Watching Barcelona at the Olympic Stadium: My Matchday Guide

A practical guide to watching FC Barcelona at the Estadi Olímpic – tickets, getting there, where to sit and what the matchday experience is really like.

Watching Barcelona at the Estadi Olímpic offers a very different Barça matchday experience.

Barcelona are heading back to the Olympic Stadium.

After returning to the Spotify Camp Nou during its redevelopment, FC Barcelona are expected to move back to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys for several months during the 2027/28 season as work continues on their permanent home.

That's particularly interesting for me because I watched Barcelona play RCD Mallorca at the Estadi Olímpic in April 2025, travelling across from Palma de Mallorca by ferry before making one of the more unusual journeys I've taken to a football match: Metro, funicular railway and finally a walk through Montjuïc.

So, if Barcelona's return means you're considering a match here next season, this guide covers everything I learned from my visit: how I bought my ticket, the best way to reach the stadium, where to go before kick-off, what the views are like and whether watching Barcelona at the Olympic Stadium is actually worth it.

UPDATE: Barcelona returning to the Olympic Stadium

FC Barcelona are currently playing at the partially reopened Spotify Camp Nou during the 2026/27 season.

However, the club are set to return temporarily to the Estadi Olímpic during the 2027/28 season while major construction work continues at Camp Nou, including work associated with the new roof.

I'll keep this guide updated as ticketing, match dates and arrangements for the return to Montjuïc are confirmed.

At a Glance

Stadium: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Montjuïc

Match attended: Barcelona v Mallorca, La Liga

My ticket: €160, bought directly from FC Barcelona

Getting there: Metro to Paral·lel, then the Montjuïc Funicular

Pre-match stop: Bar Marcelino

My seat: Lower tier behind the goal

Stadium style: Historic Olympic bowl with an athletics track

Best for: Experiencing an unusual chapter of Barcelona's history

Good to know: Sightlines behind the goals can feel distant from the pitch

Watch my Barcelona Olympic Stadium matchday experience

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHd4niTtGeY

Watching Barcelona at the Estadi Olímpic

Watching Barcelona play at the Estadi Olímpic was one of those unusual sporting experiences that only existed because of circumstance.

Barcelona moved away from the Camp Nou while their famous home underwent a huge redevelopment, turning the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Montjuïc into their temporary home.

The stadium itself has a fascinating sporting history.

Originally built in 1929 and extensively renovated ahead of the 1992 Olympic Games, it was the centrepiece of one of Barcelona's defining moments as a city.

Whilst it fell into dis-repair in the 1970's, it was used as part of the Spanish Grand Prix with the stadium acting as the paddock. Perhaps this is where Miami got the idea of using it's Hard Rock Stadium as an F1 paddock?

Barcelona's other team, Espanyol used the ground as their home from 1997 - 2009 and now Barcelona have chosen it as their temporary home whilst the Camp Nou revamp takes place.

And now it could be about to play another chapter in Barça's story.

Barcelona are back playing at the partially redeveloped Spotify Camp Nou during the 2026/27 season, but major construction work remains. The club has confirmed that the enormous operation to lift the new roof into position is scheduled for summer 2027 and is expected to take around four months.  

Recent reports say that will result in Barcelona returning to Montjuïc for part of the 2027/28 season.

I visited during Barcelona's original spell here, watching them take on RCD Mallorca in April 2025.

And I arrived in slightly unusual fashion.

Whilst taking a holiday in Mallorca, I'd started that morning at Palma de Mallorca's ferry terminal. With flights seemingly packed with RCD Mallorca supporters heading to the same match, my only option was a 7.5-hour ferry across the Mediterranean instead.

After sailing into Barcelona, checking into my accommodation near Plaça de Catalunya and dropping off my bags, it was time for the considerably shorter second leg of the journey.

Up Montjuïc.

And this is where attending a match at the Olympic Stadium gets interesting.

Sports Travel Tom Tip: Don't think of the Estadi Olímpic simply as a temporary football ground. Give yourself time to explore Montjuïc before the match. The Olympic history and views across Barcelona make the journey to the stadium part of the experience.

