BARCELONA- CITY BY THE SEA

 

Spain’s second most famous city, located in the east in the Catalan autonomous community (it is the capital city of this community), there is a lot I can say about this beautiful city. From the famous Camp Nou for the football fans, historic buildings and architecture for the photographers and history fans to the amazing food for the foodies, it comes as no surprise that Barcelona is a popular destination for travellers and my starting point of my 11 days tour around Spain!

I was excited for Barcelona. It was only the 2nd time I had been out of Madrid but nevertheless I was looking forward to it. After months of planning and saving for my trip, I boarded the overnight train to Barcelona on the 10th of April, due to arrive there at 7 am next day!( if you are already in Spain and want to travel there, check out renfe.com, alternatively you can catch a plane there too) I was pleasantly surprised on how different Barcelona was from Madrid, building, culture, food and even language(they speak Spanish there too almost everyone can speak Spanish however the main language is supposed to be Cataluña). I wonder if that’s why they want independence and all.

These are my thoughts/suggestions for Barcelona

Don’t miss

The Sangrada Familia

Font màgica de Montjuïc/ Fuente mágica de Montjuic (Catalan/Spanish)

Park Guell

Barcelona port

Las Ramblas

Stay in

Low to medium budget –Pension Segre which is where I stayed. About 10 mins walk from the Drassasans train stop which is about 10-15 mins from the main train station.

Literally 5 mins walk to Las Ramblas and the Barcelona port

Have lunch in Las Ramblas. You are spoilt for choice on the number of restaurants you can choose from. Almost all offering the same meals but different deals so if you’re not too hungry have a good look around at the deals about. I ate at the San Remo. And if none of the restaurants tickles your fancy there is always those bars/tapas places on either sides on the roads you can have a pizza or tapas at. Drink Sangria or Tinto de Verano. Don’t miss the hotdogs or crepe by the port and remember to take a river cruise whilst there! You can also check out the shopping centre and visit the bar which gives you a view of the sea. Make sure you come out at night. With all the lights on the city really comes to live!

 

Visit the market, La Boqueria located just of the Las Ramblas. Fruit heaven! You will enjoy fruit salads or shakes for very cheap. Have a look around there are other things to discover!

 

You cannot miss the show at Fuente mágica de Montjuic! Try and get there for 7’Oclock when the show starts. Any time after that and it will be crowded and you may not get a place to sit.

Get your hiking shoes on and go to Park Guell it’s located on top of a sort of hill so it’s. Long walk up!

 

Sagrada Familia is worth a visit too!

I tried to visit as many things as possible been in Barcelona. When every time I’m in a city I try to walk as much as possible. So that’s exactly what I did. I only caught the bus or train when I was going really long distances or in the evening when I was so tired to walk back, but other than I walked everywhere and I discovered some cool stuff which may not be on the map!

Ahh what else can I say about Barcelona? Other than I will definitely visit there again and stay longer! But in 3 days 2 nights you can get a feel of  Barcelona and enjoy what it has to offer.  Next stop Valencia!