Barcelona Vacations

Swept by the breezes with humid, temperate winters and balmy, dry summers, Barcelona enjoys a Mediterranean climate. Thunderstorms and rains are common from August through September, while dry months span from February through July.

Summer is peak season, and August is the hottest and most tourist-populated month. Save bucks traveling between mid-September to mid-November, when the weather is still pleasant, or come when it's colder -- and cheaper -- from January until March.

Festivals and events are held year-round and one of the most popular is the Festa Major de Gràcia, and August street bash, featuring live music, outdoor movies and theater.

Buy a Barcelona City card to score free public transportation plus discounts on museums, venues, shops and restaurants.

Explore the city's numerous parks, including the Parc de la Ciutadella and Gaudí Parc Guell just north of the city.

Dive into pintxos at tapas bar Euskal Etxea, where toothpick-speared bites are paid for based on how many you eat.

Shop for original Spanish fashions at Mango and Zara, plus MTX Barcelona and ultra colorful Custo Barcelona.

Come during Festes de la Mercèe, a September street festival filled with fireworks, an over-sea air show and performances.

Stroll through a maze of once-Roman streets studded with cathedrals, picturesque squares and boutiques, tapas joints and bars aplenty.

Surreal with Gothic and Modernist details, this Gaudi-designed Roman Catholic basilica is punctuated by eighteen spires and three grand facades. Climb the towers for picture-perfect views of Barcelona and beyond.

Walk through a glass-encased shark tunnel at this seaside stunner, home to multicolored fish, sharks, corals, eels and more. Kids enjoy educational activities and interactive aquariums. Experienced divers can swim with the sharks in the Oceanarium.

Architecture buffs flock to this open-air village where quarters are dedicated to architecture, craft workshops, shopping, wining and dining.

Built by Antoni Gaudi, this wavy building features espanta bruixes -- chimneys designed to scare off witches. Head to the Espai Guadi in the attic, a gallery dedicated to the life and work of Gaudi.

Learn about the history of FC Barcelona at this football museum, replete with trophy halls, winning balls, team garb and interactive exhibits.

Bring the tykes to this animal haven where the world-famous albino gorilla Snowflake once lived. Today they'll meet dolphins, iguanas, hippos, orangutan, gazelle and more. A train runs around the park.

Stand in awe of one of the extensive collection of Spaniard Pablo Piccasso's work, hung in five interconnected medieval palaces.

Ogle this dynamite museum filled with the artist's colorful paintings, sculptures, tapestries and early sketches.

Get ready to be wowed by this kaleidoscopic, mile-long road, enlivened with street performers, stalls and cafes.

Madrid may be the capital of Spain, but Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, an autonomous region with its own language on the country’s northeast Mediterranean coast. One of the most popular European destinations, spend time in this shimmering city, and you’ll soon be calling it “Barthelona” along with its Catalonian locals. The city is a culturally rich urban oasis, drawing tourists for its art and architecture, food and fashion, history and multiple UNESCO World Heritage Sites, particularly those in the Modernista (Spanish Art Nouveau) style, brilliantly represented by Antoni Gaudí’s not-quite-finished masterpiece that’s become the symbol of the city—La Sagrada Família. The best way to see Barcelona is to walk. Get lost among the narrow alleyways of the romantic Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter), then saunter up Las Ramblas, Barcelona’s famous pedestrian artery to take in the beautiful architecture and plentiful street performers. Head to Montjuïc, a hill overlooking the city with Roman and Celtic history, for art museums and sites from the 1929 International Exhibition and the 1992 Summer Olympics. Nature lovers are appeased, too, with about 70 parks representing 10 percent of the city’s footprint and arguably the best stretch of urban beach in the world. But don’t let the city’s laid-back style fool you. Barcelona locals are smart dressers. International luxury boutiques line Passeig de Gràcia; venture into El Born and Gràcia neighborhoods for local designer finds. Just remember that shops close for four-hour, midday siestas. Sample culinary delights with an evening of tapas-bar hopping, then submit to Barcelona’s nightlife scene, with several LGBT-friendly spots and late-night dancing that lasts until dawn breaks over the Mediterranean.

AOL Travel’s Barcelona Guide

AOL Travel's Best Barcelona Hotels