Opened in 2014, this angular building is the center of Barcelona’s Institute of Culture and is also home to the collections from four museums that have now been combined: the Museu de les Arts Decoratives, the Museu de Ceràmica, the Museu Tèxtil i d’Indumentària, and the Gabinet de les Arts Gràfiques. The two-part structure was designed by MBM Architects and has a bulky bottom section with glazed walls and a grass roof, while the upper section is top-heavy and clad with aluminum panels.

When in Barcelona, you can’t miss Torre Agbar — literally. The geyser-shaped building rises high above the relatively low skyline of the city around it. Originally commissioned by the water company Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona (AGBAR), the tower now sits empty — no one else is brave enough to occupy such an iconic space — and visitors are not permitted inside. But don’t worry, the best way to appreciate Torre Agbar is from the outside. The tower lights up in multicolor hues at night, a beacon that reflects the colors of Barcelona.

This avant-garde skyscraper that’s the headquarters of Catalonia Telefonica is a prime example of high-tech architecture. Designed by Barcelona architecture firm Emba Estudi Massip-Bosch and built in just two years, it has an inner tube of concrete and an outer tube of crisscrossing steel. The 25-story building was completed in 2010 and is visible both from the coast and the city, making it the cornerstone of the revitalized Diagonal Mar neighborhood.

Built in the high-tech architecture style and designed by Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue, this 22-story building has a distinctive profile due to two lower horizontal blocks cantilevered out from the main tower. Completed in 2005, the building attempts not to overpower its surrounding seaside neighborhood of Barceloneta, which is mostly populated with humble residential buildings.

This covered outdoor food market was originally built in 1845 and was refurbished in 2005 by Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue. Initially seen as controversial, the design of multicolored ceramic tiles reminiscent of waves that cover the market stalls is now an icon of the city. View it from above from the roof of the Barcelona Cathedral before heading down for a closer look — and some food sampling.

Art and culture find a home both inside the walls of the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) and outside in its publics spaces. Weave your way through the sea of skateboarders to head into the collection of contemporary art, or take in the building’s striking architecture from the outside. If you wander to the back of the building, you’ll find a reproduction of Keith Haring’s 1989 mural, “Together We Can Stop AIDS.” Designed by Richard Meier & Partners, MACBA has strong references to modernism and was part of an urban renewal plan for the neighborhood of El Raval.

Mies van der Rohe designed this manifesto of modern architecture as the German pavilion for the 1929 World’s Fair in Barcelona. Disruptive for its time due to its use of modern materials like chrome alongside classic marble and travertine, the Pavilion was demolished shortly after the exhibition and reconstructed on the same site in 1986. Entry costs €5, and while you can see the whole pavilion in a matter of minutes, it’s worth sticking around to embrace the calm and serenity it imparts. Don’t miss the Palau Nacional right next door (would you believe the two buildings were built in the same year?).

Of all the structures built for the 1992 Summer Olympics, this futuristic-looking telecommunications tower remains as remarkable and innovative as ever. Designed by British architect Sir Norman Foster, the needle-like tower features a steel pod consisting of 13 platforms and uses guy wires for lateral support. Situated atop a hill in the Sarrià Sant Gervasi district, its observation deck is 1,837 feet above sea level, providing sweeping views of the city.