How to get Barcelona tickets

My €160 ticket put me in the lower tier behind the goal, where the distance to the pitch is noticeable.

I bought my ticket directly from FC Barcelona for my match against RCD Mallorca and, if you're planning to watch Barcelona, the official club ticket website should always be your first place to look.

My ticket cost €160 for a lower-tier seat behind the goal in the South Stand.

That isn't cheap.

And Barcelona certainly weren't shy about offering me opportunities to spend even more.

As soon as I'd bought my ticket, I was presented with various upgrades and additional experiences. Better seats, stadium experiences, museum tickets.

Barcelona are extremely good at turning the simple act of buying a football ticket into something resembling ordering a meal from a fast-food touchscreen.

You've bought the Big Mac.

Would you like some nuggets?

Perhaps a milkshake?

You selected medium. Surely you'd like to make it large?

The only difference was that my Big Mac cost €160.

Joking aside, buying directly from Barcelona was straightforward and gave me the security of knowing my ticket was coming from the club rather than the secondary market.

However, my €160 price relates specifically to Barcelona v Mallorca in April 2025. Prices, availability and ticketing arrangements will vary considerably depending on the opposition and competition.

That distinction will become particularly important if Barcelona return to the Estadi Olímpic during 2027/28. We don't yet know exactly how tickets for those matches will be handled, so I'll update this guide once the club confirms arrangements.

How to get to the Estadi Olímpic

This was one of my favourite parts of the entire experience.

There are various ways of reaching Montjuïc, but I chose a route that involved something I'd never previously used to get to a football match.

A funicular railway.

I started by taking the Barcelona Metro to Paral·lel station, where you can connect with the Montjuïc Funicular towards Parc de Montjuïc.

If you can, try to get a position towards the front.

As the train begins climbing beneath Montjuïc, you get a great perspective of the gradient, and at one point you'll see the downhill train passing in the opposite direction.

I've travelled to football matches by train, tram, boat, bus and goodness knows how many other forms of transport.

I can't remember another one involving a funicular.

Although it did bring back memories of riding one in Pittsburgh, where the view from Mount Washington takes in the city's skyline and sporting venues including PNC Park and Acrisure Stadium.

Once you arrive at Parc de Montjuïc, you're within walking distance of the Estadi Olímpic.

But don't march straight towards the stadium.

There's somewhere I'd stop first.

And it became one of the highlights of my Barcelona matchday.

Sports Travel Tom Tip: Build the Montjuïc Funicular into your journey rather than treating transport as something to get through. It's a much more memorable way of approaching the Olympic Stadium and leaves you perfectly placed for my favourite pre-match stop.

Where to go before a Barcelona match at the Olympic Stadium

The view across Barcelona near Bar Marcelino makes this one of my favourite pre-match stops.

Bar Marcelino

This is the tip I'd most want somebody reading this guide to take away.

When you leave the funicular at Parc de Montjuïc, cross the road and you'll find Bar Marcelino.

It's not a vast football pub or an enormous fan zone.

It's essentially an outdoor kiosk with tables dotted around the surrounding area.

But the setting is superb.

I grabbed a drink and found myself looking through an opening in the trees towards Barcelona, with the city spread out below and, rather appropriately, a football pitch sitting in the foreground.

It's one of the best pre-match views I've encountered on my travels.

There's something particularly enjoyable about being able to sit outside with a drink, looking across Barcelona and knowing that one of the world's biggest football clubs is playing just a few minutes' walk away.

I'd give yourself at least half an hour here. If the weather is good and you've arrived early enough, I'd happily make it an hour.

It also solves one of the slight weaknesses of attending football at the Estadi Olímpic.

There isn't a huge amount to do immediately outside the stadium.

So enjoy your pre-match drink here instead.

From Bar Marcelino, it was only around a five-minute walk before the Olympic Stadium began to appear.

A pre-match drink at Bar Marcelino, with one of the best views I've found on the way to a football match.

Sports Travel Tom Tip: Don't wait until you reach the stadium to find somewhere for a pre-match drink. Stop at Bar Marcelino after getting off the funicular. The view across Barcelona alone makes it worth building into your matchday.

