Is Barcelona Expensive? How Much to Budget Per Day

Budget Accommodation in Barcelona

Accommodation in Barcelona is expensive in high season. Our slow travel style was beneficial to our budget as we were able to rent a double room in a shared apartment for three weeks at a lower cost than an average hotel room or apartment rental.

If you’re able to stay for a longer period, many use idealista to find longer-term rentals. If you’re not able to rent for such an extended period of time, then your best bet from our research is to use booking.com or a similar accommodation comparison website. 

On a budget? Try searching for homestays in Barcelona on Homestay.com. Private rooms in homestays start at as little as £11 per night in Barcelona.

We’d recommend trying to find a place in the heart of the city to avoid long metro rides. If you need short-term accommodation, budget more per day for your Barcelona trip.

Barcelona Restaurant Prices

All-you-can-stuff-in falafel wraps from Maoz

Barcelona Drink Prices

You can’t go to Barcelona and not be part of the late night tapas culture! Locals in Barcelona won’t eat until late. They prefer to snack on tapas (small plates) while having a drink, often at multiple different bars.

Compared to the UK, drinking in Barcelona is cheap. A glass of wine will cost €3 on average and a beer even less. Drink local, Catalan wine. It’s not only delicious, but it’s also cheaper than imported foreign wine.

Stay away from enormous glasses of sangria on Las Ramblas. These are overpriced and while sangria is sold in Barcelona it originates from the south of Spain. The local drink in Barcelona is vermouth — vermut in Spanish. The local beers are Estrella and Moritz. 

We discovered a small wine shop near La Boqueria where a bottle of ecological, sustainably-sourced wine cost as little as €3 a bottle. While we were in Barcelona it felt like there was a party on every night. It is common for people to sit in the parks and listen to music passing around a bottle of beer. This is a cheap and popular option in Barcelona. The Spanish even have a word for it: botellón. Note that it is technically illegal to drink on the streets in Barcelona.

Street vendors sell beer, also illegally. These vendors are known as ‘cerveza beer men’ because they speak both Spanish and English, asking you if you want a ‘cerveza? beer?’ in quick succession. The price for a can of beer from one is €1. They will tell you it’s more if you look new to Barcelona. Cerveza beer men frequent festivals. When the police come by, the men scatter, hiding their (warm) beer in bushes and gutters. They will reappear when the police have passed and sell those same beers, so give them a clean before drinking.

Barcelona Public Transport Cost

Barcelona is a great city to get around by foot. Many of the bigger sights are within walking distance of each other (except for Park Guell). For longer distances, the metro is your best way to get around the city. A ten journey ticket costs €10 and is better value than buying a single ticket. You can use the same ticket for a metro journey on buses, funiculars and some train and tram services. It will only count the journey as one ‘use’ so long as it is within the same hour and a half.

For those that are out late at night – which is pretty much everyone in Barcelona – the night buses are an excellent option for when the Metro has closed. They are equally cheap (you can use your ten journey metro ticket). There are different routes, including the N16 and N17 buses which go to the airports. They run throughout the night and the early hours of the morning.

Barcelona Attractions Prices

It can get expensive in Barcelona if you are visiting many tourist attractions. 

Here are the entrance prices for many of the most popular attractions in Barcelona

• Sagrada Familia – €15
• Parc Guell – Free (you only have to pay if you want to enter the front area which costs €7.50)

Book entry to Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell in advance because they’re very busy on the day. Discounts and concessions are often available in advance too.

Do you want to experience local culture in Barcelona? We really recommend taking a Catalan cooking class with Barcelona Slow Travel. The class is ran by locals in Barcelona in their own apartments. The food and wine is locally-sourced and delicious. We loved learning to cook tapas in the class. Read about our experience in the cooking class here.

If you’re Barcelona travel budget is tight, then there are things to do for free in Barcelona. The city is home to lovely parks, squares and beaches, and free walking tours (tips expected). If you love walking like us, then you can plan a walking route to check out the city’s great architecture. Enjoying these activities can make your trip to Barcelona less expensive.

Read our Barcelona travel guide for more activities.

Cheap Flights to Barcelona

Flights to Barcelona from London and other European capitals can be cheap, especially if you’re travelling in off-season. I recommend checking flights regularly and comparing different dates. Try to avoid travelling in peak season when flight prices can be much higher.

Cheap Flights Tip! We use Skyscanner to check prices and book our flights. When you search on Skyscanner, select “full month” to see which dates have the lowest prices.

Is Barcelona Expensive?

Barcelona is not a cheap European destination. But it is possible to enjoy your visit without emptying your bank account. If you can, take advantage of travelling slowly in Barcelona as this will benefit your budget.

How expensive was your trip to Barcelona? Let me know how you saved or where you splurged!