Barcelona, Spain is one of Europe’s most popular tourist and conference destinations. The city is a fabulous mix of a preserved gothic quarter, modern, fashion-oriented development, accessible waterfront and beautiful parks on the outskirts. There are some terrific running options near downtown hotels and the convention center. The absolute “musts” are along the waterfont/beach, the Montjuic area, and Ciutadella Park. A good opportunity for a long, seamless run is along the Besós River, from the waterfront west for up to 10k. It’s also fun to do a “tourist run”, which includes some of Barcelona’s most famous streets and sites — but they get crowded so it’s best to run early. Another ‘must’ is to get up into the hills, mainly Parc Collserola, which in addition to fabulous trail running, has great views of the eight-spired, iconic Sagrada Familia cathedral. Note:If you’d like to have an in-person guided running experience in Barcelona, we highly recommend our friends at Go! Running Tours.
Barcelona has great public transport, so it’s easy to do a run one-way and hop the bus or metro. The metro also takes you to Parc Collserola.
Barcelona weather is good for running. Winters are relatively mild, with temps rarely falling below freezing. Summers can be hot, but tolerable. Air pollution can be an issue in the city. Try to run early. Beach area often has better air.