Closed for renovation until 2007. Gaudí's first work appears less flamboyant than his later efforts, but a journey to the rooftop reveals an amazing display of chimneys and mosaics. From here you can peer down into the studio at No 6 where Picasso, who loathed Gaudí's work, began his Blue Period.

Just a hop and a skip from La Rambla, this mansion is one of the few Modernista buildings in the Ciutat Vella. It was built in the late 1880s for Gaudí's patron, Eusebi Güell.

The compulsory guided tour starts grimly, in the subterranean stables where police tortured political prisoners after the Civil War. Dark grey marble stairs lead to a series of 1st-floor vestibules with columned galleries overhanging the street, designed to maximise space and natural light. The next floor contains the building's most sumptuous room, where the family used to entertain undaunted by the mammoth domed ceiling reaching three stories above them. Carry on up to the roof for a uniquely Gaudí-style flight of fancy.

A wonderfully captivating gallery showcasing the delights of Miró. Miró's friend Josep Lluís Sert designed the gallery and its amazing use of white and light makes it an unforgettable experience. The gallery was Miró's gift to his beloved city. It also houses exhibitions by contemporary artists.

The gallery is home to the largest single collection of Miró's work in the world, including paintings, sculptures, engravings, lithographs and ceramics. Only a small amount of the collection is displayed at one time and there is far too much to take in during just one visit.

While the permanent exhibition concentrates on Miró's more settled final years, it also gives captivating insights into the evolution of his work, tracing his stylistic changes from rebelliousness to conventional painting.

Many of the works reflect his trademark style - a delicacy coupled with an aggressive use of primary colours and symbols - while others convey his wit and sense of the absurd. There are also many wonderful sculptures in and around the building, by Miró and others, and one room contains paintings donated by other artists after Miró's death in 1983.

La Sagrada Família is truly awe-inspiring. Even if you don't have much time, don't miss it. The most ambitious work of Barcelona's favourite son, Antoni Gaudí, the magnificent spires of the unfinished cathedral imprint themselves boldly against the sky with swelling outlines inspired by the holy Montserrat.

The spires are encrusted with a tangle of sculptures that seem to breathe life into the stone. Gaudí died in 1926 before his masterwork was completed and, since then, controversy has continually dogged the building programme. Nevertheless, the southwestern (Passion) facade, with four new towers, is complete, with only decorative detail to be added, and the nave, begun in 1978, is progressing. Some say the shell should have been left as a monument to Gaudí, but today's chief architect, Jordi Bonet, argues that the completion of La Sagrada Família must progress, as the building is intended to atone for sin and appeal to God's mercy on Catalonia.

This hallucinatory, undulating beast is yet another madcap Gaudí masterpiece, built between 1905 and 1910 as a combined apartment and office block. Formerly called the Casa Milà, it's better known as La Pedrera (the quarry) because of its uneven grey stone facade that creates a wave effect, which is further emphasized by elaborate wrought-iron balconies.

Visitors can tour the building and go up to the roof, where giant multicoloured chimney pots jut up like medieval knights. On summer weekend nights, the roof is eerily lit and open for spectacular views of Barcelona. One floor below the roof is a modest museum dedicated to Gaudí's work.

Barcelona's most visited museum shows numerous works tracing the artist's early years and is especially strong on his Blue Period, with canvasses like The Defenceless, as well as ceramics and early works from the 1890s. The rest of the museum traces Picasso's life and travels.

The stunning stone mansions that house the museum are situated on the Carrer de Montcada, which was, in medieval times, an approach to the port. The 1st floor is devoted to Picasso's Blue Period. The 2nd floor displays his impressionist-influenced works, produced in Barcelona and Paris between 1900 and 1904. The haunting Portrait of Señora Canals (1905), from his Rose Period, is also on display. Among the later works, all painted in Cannes in 1957, is a complex technical series entitled Las Meninas, which consists mostly of studies on Diego Velázquez's eponymous masterpiece.

This is one of the most popular summertime dance locations, inside the fantasy land of Poble Espanyol. This outdoor club attracts bright young things from around the city for Ibiza-style nights of pure hedonism. Wacky dress (or undress) rules and the main danger is not passing bouncers' muster. If you make it in, brace yourself for a wild night.

This multi-hall dance space has been keeping the beat in Barcelona since the darkest days of Franco. It frequently stages quality acts, local and foreign, ranging from funk guitar to rock most nights of the week. There are also all sorts of themed club nights to keep the party people sweet, such as 'Hospital Emergency'... nurse, fix me a cocktail!

Inside the unprepossessing entrance is one of the city's oldest cocktail bars (famed for its divine daiquiris). The bow-tied waiters have been serving up their poison since 1933. Joan Miró and - surprise surprise - Hemingway tippled here.

It's getting a foot in the door that's a problem here. If you want one of the five tables out the back (doubtless a comfier but more expensive option), call well ahead of time. Most diners are happy elbowing their way to the bar for some of the tastiest gourmet seafood tapas in town. The gambas (prawns) de Palamós are recommended.

Gilt-framed mirrors and black-and-white tiled floors reinforce the old-world atmosphere of this Barcelona classic, founded in 1836 and renowned for its paella, seafood platters and enormous portions. You might sit in a chair previously warmed by the bum of Einstein, Orson Welles, Picasso or Ava Gardner.

Jean-Luc Figueras is an internationally renowned chef and this restaurant is his most amazing accomplishment. He's overseen every detail down to the crayon-drawn individual menus. Each dish is bewitching - the sum of wonderful ingredients, skill and passion. One of Barcelona's most incredible foodie experiences.