Thinking of Barcelona? Here's what I did!
Barcelona Day 1
Before we headed on our cruise, we spent a few days in Barcelona exploring the city. We flew a red eye and were so blessed when our hotel let us check in at 9AM. We stayed at Casa Camper- truly a hidden gem in the El Ravel neighborhood. This area is south of the main tourist strip La Rambla (more on that area later). The service was truly great here, and our room was lovely with a full size tub/separate shower and three balconies. The hotel also has a rooftop terrace with an “honest bar.” You have to love how different the drinking culture is here compared to the US. You can just pour what you like and write it down for them to charge it to your room. The views up here were lovely and a great social area to chat with others if you like.
Checking in early allowed us to drop our luggage and take a much needed shower. We took a five minute walk to Mercat (market) de la Boquieria. There were lots of fresh fruits and juices, nuts, meats, cheeses, olives, empanadas, and fresh seafood. I ended up grabbing some fresh juice and an empanada. The empanadas were different than you would expect here, but they were still good. It tasted almost like a wonton. The area is famous for its Jamon Iberico (Iberian Ham). It’s a cured leg of pork made from pigs that live in the Iberian Peninsula. It’s usually served sliced with cheese like a charcuterie or as a tapa.
After heading back to the hotel, we went out for dinner (eating is a recurring theme here…) to Bodega Oliva. The word bodega has a different meaning here than it does in the states. It refers to a wine shop or tavern that typically serves tapas. I liked this place because they let you order a random sampler which was great for our first day. It came with an appetizer (meats and cheeses), 6 tapas, and 2 after dinner shots (made in house) which tasted like Baileys but better.
Other than eating, we mostly just walked around and explored the first day. The time change is rough (6 hours ahead), and it definitely took a few days to adjust.
Today’s pro tip: Just take a taxi from the airport. There are rideshare apps in the area, but it’s more popular, and easier, to just grab a taxi from the queue. Just FYI that certain taxi rides will have a base rate surcharge. Any taxi from the airport has a 4.50 euro surcharge, and it will cost you about 30-40 euros to get to the city center. Also, if you reserve a taxi, like we did on our way to the cruise port, there's a 7 euro surcharge. They’ll have a meter on their rearview mirror, and we just paid with our phone wallet.
Barcelona Day 2
We started the morning early as we had a 9AM ticket to Sagrada Familia. In my opinion, this is a must do tourist attraction in Barcelona. We took the metro there from the hotel. It’s extremely easy to navigate, especially if you’ve been on any sort of metro before. You can buy single or multi pass tickets at the kiosks.
A little bit of background on Segrada- the church started construction in 1882 with the guidance of Antoni Gaudi (a famous architect in the area). It’s become the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world as they are still working on it to this day. Gaudi is buried there in the crypt and worked on the project until he passed. The project is funded by ticket sales.
Segrada was way more grand than I imagined. I’ve seen some beautiful churches while traveling, but I got off the Metro stop, looked up, and was like damn. What a site! I purchased the audio tour ticket which explained how every element was done with purpose. Everything was symbolic. My favorite part was the stained glass windows. On the side where the sun rose, the stained glass was done in cool colors which illuminated the church in hues of blues in the morning. The other side, where the sun sets, was done in warm colors which illuminated the church in oranges.
We purchased the optional add on to go up one of the towers. I chose the Passion Tower because it’s a bit taller than the Nativity Tower. They take you up in an elevator, but you have to walk down. It was very narrow, but overall not too bad (coming from someone who’s super clumsy and out of shape). The only part that made me a little out of breath was the last set of stairs which was a spiral staircase. Accessibility wise, the church was wheelchair friendly, but there is no way to go up the towers.
Next we walked over to the Corgi Cafe- there’s four of them around the city. I’m a dog mom to a Corgi, so of course this was on my list to visit! It was so cute, and the food and drinks were actually delicious. I ordered the corgi pancakes which were pink with berries on top. Seriously, the raspberries on top were the best I ever tasted. There was a sleepy corgi there who I got to pet.
After that, we took the Metro down to the beach area Barceloneta because I wanted to check out the area. We walked from the station down the promenade to the beach. I wasn’t super impressed with the neighborhood- it’s definitely a tourist hot spot. The beach area looked decent but wasn’t huge. I could see this area as a good half or full day trip from the city if you’re looking to get in the water, but I wouldn’t want to stay there.
