants to Camp de Tarragona or a cheaper regional train (R14 to R17) to the central Tarragona station, which is closer to the ruins. A combined ticket covers several Roman sites. Note that many sites close on Mondays.

    Best for: Anyone who wants Roman ruins they can climb around with the sea right there, and is not traveling on a Monday.

    Ruines of Roman circus of Tarraco, Tarragona, Spain
  4. 4

    Sitges

    About 40 minutes each way by train

    A good-looking beach town: golden sand, a whitewashed old quarter, a church standing over the waterfront, and a lively, famously LGBTQ-friendly scene. There is nothing to study or queue for here, which is the appeal. When you just want a swim, a long lunch, and a stroll along the front rather than another monument, this is the move, and the train drops you a short walk from the sand.

    Getting there: Take the Rodalies de Catalunya R2 Sud line from Barcelona Sants or Passeig de Gracia direct to Sitges, about 35 to 40 minutes. Trains run frequently, and the beach and old town are a short walk from the station.

    Best for: A day when you have done enough sightseeing and just want sun, a swim, and a seafront lunch.

    Ansicht von Sitges (Catalonien, Spanien).
  5. 5

    Figueres

    About 50 minutes to 2 hours each way by train

    The Dali Theatre-Museum, a building topped with giant eggs that Dali designed as his own theatrical send-off and ended up buried inside. It is gleefully bizarre and probably the most entertaining museum in Spain. On its own Figueres is a bit thin, so the smart play is to pair it with Girona, which sits on the same line, and make a full day of the two.

    Getting there: Take a Renfe high-speed train from Barcelona Sants to Figueres Vilafant (about 50 minutes), then it is roughly a 15-minute walk or short ride to the museum; slower regional trains reach the central Figueres station, which is closer. Many travelers combine it with Girona in one day.

    Best for: Anyone who finds most museums dull but would happily spend two hours inside Dali's head.

    Eglise Sant Pere à FIGUERES (Catalunya)
  6. 6

    The Costa Brava

    About 1.5 hours each way by direct bus to Tossa de Mar

    A rugged coast where pine-covered cliffs fall into turquoise coves, and Tossa de Mar is the best single target, with a walled medieval old town rising straight off the beach so you get history and a swim in one stop. The honest snag is the bus: there are only a handful a day, so check the return time carefully before you relax on the sand, or you will be stuck.

    Getting there: Take a direct Moventis Sarfa coach from Barcelona's Estacio del Nord to Tossa de Mar, about 1 hour 20 minutes to 1.5 hours. Departures are limited (only a handful a day), so check times both ways. Alternatively, take a train to Blanes and connect by bus.

    Best for: Beach-day people willing to plan around a thin bus timetable for a prettier, wilder stretch of coast.

    Costa Brava, Catalonia: Lookout to rocks and beaches between Sant Feliu de Guixols and Tossa de Mar

Thumbnail photos by Gyrofrog (CC BY-SA 2.5), Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Pirineu de Girona (CC BY-SA 3.0), Bernard Gagnon (CC BY-SA 3.0), Werner Lang (Wela49) (CC BY-SA 3.0), Martine SODAIGUI (CC BY-SA 3.0), Gabriele Delhey (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

If you only have one day

If you only have one day, make it Montserrat: the mountain scenery, the monastery, and the cable-car or rack-railway ride up give you the most memorable day Catalonia can offer near Barcelona. For a budget-friendly alternative that needs no advance planning, Sitges is the pick, since a cheap, frequent commuter train drops you a short walk from the beach.

Day trips from Barcelona: FAQs

Montserrat is the standout for first-timers: a mountaintop monastery reached by a scenic rack railway or cable car, with hiking and viewpoints. It is about 1 to 1.5 hours each way, and combined transport-and-entry tickets keep the logistics simple.

Yes. They sit on the same northbound rail line, so many travelers pair Girona's medieval Old Town with the Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres in one full day. Start early and check the fast-train times to make the connection comfortable.

Sitges is the easiest, about 40 minutes by direct R2 Sud train, with golden beaches and a pretty old town. For more dramatic, cove-lined coast, head to Tossa de Mar on the Costa Brava by direct bus, around 1.5 hours each way.

Explore more in Barcelona

Plan your trip

Top attractions

All things to do in Barcelona