The Sagrada Familia, a large and unfinished Roman Catholic church designed by renowned architect Anton Guadi, has been shut off as part of a counter-terrorism operation, police said.
The area around the building has been evacuated.
The nearest tube station has been closed and locals and holidaymakers ordered away from cafe and bar terraces and told to take refuge inside premises.
Specialist bomb disposal experts have been sent to the area, reportedly to investigate a suspicious package inside a van parked close to the church.
Spanish media is reporting that two people have been arrested in connection with the operation.
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Several roads have also been closed.
Regional Mossos d’Esquadra police tweeted in a message partly directed at those immediately affected: “We are making checks around the Sagrada Familia as part of an anti-terror operation and have cordoned off the area.
“Follow the instructions of police.”
Twitter user @davealenn was in the metro station next to the Sagrada Familia when he and his fellow passengers were moved out by police.
“We were evicted from the Sagrada Familia metro station and the police cordoned off the entire area,” he tweeted.
The counter-terror operation comes less than a month after Barcelona was hit by a terror attack that killed 13 people and injured 130 others.
The Sagrada Familia, one of Barcelona’s most popular tourist attractions, was the intended target of the terrorists who carried out last month’s atrocity in the city’s famous Ramblas and the seaside resort of Cambrils.
More to follow.
(Additional reporting by Gerard Couzens)