Barcelona or Madrid: The Ultimate Spanish City Comparison
The smell of olive oil and the sound of flamenco dancing is in the area, and the wine is cheaper than water – welcome to Spain! Spain is one of the most beautiful destinations in Europe, with so many cities to see and explore! However, if you’re visiting for the first time, you will have the question, “Barcelona or Madrid? Which one is better to visit?”
While both cities in Spain are worth a visit and should be added to your travel bucket list, they each have pros and cons.
In this guide, I’ll compare the top 11 things you should consider when choosing between cities and help you figure out which is the best for you to visit based on my personal experience visiting both!
Let’s get into it!
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The “Too Long Didn’t Read” Overview
If you don’t want to read the full Madrid vs. Barcelona city comparison, here is a general rundown of which city you should pick based on your likes and dislikes.
Pick Barcelona if…
Barcelona is the place for you if you want to experience a beachy Spanish getaway, as Madrid does not have a beach. Barcelona is also the place for you if you wish to have more trendy restaurants, a formal “party” atmosphere, or to stay in some of the world’s best hotels.
Pick Madrid If…
If you prefer to visit a city where you don’t have to try too hard to have an authentic Spanish experience, Madrid is a city worth exploring for you. This Spanish capital is my favorite with its chill nightlife, amazing and traditional tapas bars, and world-class art museums!
Barcelona vs. Madrid (in depth)
Okay, now that you’ve gotten an overview of which city might be what you are looking for, let’d dive into the major differences, category by category.
1. Restaurants and Food
Madrid and Barcelona have an epic food scene, and you won’t leave either city hungry. Madrid is home to 45 local “mercados” and is a great place to stop for a bite or try some local Spanish cheese, wine, ham, wine, fruit, and more wine (you are in Spain!)
While Barcelona has fewer local markets, it is home to the Legendary Mercat de Sant Josep de La Boqueria (La Boqueria for short.) While this MASSIVE food hall is a tourist hotspot, it’s not a tourist trap. Chefs still order their produce and ingredients here, and it’s worth a stop if you love food!
In terms of restaurants, both Madrid and Barcelona have a similar number of Michelin-star restaurants if you prefer upscale food. Madrid and Barcelona have many bars and restaurants (Spain holds the record for the most bars per capita in Europe!) Madrid’s food scene skews to the more traditional, whereas Barcelona has more trendy little gastropubs mixed in with traditional tapas spots.
The winner: Madrid takes the gold here due to the more local and authentic tapas bars and food scene.
2. The Soccer Scene
Barcelona and Madrid are home to a very loved soccer club – Barcelona has FC Barcelona, while Madrid has Real Madrid. Both teams are legends globally, and I can say that they have some of the best players of all time on their roster.
Both cities LOVE soccer games and the cities come alive (even more than usual) when a game is on. The bars are full and loud, and the energy is an absolute blast to experience.
The winner: Madrid also takes this one solely because their team has better scores than Barcelona, making it a little extra fun to experience a game in the capital city. It’s always fun to be in the winning city on game day!
3. Arts & Museums
If you love museums and art, both cities won’t disappoint. Madrid has the “Golden Triangle of Art” with three top-notch museums, all within a 10-15 minute walk of each other. This “triangle” includes:
- The Prado Museum: Home to over 7000 paintings by Spanish masters and global artists like Rembrandt.
- Reina Sofia Museum: Showcases modern art by Picasso, Miró, and Dalí, famously housing Picasso’s “Guernica.” You can visit on Sunday afternoons for free entry.
- Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum: Features around 1000 works by Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, and Dali
Inside Barcelona’s gorgeous Gothic Quarter, you’ll find the Picasso Museum. If Picasso is a little “out there” for you, simply head to the Museu Nacional d’Arte de Catalunya to learn more about art from the Catalan region.
On top of the museums, Barcelona has the works of Antoni gaudí, such as the Sagrada Familia, Park Guel, and various Gaudi-designed buildings around the city.
