Barcelona in 3 days: a weekend for two

There is no efficient route, and that is the pleasure: double back, find the courtyard you both missed, and stop for a drink under the palms of the Plaça Reial. Wear shoes made for uneven cobblestones.

As the light fades, walk the fifteen minutes of Las Ramblas toward the harbor, when street performers, closing flower stalls and the thickening evening crowd give the boulevard its best hour.

A short walk from the Gothic Quarter, the Palau de la Música Catalana is a modernist concert hall whose stained-glass skylight and tiled columns make the interior a sight in itself, and a short guided visit gives you twenty minutes inside without spending the afternoon. Visits run on a schedule, so check times before you walk over.

Book a timed ticket well in advance; it is the one reservation this weekend worth locking early. Allow about an hour and a half inside, plus the optional tower elevator for the view.

Then ride the metro a straight couple of stops (or walk about 45 minutes) down to Barceloneta, the old fishing quarter, for a few unstructured hours on the sand. Bring sunscreen in any season.

If the basilica's time slots don't fit, see Gaudí at human scale at Casa Batlló on the Passeig de Gràcia, with undulating balconies and a rooftop like a dragon's spine. It is a faster visit in the same Eixample district. A timed entry helps here too, though same-day tickets turn up more often.

The monumental zone needs a timed ticket; the free outer areas carry the same strangeness. It is uphill and sunny, so go early with water.

Later, climb to the Bunkers del Carmel, a former anti-aircraft post with a sweeping view over the rooftops to the sea. Entry is free, but the site is fenced and access tightens at busy times, so treat it as a daytime viewpoint. The hike up from transit is steep and shadeless.

Skip the park and head straight for the Bunkers del Carmel. It costs nothing, and the panorama is arguably the better of the two. A taxi earns its fare here, since public transit gets you close but not all the way.