Barcelona & the Mediterranean: a 6-day road trip
Barcelona to Zaragoza via Sitges, Tarragona, Valencia — about 733 km of driving across Spain, suggested over 6 days.
See the attractions & sights guide for this route →
Stops on this route
Barcelona
Barcelona is Catalonia's capital and Spain's second-largest city, spread across a plain between the Mediterranean coast and the Collserola hills. It is known for Antoni Gaudí's Modernist architecture, especially the Sagrada Família and Park Güell, along with the medieval lanes of the Gothic Quarter and a long beachfront promenade that draws visitors year-round.
Sitges
Sitges is a seaside town on the Garraf coast, about 40 km southwest of Barcelona, where a whitewashed old quarter and the Baroque church of Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla sit on a headland between long sandy beaches. In the 1890s the painter Santiago Rusiñol made it a meeting point of Catalan Modernisme, and since 1968 the town has hosted the Sitges Film Festival, the International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia. The 59th edition runs from 8 to 18 October 2026, complete with its famous Zombie Walk, which makes October the town's liveliest month outside summer.
Tarragona
Tarragona is a port city on Catalonia's Costa Daurada, built on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean about 100 kilometers southwest of Barcelona. Once the capital of the Roman province of Tarraconensis, it retains one of Spain's richest collections of Roman ruins, including an amphitheatre perched above the sea.
Valencia
Valencia is Spain's third-largest city, set on the Mediterranean coast where the Turia River once flowed before it was diverted after a major flood. It is known for the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences, a Gothic cathedral said to hold the Holy Grail, and the birthplace of paella.
Zaragoza
Zaragoza is the capital of Aragon, straddling the Ebro River roughly midway between Madrid and Barcelona. It is known for the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar on the riverbank, the Moorish Aljafería Palace, and a well-preserved old town layered with Roman, Islamic, and Christian history.
Road charges and rules along the way
Spain
- Environmental Sticker (Distintivo Ambiental DGT): €5 — https://sede.dgt.gob.es
Mandatory equipment: Safety vest (reflective, high-visibility), Warning triangle, Spare bulbs (headlights), Snow chains
Driving in Spain: full guide →
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