There are really no more reasons to stay at home these days, not with regional airlines offering services to practically every European city you could want to visit. A holiday in one of these destinations doesn't have to burn a hole in your pocket, so take a break this month and you'll be surprised how affordable it is.

With an ample number of renowned art galleries to visit, hints of the past, an eye fest of architecture, wine, food, shopping and perfect weather, as well as a beach on the doorstep, you have all the ingredients for a perfect holiday.

Grand painters and sculptors have always chosen Barcelona to live in, many of them leaving evidence of their stay on the city through the landscape or in the art galleries. Picasso and Tapies both have museums committed to their art which will take weeks, if not months, for you to fully get pleasure from. The yet to be completed construction of the Sagrada Familia is also a Gaudi magnum opus that has changed architectural and engineering development, and many of the sights can be got to by walking from any number of luxury lodging options, from low end hostels to five stars hotels.

Millions of visitors go to Barcelona just to admire the work of Gaudi, any of which would be a shame to miss out on. Since the conception of the project more than 125 years ago it has always been privately funded but now visitors' entrance charge is also collected and used to pay for the work along with donations.

Antoni Gaudi also began the project Park Guell with the intention of it being a playground to chill out for the prosperous members of society. A devoted apprentice, his love of nature resulted in creations with no straight lines instead you see curves, twists, and flowing shapes. There are some brilliant examples in the park that he used in the elements of his best creation, the Sagrada Familia, such as the centenary arches, cone-shaped roofs and tree-inspired columns, and the same can also be detected in Casa Museu Gaudi, where Gaudi spent a lot of his time. The top of the park has a terraced area with 360 degree views of the park and the city below.

The Torre Agbar is a daring piece of architecture conceived by Jean Nouvel who designed it to echo the surrounding Montserrat Mountains as it bear a resemblance to a soaring jet of water. At a staggering 144m tall, the tower is at the forefront of building energy efficiency with motorized glass blinds that automatically open and shut to adjust the temperature inside. The glass blinds are lit up at night by thousands of LED lights, more than four thousand five hundred lights up the buildings window panes.

In the city centre there are several places to walk to whilst admiring the landscape and architecture, Montserrat for one stands out for its eye-catching rocky outlines and natural beauty, and the hill of Montjuic, which hosted the 1992 Olympics. Nothing gets moving till after midnight generally in Barcelona so you may well find empty dance floors until 2 to 3am, and there are lots of licensed bars that are open late where you can choose to relax or continue partying depending on your mood. They tend to get busy after midnight since the Spanish are night owls, and call themselves bars although there's no real difference between them and the clubs apart from higher prices and closing times. A PR crew give out free entry passes to some of the most popular bars; keep an eye open for them in the city centre. These passes are neat as they usually offer complimentary or promotional entry to clubs with expensive entrance drinks so you get to save yourself some money.

Getting away to interesting places doesn't need to cost a lot, and there's guaranteed to be culture, history, art, food and shopping all in one place. A change of scenery sometimes, even if just for a couple of days is plenty of time to explore the city and meet up with friends and lovers. Rental apartments in Barcelona range from a simple studio room, to those with a lounge, high-tech kitchens and modern bathrooms. Most provide everything required for your holiday from the bed linen, to a fridge, cable TV and WIFI internet access. The rental apartment market in Barcelona is sophisticated so do some research and see what is available.