What is it like outside the Estadi Olímpic?

Arriving at the Estadi Olímpic feels very different to approaching a purpose-built modern football stadium.

There isn't a ring of enormous club shops, restaurants, hospitality venues and permanent fan zones surrounding the ground.

Instead, you're arriving in Barcelona's Olympic Park.

And that gives the place a completely different character.

As I approached the stadium, I passed the tower that once held the Olympic flame during Barcelona 1992.

It's an immediate reminder that you're entering somewhere with a sporting history much bigger than football.

The stadium itself is deceptive from outside.

Much like the old Camp Nou, much of the bowl sits below the surrounding ground level.

From the exterior, therefore, it doesn't initially look like a stadium capable of holding tens of thousands of people.

Its historic façade is relatively low and elegant.

Then you go inside.

During my visit there were street sellers around the stadium and plenty of supporters milling about, but relatively little in the way of permanent bars and restaurants immediately beside the ground.

Some sellers were offering beer outside, although the prices were considerably less appealing than the view I'd just enjoyed at Bar Marcelino.

That reinforced my feeling that Montjuïc itself should be your pre-match experience, rather than simply arriving at the stadium gates early and expecting hours of entertainment, unlike the experience I found at a RCD Mallorca matchday.

Explore the Olympic surroundings. Stop at Bar Marcelino. Take in the views. Then head inside.

Because the stadium becomes much more impressive once you pass through the gates.

What is it like inside the Estadi Olímpic?

The Estadi Olímpic's athletics layout means the stands can feel some distance from the pitch.

I entered through Gate 4, passed through the ticket check and security search, and a few steps later caught my first proper sight of the pitch.

That's when the Estadi Olímpic suddenly feels much bigger.

The football pitch sits down inside the historic Olympic bowl, with Barcelona branding covering parts of the former athletics-track area and the stands stretching around either side.

My match had a 9:30pm kick-off, so the floodlights were already beaming down into the stadium as supporters arrived.

Songs were playing over the PA system, the stadium announcer was warming up the crowd and Barcelona branding was everywhere the eye could see.

This may have been a temporary home, but Barça had done plenty to make it feel like theirs.

Around the open concourse were food and drink kiosks and temporary club shops selling shirts, scarves and merchandise.

Even the popcorn came in Barcelona-branded boxes.

This is a club that knows how to sell Barcelona.

Around 35 minutes before kick-off, the food and drink queues had become fairly long. One advantage of the open concourse, however, was that I could still see into the pitch while walking around.

If you're happy missing a few minutes of football, the queues naturally become much shorter once the match starts.

I paid around €13 for a sandwich and a drink during my April 2025 visit. Non-alcoholic beer was also available inside.

Again, treat those prices as a snapshot of my visit rather than a promise of what you'll find next season.

Where should you sit at the Estadi Olímpic?

This is something I'd think carefully about before buying your ticket.

I sat in the lower tier behind the goal in the South Stand.

The Estadi Olímpic was designed as a multi-sport venue rather than a football-specific stadium, and you notice that immediately in the sightlines.

The stands rise relatively gradually and the former athletics-track area creates considerable distance between supporters and the pitch, particularly behind the goals.

During my visit, roughly the first 15 rows in my section weren't being used. From that low down, I imagine watching football would have been extremely difficult.

Even from my seat further back, the action at the opposite end could feel a long way away.

It reminded me slightly of watching football at the old Wembley, where sitting behind one goal could leave the other end feeling somewhere near Watford.

If I were choosing again, I'd prioritise elevation and angle over simply getting as close to the pitch as possible.

A more central position along the side of the stadium should naturally provide a better overall perspective, although those seats may also cost more.

You can get tickets easily for a Barcelona match and it's a unique event to see them play at Estadi Olímpic

What is the atmosphere like at a Barcelona match?

This was probably the most interesting part of the experience for me.

Barcelona are one of the world's great football clubs, but attending one of their matches can sometimes feel as much like visiting a major Barcelona attraction as attending a traditional local football match.

