Written by Clara the Exploradora

Though Barcelona is a huge city, it is relatively easy to navigate once you figure out that it’s mostly a grid and the public transit is color coordinated. And there is no shortage of affordable places to stay. In this article I compiled a list of what to do in Barcelona. 

Travel Tip:

To help us acclimate to the

time change we did two things… 

1- Took Melatonin on the plane.

2- first two nights we stayed in an AirBnB so 

we could sleep comfortably and quietly while we 

got ourselves onto the proper sleeping schedule .

Our first AirBnB we stayed with Maria Antonia. Unfortunately our flights got delayed from Portugal (because NONE OF THE FLIGHT CREW SHOWED UP!) and we didn’t fly in till way past our check in time. Around 2 am with no way to contact her. But, when we buzzed the apartment, she was gracious, gave us a quick tour, and let us get to sleep. The rooms and bathrooms were clean and the apartment was very central to everything. It was just a few minutes walk to  Placa Espanya. 

The only hostal we stayed in there was Factory House. They were very accommodating to our change of plans and the beds and bathrooms were clean and it was very conducive for getting a good nights sleep because of the cubby curtains and quiet time regulations. In fact, that is why I picked that hostal for our stay! Sleep is very important to me while traveling. I like to be up early and to bed early to fully appreciate the day light hours. 

 Sagrada Familia:

First thing we did when we got to Barcelona was buy tickets from a little tourist both in the Placa Espanya to the famous Sagrada Familia. That is a must do in Barcelona. It was awe inspiring. I don’t have words for it so you really are going to have to go see it yourself. Try and catch it when the organ is playing, and in the daylight so you can see everything. Also, very important that you dress modestly.

There is a Museum that you can go to right there that helps you understand the magnitude of the project of building this chapel; a process that has been going on for around 100 years! We didn’t know about it and didn’t end up leaving enough time to fully appreciate all the information that it has. So make time for that. Even if you don’t like museums, like me.  See? Aren’t you glad you’re reading about what to do in Barcelona?

Travel Tip:

When you go to Sagrada Familia,

wear sleeves, cover up them legs,

and no sandals.

Park Guell: 

Have you ever seen a life sized village where an animated Tim Burton movie set meets a Ginger Bread House? If you haven’t, you should probably go to Park Guell, because that’s exactly what it looks like. The ticket you buy to enter the park only shows the part of Gaudi’s mosaic work, so it’s really a small, but magical area. 

The rest of the park, however, is free to walk around. You can hear the music of local musicians or see the work of local artists. Mixed with Gaudi’s work, is a beautiful garden full of all sorts of plants and herbs! Don’t forget to smell the natural herbs that grow all around the gardens in the park. Like they say, ‘stop and smell the roses!’

Also… the Factory House Hostal is very much within walking distance of Park Guelle.

Camp Nou for a Fútbol game:

GOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLL!!! 

Luckily, we were able to attend a Barcelona futbol game. It was definitely a great experience for us. Although we did learn a very important lesson when buying tickets… do NOT buy tickets off of viagogo.com. You can, however most likely buy tickets the day of at the stadium. 

Either way, we are not unhappy that we went. Getting there by train was very easy. There are quite a few stops really close to the stadium so you can stop and grab some food before the game if you want. It was a torrential downpour the entire time.

T. O. R. R. E. N. T. I. A. L. But did that damper our fun? Absolutely not. Despite almost freezing to death, we had an epic time. 

Of course, Barcelona won 2-1 against Seville. Even still it was a game to remember. 

Travel hint:

Avoid ticket purchases off of

viagogo.com at all costs because they 

will charge you through the nose with 

service charges. 

Mont Juic:

Mont Juic is pretty cool… Twasnt my favorite place in all of Barcelona, but it was a nice walk. It is an old castle on top of a hill, looking over a harbor with lots of shipping supplies where many people were executed.  Sooooo yeah. We passed a majestic museum, the Olympic stadium, and a gas powered remote control race car course. In fact, that course might have been the highlight of the walk to Mont Juic. 

Placa Catalunya:

All that really stood out to me about Placa Catalunya were the fountains; and the incessant selfie stick sales people.. Holy Cow were they aggressive in trying to get us to buy selfie sticks. But the fountains were nice to walk by and look at. And if my memory serves me correctly, there was a man selling bags of bird seed to feed the pigeons. “tupens a bag…”

The park is central to getting to the main tourist street, Las Ramblas. If you walk all the way down Las Ramblas you get to the Columbus statue at the harbor. There were amazing flee markets all over the place down by the harbor by the Columbus statue. It happens to be were I found the earrings I wore to my wedding. They were beautiful. 

La Boqueria: 

Food glorious food! Go to there. It’s a huge food market off of Las Ramblas that sells literally every kind of food. Chocolates, fishy things, donuts, meat, pizza, bread, fruit, juice, veggies, empanadas, DONUTS…. I’m making myself hungry just thinking about it. It’s easy to find because it’s on Las Ramblas between Placa Catalunya and the Columbus Monument.

Bam. Another stop… The Columbus Monument.  

Go to la Boqueria hungry and leave happy. 

Symphony:

We happened to be in Barcelona when the symphony performed a tribute to John Williams. The symphony is called the Catalunya Symphony. The Symphony hall is… well intricately spectacular. Wow. Truly beautiful. And they can sure put on a show! During the Star Wars songs various characters walked around entertaining kids and me. Such as, Darth Vader and clones… It was so super cool!

Picasso Museum:

I thought I knew what Picasso was up to in his life time; I thought I knew his style, but alas, I did not. His style morphed and grew throughout his life. The cool thing about this museum is that it is CHRONOLOGICAL! So cool. It started at his youth and progressed till his crazy phase. 

Food:

La Clara… Excellent food choice for Tappas. 

Sandwichez… for tasty fast sandwiches, coffee, pastries, and juices. 

BraCafe….pretty good and fast pizza. 

Turkish food places…. Delicious. 

Donuts: Just eat donuts. They are delightful . 

Black Remedy deli & Coffee Bar: Great quick service… c/Ciutat 5 08002 I Barcelona

 Dragon Festival:

I don’t know much about this event other than the fact that it was crazy awesome and that it happened the first week of November. I don’t know what it was called but if I were to name it I would call it the Dragon Festival. We left our Factory House Hostal  in the morning and when we came back in the evening there was a Dragon Festival happening. People with paper mache  dragon costumes and drum circles all over the place. It was so. Freaking. Cool. And then they just paraded around the streets with the dragon costumes and drum circles… I am so glad we happened across that. Video below.