The winner: The answer here is that it depends! Madrid takes this category for a traditional indoor art and museum experience. However, if you want to walk around in a city that feels like a museum without actually going to one, the choose Barcelona.
4. The Great Outdoors
Madrid is home to some massive outdoor greenspaces- the most famous being Retiro Park. Once only for the Spanish Monarchy, Retiro Park is now a chill public park with loads of walking paths, monuments, and a small lake where you can rent paddle boats.
Madrid also has Casa de Campo, the largest park in the city and about 5x the size of Central Park in New York! Home to a lake, a walking path, a zoo, an amusement park, and bars and restaurants, this is a great outdoor space to spend the day that most tourists don’t visit.
Barcelona, on the other hand, has both greenspaces AND a beach. The Barceloneta beach runs the length of the city and needs to be added to any Barcelona itinerary you make.
In terms of green areas, I can’t forget Guadi’s famous Parc Guell, which has an epic view of Barcelona’s skyline, beautiful gardens, architecture, and picnic tables to relax for the day.
The winner: Sorry, Madrid, Barcelona gets this with its perfect combination of greenspaces and beach spaces!
5. Hotels and Accommodation
As Barcelona and Madrid are both large cities, both offer a good range of hotels and accommodations for various budgets.
One thing to know about both Madrid and Barcelona is that they have large numbers of airbnbs, which has become a problem of over-tourism for the locals.
In some areas like La Latina in Madrid, these airbnbs have jacked up the cost of apartments so much that locals cannot afford living.
For this reason, I do recommend staying in a hotel in either city. Barcelona is a bigger tourist hotspot than Madrid, so it has more hotel options than the Spanish capital.
The possibilities in Barcelona are pretty much limitless, and you won’t struggle to find a hotel to fit your needs or budget.
The winner: Barcelona takes this one.
6. The Weather
Both Madrid and Barcelona have excellent weather most of the year, with hot summers and mild winters.
However, Barcelona has the coastal-Mediteranean-sea situation on its side. With the beach spanning the city, Barcelona has a slight breeze all year long, which is very welcome during the incredibly hot summers where temperatures can soar into the 80s or even 90s.
The winter in Barcelona is super mild, with January and February being the cold months, only getting as cold as around 55 °F during the day.
Being land-locked in the center of the country, Madrid can get unbearably hot in the summer, where it feels like you’re melting.
While the winters are mild and snow is rare, it is a bit colder than its coastal counterpart – the average temperature in January or February is around 10 °F less than in Barcelona. However, I experienced 65 °F weather in Madrid in February, so sometimes you get lucky!
The winner: While both cities have mild climates, Barcelona wins this category. It’s all about that coastal breeze!
7. Getting Around
For being a major city, I think Madrid is one of the most walkable cities in all of Spain. The historic city center is compact, making walking between all the main tourist destinations quick and easy.
You also have famous tapas streets like Calle de Cava Baja or Calle Ponzano where you can walk 1-minute between bar-to-bar and eat fantastic food. And, when you don’t want to walk, Madrid has one of the best metro systems in Europe!
Barcelona is walkable as well, but not as much as Madrid. Some of the main tourist sites are a little further apart, meaning you’ll need to spend more time in the city if you want to explore them all on foot. The Good news is that Barcelona’s metro system is almost as good as Madrid’s for those days when saving time is more important than getting steps.
The winner: Madrid for its walkability and epic metro station.
8. Madrid vs. Barcelona Nightlife
The nightlife in Madrid is about as authentic as it gets. The city has many options to suit your “going out” preferences, from large music venues, clubs, bars, upscale cocktail bars, or beer pubs. The streets are lined with bars and terraces to stay out late talking over a glass of vermouth, and the locals are much more friendly and open to chatting with you over a glass of wine.
The nightlife in Madrid is more traditionally Spanish, focusing on going out with a group to hop around tapas bars and mingle and enjoy the evenings.
