Review: Camp Nou

What’s the vibe of the place, what’s it like?
There are two indicators of the importance that FC Barcelona soccer club has in the city. One was the scale of the street parties when former player Lionel Messi - who spent 20 years as the club’s god-level striker - won the FIFA World Cup with Argentina in 2022. The second is the capacity of its home stadium, the Camp Nou. At 99,354, it’s the biggest in Europe—and an expansion project has already begun to take that up to 105,000 by 2026. Visualize that number pouring into the concrete monolith on match day, and the club wasn’t messing about with its slogan ‘més que un club’ ("more than a club"). Being part of that street-filling throng is thrilling.

What kinds of events can we see here?
As well as Barcelona’s home matches in La Liga—the Spanish soccer league, which runs from mid-August to the end of May—there’s a dedicated FC Barcelona museum. Take the Stadium Tour + Sport (from €37/$37), and you get entrance to it, as well as a glimpse of the players’ tunnel and trophies (including Messi’s), an audio guide, and three shots at the Robokeeper Challenge, where you pit your shooting foot against an automated goalkeeper. 

How are the seats?
A word on the ticketing system. All seats are actually owned by season-ticket holders, who then release them to the public if they can’t go. Don’t worry: it means there’s usually a good chunk available, especially against lower league teams, and 72 to 48 hours before a match. What to pay? From around €29 ($36) for a bad-view seat in a low-demand game. You can add one, even two, zeros to that figure for a VIP seat at a key match.

Can we bring the kids here?
You can, and they’d love it. Note: you can only buy six tickets per person and, because of the way tickets are released, seats often aren’t situated together.

Anything else we should know?
You’d sell your grandma’s heirlooms to get a ticket to "El Clásico," the grudge match between Barcelona and arch-rivals Real Madrid.

What—and who—do you think this is best for?
For soccer fans, it’s a given. Even if you’re not really into the sport, this could be when you finally see what the fuss is about. Loathe soccer? Skip it—the bar doesn’t serve alcohol, so it could be a long 90 minutes for you.