Time Out Shortlist Barcelona 2012

Time Out's resident team helps travelers get the best out of the Catalan capital, providing the inside track on local culture plus hundreds of independent venue reviews. As well as covering visitor essentials, the guide reveals the city's best kept secrets, known only to locals. Unparalleled in its enthusiasm for a good time, Barcelona barely has time to take down the bunting between its rollicking festivals. When there isn’t an all-night fiesta happening on the street, there’s more than likely a party on the beach and never any shortage of action in its clubs and bars. All of this takes place in a perfect climate and against a backdrop of mind-blowing Modernista architecture and a cityscape as varied as any. Gentler pursuits are also myriad; the city’s museums have got it all covered from Picasso to perfume, its galleries are among the most avant-garde in Europe and its history is writ large in the churches and perfectly preserved medieval alleyways of the Barri.