Is Barcelona Expensive? How Much to Budget Per Day
Is Barcelona expensive? In this Barcelona travel budget, we break down the cost of accommodation, transport, activities, tapas and wine in Barcelona.
Barcelona is a popular European destination for weekend travellers from the UK. It’s a common a stop for foreign travellers on a European sightseeing trip too. There are often budget flights to Barcelona, especially around September and October. By then high season is over (it’s also much nicer to visit then because there are fewer crowds).
Is Barcelona Expensive?
Daily Travel Expenses in Barcelona: €46 / £38
Our Barcelona travel budget includes accommodation, three meals per day, transport and activities. This travel budget does not include international flights. Currency conversions are approximate figures.
Compared to London prices, Barcelona isn’t too expensive. It is costly relative to other European destinations such as Poland or Bulgaria. Our spend in Barcelona was reasonable. Unlike other tourists in Barcelona, we have the economic advantage of being slow travellers. We travelled on a budget and spent three weeks renting a double room in an apartment in Barcelona. Our daily travel budget reflects a very affordable time away in Spain’s coolest city.
Average Costs in Barcelona:
Here is a breakdown of the average costs per person for daily expenses in Barcelona:
One night in a shared apartment rental (double room, total) | €50 / £42 (total for room) |
Transport around the city | €2.60 / £2.20 |
Lunch/Dinner at a restaurant in Barcelona | €12 / £10.50 |
Espresso at a local cafe | €1.50 / £1.30 |
Glass of Catalan wine | €3 / £2.60 |
Our Big Expenses in Barcelona (per person):
Catalan Cooking Class in Barcelona | €95 / £83 |
Entry to Montjuic Castle | €5 / £4.30 |
Entry to Sagrada Familia | €15 / £13 |
Entry to Park Guell | €7.50 / £6.50 |
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
To start the day, grab a coffee and a croissant for breakfast. This usually costs around €2 – €3. Eat big at lunch time. Look out for menu del dia (menu of the day). It is often scribbled on a chalkboard outside restaurants at lunchtime. A good menu del dia includes a first and second course and a drink or dessert for a set price. This costs from €8 – €15. The menu del dias only apply to lunchtime, although you’ll find some dinner offers around.
Check out our favourite vegetarian restaurants in Barcelona.
- Most Expensive Eat: A two-course dinner on the roof terrace at Flax & Kale – €37 for two people
- Least Expensive Eat: Spanish tortilla at Kop de Ma in Sants – €2 for a slice (and the most delicious Spanish omelette I’ve ever tasted)
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!
Wendy@TheNomadicVegan
Hi Charlie,
I’ll be in Barcelona two weeks from now, so thanks for this! Did you like Flax & Kale? I love Teresa Carles, which I think is run by the same people, but F&K seems to get mixed reviews. Any other veg*n recommendations for Barça?
Charlie on Travel
Hey Wendy! I’ve got a blog post on 17 awesome vegan and vegetarian restaurants and tapas bars in Barcelona coming up next Monday. Flax & Kale does feature (and yes, is run by TC). I liked it a lot there, but I think it was because of the atmosphere more than the food – I loved drinking wine on the on the roof top terrace. I thought the menu had some amazing dishes on there but unfortunately I didn’t like the dish I chose – the raw zuchinni blossoms. I thought the sauce was gross :/ I always choose something different in restuarants that I’ve never had before, which sometimes works out and sometimes doesn’t. We had a delicious grilled watermelon and goats cheese starter though, so I suspect that the experience very much depends on what it is you actually order!
Wendy@TheNomadicVegan
Great, thanks! Looking forward to your post on Monday!
Charlie on Travel
Awesome, thanks Wendy!! :)
Mr Chris Spencer
Thank you so much for your help Charlie I will be looking for an economy flight to Barcelona
to take in a little sunshine , it will make a break from UK winter
Thank You So Much Chris Spencer Croxley Green Herts
Charlie on Travel
:D
Shing
Love the infographic! I went to Barcelona pre Airbnb days and ended up staying in a hostel that had too many things wrong with it to list, and worst still, it was the most expensive hostel I’ve ever stayed at!
Glad to know about the 10 journey ticket – very useful. I definitely need to go to Barcelona again, I’m determined to get along with it ;-)
Charlie on Travel
Thanks, Shing! I also went to Barcelona quite a few years ago and stayed in a posh hotel with my mum — that was more expensive than either of us would have liked it to be for just a weekend!! I think that Airbnb or renting an apartment with locals for a month is definitely the better way to see Barcelona. It’s a super amazingly awesome city so I hope you do go back and get along with it better <3
Andrew at Nomad Capitalist
Drinking in Barcelona seems to be the easy part. Every time I go there, I switch back to drinking wine, then just stock up on great reds and enjoy. Eating is a bit harder for me, as the endless array of tapas places get me in, then sell me 6-7 euro tapas of which I need 5-6 to be filled up. :)
Charlie on Travel
It’s actual too easy! We found we were drinking so much more than we normally would while we were in Barcelona – just crazy! The Catalonian red wine is just so good though. We ate a lot of big “menu del dias” to avoid buying too many tapas ;)
Brian Magner
Hey Charlie,
Love the article so helpful. I will be staying in Barcelona for a few months. Is Barcelona Rentals and the Student Rooms/Apartments in Barcelona Facebook groups the best places to look for room for around €300 per month? Are there other options if I were to stay for a longer period? Also what do you think would be the coolest neighbourhoods to live in the city?
Thanks so much you’re awesome,
Brian :)