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Housed in the 18th-century Casa de la Caritat, the CCCB is a focal point for the city’s thriving contemporary arts scene. It hosts innovative art exhibitions, lectures, film screenings and more, including multimedia and technology fairs during the popular Festival del Sónar (Top 10 Music, Theatre & Art Festivals). A medieval courtyard is dazzlingly offset by a massive, angled glass wall, which has been cunningly designed to reflect the city’s skyline. Nearby, Foment de les Arts DecorativesGalleries & Design Shops is an umbrella organization of art and design groups, founded in 1903 and housed in the restored, Gothic-style, 16th-century Convent dels Àngels. Here you’ll find exhibits, lectures and debates, and a smashing café-restaurant. See Museu d'Art Contemporani & Centre de Cultura Contemporània .

With its wide sandy beaches and shallow waters, the Costa Daurada differs from the northern Catalonian coastline. The sleepy town of Torredembarra is a pleasant and rarely busy family resort, but the jewel in the crown is undoubtedly Sitges. It’s the summer home to Barcelona’s chic crowd, as well as being a popular gay resort (Top 10 Gay Hot Spots in Sitiges). All this gives it a cosmopolitan and frenetic feel, but the town never reaches the tacky excesses of some of the Costa Brava’s resorts

After Tarragona, Empúries is Catalonia’s second most important Roman site. Occupying an impressive position by the sea, it includes more than 40 hectares (99 acres) scattered with Greek and Roman ruins, the highlights of which are the remains of a market street, various temples and part of a Roman amphitheatre. Coupled with lovely nearby beaches, it’s an ideal spot for those looking to mix a bit of history with a dip in the sea.

Said to have the highest living standards in Catalonia, Girona is a pleasant town surrounded by lush green hills. Hidden away in the old town, the atmospheric Jewish quarter (known as El Call) is one of the best-preserved medieval enclaves in Europe. Girona’s cathedral is a must (Churches & Monasteries).

The main feature of this exceptional park is the huge, hedged maze where children can live out their Alice in Wonderland fantasies. Unfulfilled expectations of mad hatters are made up for by an enormous play area with a bar and terrace. The park is particularly busy on Sundays. (Parc del Laberint d’Horta)

Your shoulders will be aching from carrying the kids high above the crowds by the time you reach the end of Barcelona’s main boulevard. Fire eaters, buskers, human statues decked out as Greek goddesses – you name it and it’s likely to be keeping the hordes entertained on La Rambla. Put a coin in the human statue’s hat and be rewarded with a sudden move, or, if you’re a child, the gift of a tiny lollipop. See La Rambla.

This palm tree-lined, pedestrian walkway is the latest attempt by city planners to spark a similar social environment to that of the city’s famed La Rambla (La Rambla). So far it is off to a creaking start, with barely a fraction of the crowds that ply the original Rambla. Its advocates, however, are quick to point out that La Rambla del Raval is far better than the two dark, run-down streets that formerly existed here. Ambitious building plans, which include new shops, bars and cafés, mean it could well rival its cousin in years to come.