Barcelona is one of the favourite places to visit and get to know the great architectural and historical gems that fill its streets and neighbourhoods. The passing of the centuries has impregnated Barcelona with originality and different styles, which can be seen on its façades, as well as anecdotes that will always be remembered.
Moreover, it is not surprising that it has been chosen, on numerous occasions, as the main setting for major film successes, whether at local, national or international level. Many film directors have found the city’s emblematic locations ideal for contextualising their stories and adding value to their creations.
Discover all the places in Barcelona most sought-after by film directors. Get to Barcelona in a comfortable way, with the shared transfer services and private transfer services, low-cost and sustainable, offered by Shuttle2Sun, available from Barcelona airport, Barcelona port, Reus airport, Girona airport and Camp de Tarragona AVE train station.
The works of Antoni Gaudí, among the most mythical places in the world of cinema
Some of the most sought-after spaces in Barcelona for international cinema are all those created by the famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, due to their striking aesthetics, very different from the rest of the world.
One of the films that make a magnificent trip through different places known by this artist is ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’, directed by Woody Allen, in 2008. This fun romance has the participation of great celebrities of the film world, such as Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem and Rebecca Hall, who were able to shoot scenes in iconic spaces of modernist Barcelona.
Highlights include Sagrada Familia basilica; the terrace of La Pedrera, also known as Casa Milà, in L’Eixample; and, of course, Park Güell, an extensive park full of gardens and modernist architecture, which has become one of the city’s most important tourist attractions.
Another of the most outstanding films is ‘The Passenger’, by Michelangelo Antonioni, from 1975. In it, you will find great artists such as Maria Schneider and Jack Nicholson, who plays the role of an African journalist who, at one point in the film, arrives in Barcelona. In one of the scenes, we will once again see La Pedrera terrace.
In 2002, scenes were also shot in Barcelona for the film ‘The Spanish Apartment’, directed by the French actor, producer and screenwriter Cédric Klapisch. Some of the locations that appear in this film are Park Güell, Barcelona’s Ramblas and Plaça Catalunya.
Remember that with the shared transfer services and private transfer services, low-cost and sustainable, offered by Shuttle2Sun, you can move to Barcelona, from Barcelona airport, Barcelona port, Reus airport, Girona airport and Camp de Tarragona AVE train station.
Laberint d’Horta Park
One of the areas that can be used for filming outdoor scenes is Laberint d’Horta Park, a historic garden in the form of a labyrinth, as its name suggests, which was owned by the Desvalls family. This green space, in Romanesque and neoclassical styles, designed by the Italian Domenico Bagutti, also benefited from the expertise of the gardener Joseph Delvalet and the Catalan master builder Jaume Valls, together with his son, Andreu Valls.
This magnificent park is part of great gems of cinema, such as Tom Tykwer’s ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer’, released in 2006, which also features other Barcelona locations, such as the Gothic Quarter and Poble Espanyol, which simulate the streets of Paris.
Also, other films such as ‘La ciudad de los prodigios’ and ‘La verdad sobre el caso Savolta’, both based on novels by Eduardo Mendoza; or ‘Nocturno 29’, from 1968.
‘La Catedral del Mar’ and its surroundings
One of the best-known series in recent years with a clear Barcelona location is ‘La Catedral del Mar’, directed by Jordi Frades, and based on the novel of the same name by Ildefonso Falcones.
It stars actors Aitor Luna and Michelle Jenner. As the title of this short series says, the story revolves around medieval Barcelona, the period in which Cathedral of Santa Maria del Mar was built in Barcelona.
Montjuïc, Barcelona’s best viewpoint
The renowned Spanish director, screenwriter and producer Pedro Almodóvar also selected another emblematic spot in Barcelona, Montjuïc mountain, more specifically, its cemetery, to shoot some scenes for his film ‘All About My Mother’, released in 1999 and winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Film and a Golden Globe Award.
Other locations such as the Christopher Columbus monument, Sagrada Familia and Palau de la Música also appear in the film.
Another of the locations of Montjuïc mountain is its Tibidabo amusement park, which appears in several shots of the film ‘The Machinist’, a thriller by director Brad Anderson, which was released in 2004.
The terrifying Casa Argelich building
The most popular building for filming horror films is Casa Argelich, also known as Cedimatexsa building, which is located at 34 Rambla de Catalunya. It was formerly used for the textile industry, first by Tejidos Noguera, and later by Cedimatexsa. It has been abandoned for a decade.
The stairs of this building have been the main set for the first two instalments of the REC saga, directed by the Spaniards Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza.
Other locations
In addition to those we have already mentioned, other locations include Carmel bunkers, a viewpoint with incredible views of the entire city, which appears in the Spanish film ‘Tengo ganas de ti’, based on the novel by the Italian Federico Moccia and starring Mario Casas, Clara Lago and María Valverde. Also, the sewers of Barcelona, scene of ‘The Last Days’, among others.
If you want to relive, in first person, the scenes that you will find in all these films, don’t think twice and travel to Barcelona. With the shared transfer services and private transfer services, low-cost and sustainable, offered by Shuttle2Sun, you can get to Barcelona from Barcelona airport, Barcelona port, Reus airport, Girona airport and Camp de Tarragona AVE train station.
