Barcelona and ?

Have you been to Spain before? What are your interests: art, architecture, history, theatre, music, food and wine...?

We like all of the above, and could easily have spent a week in Barcelona itself. But Madrid is a few hours away by AVE train, and is also wonderful.

I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions. But do let us know what kinds of things you like to do.

Thanks for the reply. I am going to modify my OP because as we've worked out the time frame, it appears we are going to only have from Saturday to likely flying out on Tuesday. (instead of Friday as originally planned)

So at this point, I'd say we are going to be limited to staying in Barcelona vicinity.

We have never been to Spain. Only time we've been to Europe is 10 days in southern Germany.

We definitely like history and historic sites.

We love breath taking views and sites. That's probably our favorite thing

We both like food but my wife LOVES food. I'm not nearly as adventurous when it comes to food. We love taking food/history tours if we can.

We aren't into wine or art really but we do like some museums.

Rent a car, drive up the coast and stop in Couliire(?) maybe about 1.5 hours, which is a super south French coastal town where many of the impressionists used to winter. There is a spectacular Sunday market that will take your breath away-it's one of our favorite places in France, and definitely off the grid to most American tourists.

With only two full days in Barcelona, I would stay put and enjoy all the town has to offer. I'm making my first trip there in a few weeks and I have 3 full days. I filled those 3 days jam-packed with activities and I have not included a SINGLE art museum as I'm not a big fan. Grab a RS tour book and jot down the sites that interest you - I am sure they will fill far more than 2 days. I have about 10 sites that I couldn't fit on my touring list.

You don't have enough time to go anywhere far. Barcelona has enough to do for weeks. RS has 150 pages devoted to Barcelona in his Spain book. Collioure is a nice town, but it's not worth one of your only two days. The Fauves art movement was there, not the Impressionists.

I agree with Valerie and Bets. With only two full days in Barcelona, you don't have time to go anywhere else. The Gaudí sights alone can fill a day, especially if you go to Parc Guell. We spent at least half a day there. Then there's the Cathedral Square, Las Ramblas, the Royal Barcelona Maritime Museum, the Picasso Museum, the Chocolate Museum, the beach, ... And wonderful food. Have a ball!

In your limited time, Saturday to Tuesday, I'd focus primarily on Barcelona. I'd allocate roughly a day to the Gothic Quarter, maybe start with the TI guided walk then visit the sights most interesting to you. Another day for Moderniste architecture including the Block of Discord, Park Guell and Sagrada Familia. A third day could be given to Las Ramblas, then continuing up the beaches from the Columbus monument to the Olympic Village. If you find yourself with a half day in nice weather, you might catch a train from the station near the Olympic Village and head up the coast to one of the little towns on the Costa Brava (maybe Arynes de Mar or Tossa de Mar), spend some time on the beach and have a meal. Another alternative is to catch a day trip by bus, either from the TI or local bus station, to Montserrat. This will give you some religious history as well as lots of good hiking options.

I agree with those who say there is more than enough to see in Barcelona in two days. (Make sure to reserve anything Gaudi in advance, if you don't want to waste a chunk of your two days waiting in line.)

That said, I loved Montserrat more than anything in Barcelona itself, except perhaps the Sagrada Familia, and you can get there and back in time to still have supper and do something in the evening in Barcelona.