IT’S hard to imagine that anyone flying to Barcelona airport would venture out of the city.

With museums, art galleries, spectacular architecture, shops, parks and even a beach, there is plenty to keep holiday-makers occupied.

But just outside of the busy city centre lays beautiful, rural scenery and an historic, industrial past with plenty to offer in terms of tourist attractions.

Just a few miles away are rolling vineyards, used to make cava – a cheaper version of champagne but made using the same process.

Few British tourists realise that Freixenet is made just 50km away in the town of Sant Sadurni d’Anoia.

In fact, just two per cent of those who visit the site are from Britain.

A 90 minute tour costs just 6.10 Euros, which even includes a glass of cava at the end.

Packed full of amazing facts about how the alcoholic drink is made, the tour also takes tourists down to the cellars, where thousands of bottles lay stacked on top of one another.

Visitors are tempted by the portent smell of cava which lingers in the air, almost able to inhale the flavour whilst walking around.

But this just makes sampling the bubbles even better at the end, having waited an hour and a half before tasting the product.

The whole of Sant Sadurni d’Anoia is covered in vineyards, making it a beautiful location to travel through, or explore.

Just down the road from Freixenet is another cava vineyard, but with a different perspective on how the sparkling wine is made.

The smaller production at Vilarnau allows visitors the chance to actually see the grapes poured into a machine having just been picked from the vines, and then crushed to extract the juices.

Although perhaps too much to include both in one day, the two tourist attractions do offer slightly different experiences.

If the cava tours are not enough to tempt tourists out of Barcelona city, then the gastronomic experience might be.

Hotel Sol I vi also in Sant Sadurni, offers a friendly and personal dining experience.

Guests can opt for a starter of traditional tapas, including meats, cheeses, smoked salmon, croquettes and bread rubbed with garlic, tomato and olive oil, followed by a variety of main courses, including a delicious salt encrusted sea bass – bought whole to the table and smashed open in front of guests.

Served with olive oil, potato and tomato, the dish is simple but cooked to perfection.

Those looking to explore Catalonia for longer could travel 60km to Teressa to find out more about the industrial history of the area.

Just 30 minutes away from Barcelona, the town would be ideal to visit if staying in the city, or as part of a longer tour around the area.

The town is home to one of the first buildings designed by architect Lluis Muncunill, who designed the neo-Gothic style house, built in 1894.

A second building by the same architect was inspired by Gaudi, built between 1905 and 1910.

Whilst the architecture is impressive from the outside, standing out amongst the greenery as a curved, bright white structure, the inside is even more fascinating.

A corridor lined with what appear to be cupboards open to reveal hidden rooms.

In one is possibly the earliest form of a microwave, built into a radiator and heated by the pipes.

There is also a museum in the town, which used to be a working textile factory, and now tells the story of those who spent every day deafened by the noise of the machines.

The main attraction in the museum is the 41 metre high chimney, which visitors duck along a narrow path to view.

The museum also has its own restaurant, situated outside on a roof terrace, with views across the town, and of the unique roof that covers the former factory, designed with slanting arches to allow the maximum amount of daylight inside.

Visitors have a choice of a variety of traditional Spanish dishes, such a stuffed peppers, as well as modern cuisine.

A typical three course meal would consist of goat’s cheese and tomato salad, followed by fish kebabs with chips and chocolate profiteroles for dessert.

Travelling further around Catalonia, perhaps one of its best kept secrets is a salt mine, which although might not sound particularly enthralling, could turn out to be an interesting surprise. The unique geological wonder lies in Cardona, in the Parc Cultural Muntanya de Sal, where visitors can marvel at the salt mountain – one of only two in the whole world, or take a journey down the mine to admire the continuously growing stalagmites.

Those looking to stay nearby could opt for Hotel Bremon in Cardona, situated in the heart of the medieval town and right outside a bull-ring.

Rooms over-look mountains, and a walk along the narrow streets takes tourists away from the main attractions to a quieter location.

A must see in Catalonia is the dinosaur footprints up in the mountains and on route to Cercs.

At 95km away from Barcelona, it’s a long way to travel out of the city, but if combined with a visit to Museu de les Mines de Cercs, is well worth it.

At first glance the grey, slanting slate wall doesn’t appear out of the ordinary.

But it doesn’t take much imagination upon closer look to see that the large dents scattered across the wall could well have been made by a dinosaur.

Remains of the prehistoric creatures have been found at the site where the wall used to be flat ground but over time has become raised.

Further along the winding mountain roads is the mining museum, where visitors can experience what it was like for miners travelling deep underground.

Ideal for children, the experience includes fake explosions as a siren sounds warning everyone to evacuate.

But for those still not persuaded to venture out of Barcelona, then the city centre itself has a whole variety of offerings, including the brand new MiBa museum which opened just six months ago.

Exhibiting new and whacky inventions which continuously change, visitors will laugh their way around the displays, which include a nostril flute, a container which turns a boiled egg into a cube shape, a mirror which can be adjusted to create the perfect body, and a mop microphone for singing housewives!