Barcelona, Spain

I’ve been to a lot of different cities in Europe now such as Amsterdam, Paris, London, Madrid, etc but one on my list that wasn’t crossed off was Barcelona. Well I finally can say I went!

Last Spring you may recall my mom and I visited Amsterdam and Paris and had such a great time that we wanted to book another vacation! With a lot of my friends having kids or not wanting to travel without their husbands, it is nice to be able to have another travel buddy in my mom! We started out our trip with 2 days in Poland which you can learn more about that here and then made our way to Barcelona for 3 and half days. Below are my tips and recommendations based on where we went, what we saw and where we ate!

HOTEL
We stayed at the K+K Picasso Hotel which we felt was in a great location and had a rooftop with a pool! Although it was too chilly to go swimming (it was in the high 60’s the whole time we were there in early May) we were still able to utilize the roof because the sun was very strong up there and there was no breeze. Overall the hotel was clean and the people friendly and we had a room with a balcony and 2 twin beds which met all our needs. I also chose it because it was in what I felt a really good location; we walked everywhere but were close to the metro and buses if we chose to use them.

SIGHTSEEING
Monstserrat
When I was researching, the number 1 spot that came up as a day trip from Barcelona was Montserrat. This is a holy mountain about an hour outside of Barcelona where there is a big monastery
which houses a basilica, the oldest music school in Europe (700 years old) and the Black Madonna. The mountain is said to have a great energy and power and this is even said by the non-religious. We booked our trip with Viator and did a semi-private tour with hotel pick up. Karles was our tour guide and was amazing! He is a true Catalan patriot and knew everything about the history of Catalonia. We were picked up at 8:20am from our hotel and made it back at around 2:30pm. We had quite a bit of free time in Montserrat which we used to mostly stand in line waiting to see and touch the Black Madonna. We were told the line was extra long because it was Sunday so that might be something to keep in mind. But if seeing the Black Madonna isn’t your priority then there are plenty of other things to do such as shop the local markets there, take a short hike or explore the basilica.

La Sagrada Familia
You cannot visit Barcelona and not see this amazing basilica. Created by Gaudi, he spent over 40 years of his life working on it, with the last 12 solely dedicated to the Cathedral. I have been inside many different Churches, Cathedrals, Basilicas, etc but none stunned me the way this one did. I won’t give away too much but Gaudi wanted to explain Jesus’ journey on the outside of the church and leave the inside free of any sculptures or art which is unheard of for a Catholic Church. The inside is a beautiful open space with the most amazing stained glass windows I’ve ever seen! Make sure to book your tickets online and be on time for your reservation. You can also book to go into one of the towers. I booked a tower visit but unfortunately the elevator was closed that day and we were told we’d get a refund.

Picasso Museum
Located a 5 minute walk from our hotel, this was a must see. Although not a huge fan of Picasso I have to say I really enjoyed it and learned a lot about the artist.
Tickets are 10 Euros and I was able to buy them at the museum. They do all have free days so make sure to check on their website and book ahead for that if possible.

Guell Park
Located an hour away by foot, we were going to take the bus until we realized that we didn’t have enough euros. Walking it is! It was a nice walk in a straight line from our hotel and it let us explore other neighborhoods in Barcelona as well. Once we got there we didn’t realize you needed tickets for the main part of the park and opted not to stay. We walked around the free part of the park and then made the trip back into town. Tickets are 10 euro and the line wasn’t bad but we were a bit exhausted and didn’t feel like staying. We still got great photos with a really nice view of Barcelona!

La Palau de Music
I bought us tickets to see a Flamenco Show and it did not disappoint! I highly recommend doing this! If you can’t get tickets, keep your eyes peeled for local shows in town at restaurants where I heard you can eat dinner and watch a show. There was one I passed a few times right by the Picasso Museum called Palau Dalmases.

FOOD
La Boqueria Mercat
Located about 20 minutes by foot from our hotel we walked here on our first day. To get here you have to walk down Las Ramblas, a very big and busy street which was a little overwhelming. The market is very crowded and has a lot of food options such as fresh juices, seafood and meats. We got some fresh watermelon and baked empanadas- yum!! Also great to note that the vendors took credit cards!

Ca L’Andreu
This restaurant was recommended by our Montserrat tour guide. It just so happened to be by the Palau Musica where we saw the Flamenco Show so we decided to go there before the performance. Located on a small side street, keep an eye out for it so that you don’t miss it. Lobster Paella and Duck were really good!

Hoffman Patisserie
Amazing croissants! We picked some up for breakfast everyday and it was a 3 minute walk from our hotel. They probably rival the croissants in Paris.

El Nacional
An indoor marketplace located in the heart of the shopping district it was probably my fav spot to eat! We came here twice, both times to the same restaurant called Tapas Al Cante. Everything was delicious but my favorite were the steamed mussels which were perfection- the best I’ve EVER eaten.

El Salad Market
Stumbled on this spot while walking from the Sagrada to the shopping area. It is your basic salad spot such as Just Salad but it was exactly what I needed- vegetables! If you want a healthy, quick lunch then make your way here. The portions are also very generous! A very big salad (no meat) cost me about $8.

SHOPPING

Europe has a lot of the same stores that the US does such as Zara and H&M (since the hail from Europe!) so where I like to shop now are the trendy stores that I don’t have at home. Here are the ones you need to hit- Mango Outlet, Stradivarius and Bershka (I know we have this in the US but the selection is better here in my opinion).