We took the bus back to the hotel. The buses weren’t as easy as the metro to navigate, but we figured it out. We used Google Maps and the Citymapper app all throughout the trip which were super helpful. You can use your card or phone to pay for the trip, but you have to go in the front door. The card readers in the back of the bus only work for Travel Cards. You can buy these ahead of time on the TMB website if you’d like. They offer single tickets, multi day passes, and multiple journey passes.
At the hotel, we got cleaned up and ready for a flamenco show in the Eixample neighborhood. Side note- this is the most popular gay neighborhood in the area. I really enjoyed this neighborhood overall and would consider staying there if I travel to Barcelona in the future.
The flamenco show was at Casa Sors. I bought my tickets off of Viator, but it looks like you can get them direct for a few euros cheaper. There are ticket options that include drinks and food, but I recommend just paying a la carte the night of the show. I can’t speak for the food, but the drinks were great. The show was really fantastic. The flamenco is such a powerful dance, and this venue is intimate with about 20 seats. The cast are extremely talented dancers and musicians. Highly recommend checking this show out if you’re in the area.
Casa Sors is also a guitar museum and hosts space for education. I wasn’t really sure what to expect for this part, but I really enjoyed this as well. The guide discussed the history of the guitar with different examples and would play samples for us. After the educational portion, he put on a mini performance for our group. He played songs on three different historic guitars. It truly felt like a private performance- I really enjoyed it. Also, the museum has a guitar made by Francisco Sanguino in 1769. There are only five of them in the world. The design was beautiful and intricate with inlaid shells. Although not a music player myself, this was a gorgeous piece to see.
Today’s pro tip: You have to buy Sagrada Familia tickets ahead of time. If you wait to when you’re traveling, they will be sold out. I highly recommend going at 9AM when it first opens as it’s the least crowded at this time. You can buy your tickets directly from their website. You’ll have a choice of a guided or audio tour with an optional add on to go up one of the towers. We did the audio tour and went up the Passion Tower (this one's a bit higher than the Nativity Tower). I prefer the audio because I like to go at my own pace.
Barcelona Day 3
Today we took a trip up to Tibidabo to see the Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. When we were on the rooftop of our hotel, we could see this beautiful church in the distant mountains. We knew we had to check it out. Randomly, there is also an amusement park next door if you’re traveling with kids.
To get up the mountain, we took the commuter train to a funicular. I’ve never heard of a funicular before, but it’s basically a train car on a cable lift that takes you up the mountain. From there, we grabbed the bus (it was a mini bus), the rest of the way to the top. The whole trip took around 45 minutes, but the views were worth it! You could also take a taxi, but I wanted to experience public transportation as much as possible.
The temple was pretty and had amazing views of Barcelona. You can pay a few euros to take the elevator up to the top. To get to the tippy top, you have to take some stairs further up. We wanted to grab lunch after this. There was one restaurant in the area, but it had terrible reviews and was super touristy. So we decided to take the bus back down to Placa de Vallvidrera to get lunch at Restaurant Casa Trampa. During the week, they only serve “menu of the day,” and you may or may not come in contact with someone that speaks English. The menu of the day is popular in Spain and consists of a starter, main dish and dessert. For all of this, we spent about 30 euros which is crazy (it would have been like $100 in the states). The food was great, and they have a full menu if you catch them on the weekend.
From there, we took the train back down into the city and headed to the Banksy museum. Overall, I liked it because I am a fan of his work, but none of the work there was original. Also, there’s no AC, so keep that in mind if you’re traveling in the summer. We were sweating our asses off. Not having AC is common in Europe.
So we took some time back at the hotel to clean up for dinner. We checked out La Condesa which is a Mexican restaurant/bar in the L’Eixample neighborhood. The food was great and the vibe was chill. They do close from like 4pm-6:30PM just FYI.
Today’s pro tip: Closing midday/afternoon is not uncommon in the area. Also, everything is later in Spain. Most people don’t eat dinner until after 9PM. It stays lighter later, so it felt natural to follow this pattern.
Barcelona is one of those places that is so lovely that I definitely would love to visit again. If you're interested in using an advisor to plan your next trip, please set up a consultation!