Walking around the stadium, I heard plenty of English and numerous other languages.

There were Barcelona shirts everywhere.

Home shirts. Away shirts. Scarves. Caps. Flags draped over shoulders.

For a club that has spent plenty of time discussing its financial problems, they're certainly very good at persuading people to leave the stadium carrying merchandise.

But the international crowd didn't mean there was no atmosphere.

Far from it.

Chants of “Barça! Barça! Barça!” regularly travelled around the stadium and, under the floodlights, the Olympic bowl looked fantastic.

The team were flying at the time of my visit too. Barcelona were heading towards the La Liga title, had a Copa del Rey final approaching and were still competing in the Champions League.

I watched them beat Mallorca 1-0 and also got to see Lamine Yamal play in the flesh.

Not a bad evening.

The Olympic history remains visible throughout the experience too. Looking around from my seat, I could see elements of the original stadium, including the old scoreboard high behind me and the ageing main West Stand.

That's part of what makes watching Barcelona here so unusual.

You're seeing one of football's most famous clubs temporarily inserted into a completely different piece of sporting history.

Is it the most authentic local football atmosphere I've experienced?

No.

Barcelona's global appeal means there will inevitably be a significant number of visitors attending their matches, just as I was.

But I don't think that makes it a lesser experience.

It makes it a different one.

And seeing Barcelona play live is still something I'd recommend experiencing at least once.

Is watching Barcelona at the Estadi Olímpic worth it?

Wide view inside the Estadi Olímpic during an FC Barcelona match

Yes, although I'd go knowing exactly what you're getting.

If your priority is being close to the football, there are better stadiums. The athletics layout creates distance from the pitch and some seats, particularly behind the goals, aren't ideal.

It can also be expensive.

I paid €160 for my ticket, and the whole Barcelona experience has a distinctly commercial edge to it.

But I still came away thinking it was worth doing.

I'd travelled across the Mediterranean by ferry, ridden a funicular railway to a football match, discovered a brilliant little pre-match stop overlooking Barcelona, explored an Olympic stadium and watched one of the world's most famous football clubs win under the floodlights.

That's a pretty decent day's sports travel.

And the potential return to Montjuïc gives the experience another unusual layer.

Barcelona's stay here was supposed to be temporary before the club returned permanently to its redeveloped home. Instead, major work at Spotify Camp Nou continues, with the club having approved another €510 million in financing to complete the project and acknowledging delays to the construction timetable.

So if Barcelona do return to the Estadi Olímpic during 2027/28 as currently reported, you'll once again have the opportunity to experience this strange little chapter in the history of one of football's biggest clubs.

I wouldn't choose it over the completed Camp Nou.

But as a sports travel experience in its own right?

Absolutely.

Final thoughts

My day had started at 6am in Palma de Mallorca.

Flights to Barcelona were fully booked with Mallorca supporters, so instead I'd boarded a ferry and spent seven and a half hours crossing the Mediterranean.

By the end of the night, I'd added a Metro, funicular railway and plenty of walking to the journey before watching Barcelona beat the very team whose supporters I'd travelled across from Mallorca with.

That's what I enjoyed most about this particular trip.

The football was the reason for travelling, but it wasn't the whole story.

The ferry out of Palma, arriving into Barcelona by sea, that view from Bar Marcelino, travelling up Montjuïc by funicular, the Olympic history and finally seeing Barcelona under the floodlights all became part of the experience.

And yes, after a 9:30pm kick-off and a very long day, I was starving.

Which meant there was really only one option on the walk home.

McDonald's.

A Big Mac meal would do.

Although perhaps some nuggets on the side.

And a milkshake.

Go on then, make it a large.

They really do get you with the upsell.

Attending a Barcelona match at Estadi Olímpic means you will be part of an iconic sports event

I'll continue sharing sports travel guides, ticket tips and experiences from stadiums, arenas and sporting destinations around the world here on Sports Travel Tom.

You can also follow the journey on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok @sportstraveltom, where I share regular ticket updates, travel guides and sporting adventures to help you travel better for sport and adventure.