Barcelona’s nightlife feels more touristy and edgy. The focus here is on traditional partying with huge bars and nightclubs and lots of young, people. But even so, the nightlife is one of the major reasons people choose Barcelona, as it makes for a fun destination for a 30th birthday trip!
The winner: Madrid takes the cake on this one. Why party like you could at home when you could keep it more authentic and Spanish while in Spain?
9. Cost
While Madrid and Barcelona are a little bit more expensive than some other cities in Spain due to being the most touristic, Barcelona is more expensive than Madrid.
The average daily cost for one person in Barcelona is around $160, whereas in Madrid is about $130. Of course, this can change based on the season, where you stay, where you eat, etc.
The winner: Madrid is the more affordable of the two.
10. Attractions
Both Madrid and Barcelona have a lot of things to do. In Madrid, you can spend time at Retiro Park, explore the Mercado San Miguel, check out the gorgeous Almudena Cathedral and Royal Palace, or people watch over sangria in Plaza Mayor.
Barcelona has more “show-stopping” attractions like Park Guell, Casa Batllo, La Boqueria Market, The Sagrada Familiar, and Ciutadella Park.
The winner: Barcelona takes this one. Although the attractions here are a little more on the “touristy” side, Madrid’s attractions might be a little lackluster if it’s your first time in Spain.
11. Day Trips
Madrid is the center of Spain, which makes it a great base for exploring other parts of the country! If you are spending more than a weekend in Madrid and want to get out of the city, you have many options available!
Around Madrid, you could see ancient UNESCO World Heritage sites at the villages near Madrid like Toledo, Avila, and Segovia. Those three are all so close you could do them in one day. You could also choose my favorite day trip – Cordoba. This beautiful Andalusian town has a white-washed Jewish quarter that is one the prettiest places in all of Spain.
If you have some extra days in Madrid, you could also take a train to Southern Spain and see Seville, the beautiful birthplace of Flamenco!
With Barcelona being on the Costa Brava, you’ll be exploring beautiful beachy towns like Sitges, Cadaques or Tarragona for day trips from Barcelona. Also, Barcelona is near the stunning wine region of Catalonia, which has many beautiful wineries worth visiting.
The winner: Madrid if you prefer ancient, historic cities and Barcelona if you want to keep it more relaxed and beachy.
Let’s Wrap This Up: Which is better to visit Madrid or Barcelona?
While both cities are fantastic places to visit, the answer to “Which city should I visit” really depends. I personally believe that Madrid is the better choice between the two. This comes down to the Spanish capital’s more authentic and local experience.
However, if you prefer to visit a Spanish city that has beaches, a bigger “party vibe” for nightlife, and more famous things to see, you may want to consider Barcelona.
Regardless of which one you choose, you’re bound to have a fun, delicious, and memorable time exploring the beautiful country of Spain!
Have you visited any of these cities? Do you agree with my pros and cons?
FAQ About Barcelona or Madrid
Is Madrid or Barcelona bigger?
Madrid, being Spain’s capital city, is larger than Barcelona. Madrid’s metropolitan area is over 600 square kilometers, while Barcelona’s metro area is only around 100 kilometers large. The population of Madrid is almost double that of Barcelona.
Is Barcelona better than Madrid?
Barcelona is better than Madrid if you want to spend time on the beach, party and have more “tourist” things to do. If you like a more charming, authentic experience, then Barcelona is no better than Madrid.
How far apart are Madrid and Barcelona?
The driving distance between Madrid and Barcelona is about 6 hours or 606km.
Can Barcelona be a day trip from Madrid?
Yes, Barcelona COULD be a day trip from Madrid if you take the high-speed train, which gets you from Madrid to Barcelona in about 2.5 hours. However, just because you can does not mean you should. You would be incredibly rushed and unable to enjoy Barcelona in such a short time fully.
Guest Post written by Taylor of Culture Craving Couple
