Rent a Car in Barcelona

Barcelona itself is one of Europe's most walkable cities — the Gothic Quarter, the Ramblas, Park Güell and the Sagrada Família are all within a compact area served by an excellent metro. But the city sits in a privileged position: within two hours you can be in the Pyrenees, in the wine country of the Penedès, on the wild coast of the Costa Brava or at the monastery of Montserrat, one of the most dramatic settings in Spain. None of these are properly served by public transport from the city, and all of them reward the flexibility of your own car.

Sitges, the sophisticated beach town 40 km south along the C-32, takes 30 minutes and is far preferable to Barcelona's city beaches for a day by the sea. The Priorat wine region, the Roman city of Tarragona and the surreal Salvador Dalí triangle — Figueres, Cadaqués and Púbol — all become feasible day trips or overnighters. Picking up a hire car at BCN airport on arrival and returning it on departure is the smoothest way to combine a few days in the city with a wider Catalan road trip.