“Even the moon was embarrassed by the beauty of Barcelona”– Andrew Barger
Barcelona, we are sure this name has been on every traveller’s must visit list of cities. This amazing city is like a mix of Rome and Paris but still entirely having its own striking character. Among one of the cultural capitals of Europe and well known for its art, architecture, history and modernist landmarks, it’s an Insgrammer’s heaven. Every nook and corner is filled with unique imagery. Barcelona is home to beautiful beaches, mediterranean temperature, world class gastronomy, stunning architecture and ofcourse Football.
We visited Barcelona in mid February. The taxi from the El Prat airport to our hotel charged us around 20 euros, which was fair enough.
Hotel Royal Passeig de Gracia
Our stay was booked at this lovely hotel which was quite centrally located in Eixample. The street of Passeig de Gracia is one of the main and most elegant boulevards in Barcelona. Besides being lined with modernist buildings like La Casa Mila and La Casa Batllo, it’s a shopper’s paradise as well. Alongside unrivalled architecture, this avenue is filled with the stores of most prestigious brands. There are tons of bars and restaurants in this area.
Our room was nice and spacious with roof to floor glass windows. The street view was quite pleasing from the room. Breakfast was full of amazing choices. The stunning panoramic rooftop lounge was an added bonus. Relaxing in the lounge with a drink at the end of a long day is my guilty obsession (anyone? 😉 ). Sagrada de familia was visible from the rooftop as well.
Let’s stroll !!!
It’s hard to resist the temptation of visiting beautifully dressed up shops, isn’t it? Somehow, we succeeded in curbing it 🙂 . But we had to bow down to our son’s repeated requests to visit his FC Barcelona official store and buy his favourite bits.
Next stop, Placa de Cataluña is the main square of Barcelona. It is quite busy as the HOHO bus services have their stops here. In addition to statues, sculptures and fountains. It is surrounded by department stores and nice shopping areas. It’s quite lively and looks lovely in the evening too but try and avoid it in the late night as sometimes undesirable elements get into the square. Unfortunately, we could not see Casa Batllo as it was closed for renovations and the exterior was covered as well.
Later we took a metro to Park Guell. From the Vallcara metro station, the Park Guell is around 20 minutes walk. We would rather recommend taking bus number 24 or a taxi.
The highest point of the park is called ‘Tower of the Three Crosses‘. The views were perfect from here. This place is frequented by live musicians and you can sit down, enjoy the music and 360 degrees views of the city.
Park Guell tickets can be purchansed online from here.
We later came back to La Rambla, had a quick Wok to Walk meal (our aboslute favourite) and headed back to the hotel. We did something truly exciting this evening. Please read more about that here.
Gaudi’s Masterpiece- La Sagrada Familia
On day two, La Sagrada Familia topped our list. Our tickets included a visit to the cathedral and one of the towers. La Sagrada Familia is an awe inspiring masterpiece by Gaudi. It’s still under construction and hopefully it will be finished by 2026, almost a century after Gaudi’s death. It’s built in art nouveau and spanish gothic style structure. The interiors of the cathedral are simply stunning and exquisite. The rays of the sun dappling through the coloured glass were breathtaking. A perfect blend of inspiration from nature and Christianity, the various facades depict scenes from Christianity. We went up one of the towers as well. This magnum opus of Gaudi will surely leave you speechless. We booked the tickets online from here.
Lunch in Tosca !!
After La Sagrada, we reached Tosca for lunch. It was kindly recommended by a friend and it certainly didn’t disappoint. There were pretty amazing vegetarian dishes and we had the yummiest tapas ever. Read our food review here
The Road ahead !!
We spent some time at Arc de Triomf and combined it with a visit to Park Ciutadella. The park is full of lush green trees and exotic vegetation. There’s a pretty lake where you can enjoy boat rides. Or take a walk around the idyllic setting. There are a lot of vendors too. The park is also home to the Three Dragon’s Castle, a greenhouse, a zoo, the Governor’s Palace and the Catalan Government building.
Getting lost in The Gothic Quarter!!
Cathedral of Barcelona is another stunning piece of gothic architecture. It looked absolutely spell binding. The gothic quarter is a charming area with narrow medieval style streets. It’s full of trendy bars, clubs and restaurants. You can find quintessential catalan food here. The square of Placa de Reial was mesmerising with palm lined courtyards. There are dozens of restaurants in this historical square and most of them have outdoor terraces. It looked beautiful after dusk time. The maze of the Gothic Quarter was truly spectacular. We enjoyed every minute of our stay here.
Our dinner date took us back to La Rambla. The street of La Rambla imbibes the spirit of Barcelona. The choice of food stalls is beyond count and vendors are quite friendly too. It runs from north to south. It starts at Placa de Catalunya and ends at right at the seafront at the Columbus monument.
The day ended with drinks at our hotel’s rooftop lounge. That evening perfectly coincided with our Yugen Vibes with nearly a full moon shining above our hotel, gentle breeze, Sagrada visible in the distance and amazing music. We will always cherish that moment.
Beach Date and Bus ride!!
Ideally it was not beach season but it was a sunny day and so serene and beautiful at the beach. From here we took a little rickshaw ride to the Port Vell area. The Columbus monument is stunning too and you can climb and visit the top as well for beautiful views over the port area. We didn’t, but you must if you could. The marina was great and we thoroughly enjoyed looking at so many lovely yachts. Later we arranged to go on a hop on a bus tour. It’s a great way to see the city if you are short of time. Back in La Rambla, we had a late lunch in a lovely restaurant called Moka.
Last day
We had our flight in the evening. So we thought of giving a proper visit to Casa Mila which was barely one minute walk from our hotel. The queues were long but while waiting for our turn, we bought the tickets online and they came out a little cheaper too. Gaudi built this marvellous piece of architecture at the age of 53. With its twisted pillars facade, this building is by no means subdued or simple. In fact it’s very striking and pompous. The interiors are pretty marvellous too, especially the main courtyard. We have heard that Casa Mila- La Pedrera night tours are truly spectacular when the whole building and the roof is lit up. Buy tickets online from here.
It does need to be mentioned that there is a lovely chocolate shop right next to Casa Mila by the name of Torrons Vicens. They have an amazing range of basic to exquisite chocolates. We are sure you would love to pay a visit if you are a chocolate lover like us. Or simply go for chocolate tasting. Rest of the day we spent sightseeing around the vicinity only.
Important tips
- Catalan and Spanish are the two main languages spoken here. Brushing up your catalan skills in Barcelona would surely make you much more welcomed in this beautiful city.
- We visited Barcelona in mid of February. It was not much cold but still needed an extra layer during morning and evenings.
- Booking tickets online in advance always helps.
- Do take a stroll on La Rambla, you’ll love the experience.
- We found Barcelona taxis quite reasonable. Could be because it was off season.
- Barcelona is a great base for day trips to Montserrat or Girona.
We fondly hope our little experiences will inspire or motivate you to visit this beautiful part of Europe. Let us know if we can be of any help in any way.
