While some busy tourist cities can be occasionally difficult to navigate by car, that’s not true of Barcelona. The wide boulevards of the Eixample area may narrow as you get to the Barri Gotic, but the road system here is comprehensive and used to visitors. Head out of Barcelona and you’ll find yourself in one of the most charming parts of Spain, ripe for exploration in your hire car.

Check out this guide to driving in Spain online, which covers speed limits, information about fuel and speed limits. The latter will be signposted with speeds varying from 50kph (about 31mph) in built-up areas to 120kph (74mph on motorways). Seat belts are mandatory, and you shouldn’t use full-beam headlights within a town or city. You’ll find a few pedestrianised areas in Barcelona, and also a one-way system such as on La Rambla.

If your destination is Barcelona itself, you can take the C-31 north-east to the city, which will take about 30 minutes. If your stay is elsewhere along the Catalan coastline, you can take the same road in the opposite direction (or the C-32, which runs almost parallel) for Castelldefels and the popular resort of Sitges. You can leave the C-32 and join the AP-7 for Tarragona and on to the eastern coast of Spain.

Some directions will take you onto toll roads called Autopistas. These are the roads that start with AP, such as the AP-7 and parts of some C-Roads. You can find an English language guide to them online – but our local teams will also be able to help you. 

With only a few days in Barcelona, the main thing to decide is what to leave out. Do you sacrifice a splendid sun-kissed day at the beach for a tour of the unreal interior of another Antoni Gaudi building? Do you visit the impressive Cathedral or the quieter, more serene Santa Maria del Mar? Do you eat fresh shellfish near the port, or head into the Barri Gotic for tremendous tapas? Just do what you can – you’ll almost certainly want to come back.

Dwell with Guell

Many of the most famous buildings in Barcelona are the work of the visionary Antoni Gaudi. You should definitely see Casa Mila (AKA La Pedrera), Casa Batllo and La Sagrada Familia, but one of his lesser-known gems only opened to the public for the first time a few years ago. Palau Guell was yet another building Gaudi designed for his main patrons – along with Parc Guell in the north of the city – and comes without the queues of the more famous attractions. The stunning interior is full of delights both subtle and in your face, from the breath-taking entrance hall right up to the rooftop with its crazy chimneys.

Just the Tickets

Celebrity chefs don’t come much more feted than the Adria brothers – formerly of the famed El Bulli. Ferran and Albert now have six locations in the city, ranging from the simple to the playful. Tickets is in the middle, split into several zones, bright and cheery but with exceptional food. Some of it is deceptive, other dishes almost alchemical - spherical fake olives that explode in the mouth, a suckling pig taco, a ‘mini airbag’ of Manchego cheese.

Even more experimental is their newly opened Enigma, where you can get architectural daring, 40 courses and a passcode to the restaurant on payment of a deposit. You can expect to be there for nearly four hours. To discuss the menu would be to spoil the surprise.

Sunny Sitges

For a more relaxed day or two, drive down to Sitges, just over 20 miles away. This resort gets lively at night when the clubs open, but in the daytime, it’s a pretty seaside town with fine museums. Come in October for the film festival, arrive out-of-season for peace and quiet or experience Sitges in party mode during summer.

Sitges is just one of many coastal towns you can discover with car hire at Barcelona El Prat Airport.