Barcelona is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, famed for it Gaudi architecture and tourist attractions such as the still unfinished Sagrada Familia and Las Ramblas.
But we're not bothered about that... we're interested in the football grounds you can go to whilst you're there!
When to go and how to get Barcelona
The Spanish season starts and finishes a little later than England, usually beginning towards the end of August and ending towards the end of May. Watch out for Christmas though as Spanish football usually shuts down for a couple of weeks over the festive period.
Barcelona is a very popular destination and so flights are plentiful with many low cost airlines flying there several times per day.
2 hours 30 mins • 850 miles • Late August - late May • Spanish • Euro (€)
What football grounds can I visit in Barcelona?
Surprisingly, Spain's second city doesn't actually have that many big grounds when compared to somewhere like London. However this is most likely down to the difference in population with London's 8m people far exceeding Barcelona's 1.6m inhabitants. But that doesn't mean it's not worth going...
Map of football stadiums in Barcelona
Nou Camp (FC Barcelona)
Camp Nou - home of FC Barcelona
The Nou Camp or Camp Nou, if you prefer, has been Barcelona's home stadium since it was opened in 1957.
The current capacity of 99,354 make it the largest ground in Spain, largest in Europe and 3rd largest football stadium in the world - behind North Korea's May 1st Stadium and Melbourne's MCG which are both used by national teams, making the Camp Nou the largest club ground in the world.
Barcelona's record attendance was set as recently as 1986 as an estimated 120,000 saw Barca take on Juventus in the European Cup semi-final.
Like rivals Real Madrid, Barcelona are looking to renovate the stadium, adding an extra 6,000 seats to take capacity to 105,000. A new roof will also cover half of the seats in the stadium. The €600m project is due to be completed in 2025.
Barcelona's second team is Espanyol. Historically, they're much less successful than Barca, with just a couple of Copa del Rey wins to their name in their 119 year history.
Their ground is pretty impressive though. Known as the Estadio el Prat (or the much more boring RCDE Stadium), the ground holds 40,500 people. Opened in 2009, it took 3 years to build at a cost of around €60m.
The club's tendency for mid-table finishes means that the stadium is often only half full, so tickets are easy to find for any holiday making groundhoppers.
Estadio Lluis Companys - no team currently plays here
Espanyol's previous home was the Estadi Olympic Lluis Companys and whilst no team currently plays there, this historic old old ground is still standing and definitely worth a visit.
Original built in 1927, it has a capacity of 60,713 and was Espanyol's home between 1997 and 2009.
As well as Espanyol matches, the stadium has a long history of hosting Copa del Rey finals as well as the Spanish national team and occasionally, the Andorran national team (twice for England matches). As well as football, the stadium has also hosted several other notable events including athletics, rugby and American football.
Mini Estadi - home of FC Barcelona B and Youth teams
The 3rd biggest active ground in Barcelona is actually owned by FC Barcelona and sits right next door to the Camp Nou. The Mini Estadi is a 15,000 capacity stadium where Barcelona's B team play their home games (reserve teams are allowed to enter the main leagues in Spain and Barcelona's B team regularly compete in the Segunda (2nd division and Segunda B (third division)).
Opened in 1982, the Mini Estadi is occasionally home to FC Barcelona's youth teams, known as Juventil A. The City of Barcelona's NFL team played one season at the stadium until they were disbanded in 2003. The ground has also hosted several Andorran international matches.
The Mini Estadi is due to be replaced by the new Estadi Johan Cruyff - a 6,000 seat stadium currently under construction. This is due to FC Barcelona selling the Mini Estadi to finance the redevelopment plans for the Camp Nou. This will see the Mini Estadi demolished in the near future.
Aside from Barca and Espanyol, there aren't that many big teams in Barcelona. There are however a number of smaller grounds which are used by teams in the regionalised Tercera Division (the 4th level of football in Spain). Here's a quick list of some of the grounds within 10 miles of the city centre with a capacity above 5,000:
Nou Sardenya (CE Europa) 7,000 capacity, 2.2 miles away
Narcis Sala (Sant Andreu) 6,500 capacity, 3.3 miles away
Ciutat Esportiva Dani Jarque (Espanyol B) 6,000 capacity, 3.6 miles away
Estade Feliu i Codina (Horta) 5,000 capacity, 3.7 miles away
Nou Municipal de Gramanet (FE Grama) 5,000 capacity, 4.5 miles away
Centre D'Esports l'Hospitalet (Hospitalet) 6,700 capacity,, 4.6 miles away
Estadio Municipal de Joan Baptista Mila (Santboia) 5,000 capacity, 8.0 miles away
Further afield
Whilst the centre of Barcelona isn't awash with big football grounds, there are a couple of decent sized ones not too far away from the city centre...
Nou Estadi de Tarragona (Gimnastic)
Estadio de Tarragona - home of Gimnastic
Gimnastic's imaginatively named Nou Estadi de Tarragona (literal translation: New Stadium in Tarragona) was, ironically, built in 1972, I think they can drop the "nou" part now!
Nevertheless, this 14,591 seater stadium is a good option for groundhoppers staying outside Barcelona. The ground is located just over an hour away from Spain's 2nd city, but is only 20 minutes away from the popular Spanish resort of Salou.
"Nastic", as they're commonly known, have spent most of their recent history in Spain's Segunda and Segunda B divisions - the 2nd and 3rd levels of Spain's football pyramid.
Claim to fame: The stadium was used for the opening and closing ceremony for the 2018 Mediterranean Games.
Located to the north west of Barcelona is the town of Badalona and the Estadi Municipal de Badalona. This relatively new stadium was opened in January 2017 at a cost of just over €7m.
It replaced Badalona's old ground the Camp del Centenari which has now been demolished. The new stadium has a capacity of 4,170 and also plays host to the local women's team, CE Seagull.
Located around 25 miles north of Barcelona is the Estadi de la Nova Creu Alta, home of CE Sabadell. This 12,000 seater stadium was built in 1967 and hosted 6 football matches in the 1992 Summer Olympics, including 2 Colombian matches. The games failed to catch the public imagination though, with attendances ranging from a high of 6,000 (for Mexico v Ghana) to a low of just 2,000 (Egypt v Qatar).
An in-depth look at the biggest football attendances ever recorded, from the 1950 World Cup to pre-season friendlies in the States and the Scottish ground with dozens of 100,000+ attendances
Tony Incenzo has been to over 2,000 football grounds - is he the world's barmiest football fan? Read about his love for Non-League football and groundhopping obsession, including watching a match in prison!
Taking my son to his first football match was one of the best experiences I've had as a father so far. I've written this article for Alex to read when he gets older.
Football Ground Map
