Sorry there's been such a long lag between posting the first vs this second series to our recent trip to Spain. Barcelona just had too many iconic sights and great eats to narrow down to our "Top 8"!
As with any tourist destination, do be wary of any pickpocketers in Barcelona. Two men were following us in the metro station, and we were trying to lose them moving from one ticket gate to the next, but they kept following us. As it turned out, they wanted to sneak through the metro station gates without a ticket by following very closely behind us. That was our first day "Welcome to Barcelona" experience. But don't let that deter you from visiting the city. Barcelona houses Antoni Gaudi's modernista masterpieces as well 14th century cathedrals and Roman-era ancient city walls and stone corridors; and when the chaos of the city gets to you, escape to the peaceful mountains of Montserrat, which is only an hour north of Barcelona.
As usual, here are our "Top 8" picks, and below is our full itinerary for Barcelona. We researched trip advisor and yelp, and asked for friends' recommendations, but mainly followed the Rick Steve's Spain book for this itinerary.
Top 8
1. Book a tour of Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia
Taking a tour of the inside of La Sagrada Familia is a "must do" when in Barcelona, as it is one of Antoni Gaudi's most famous work. Although Gaudi passed away in 1926, construction for this Roman Catholic basilica (which started in 1882) still continues today, and will not be completed for years to come. Make sure you purchase the tickets ahead of time, as they sell out and the ticket lines are insanely long. And then schedule your itinerary around when you can get the tickets. We went twice-- once during the day time as part of an English speaking tour that went inside the basilica; and then later, we went back at night to photograph the architecture of the outside of the basilica (no ticket needed to see the outside).
Entering the basilica is like stepping inside a stone forest, with the incredible large stained glass windows filtering a gradient rainbow of sunlight onto the canopy of intricate stone columns that appear to grow like trees from the ground.
Just stunning and magically jaw dropping.
The pictures of the inside do not do justice to just how unique and remarkable La Sagrada Familia is-- you just have to step inside to experience the magic for yourself.
2. Take a Day Trip to Montserrat
Montserrat, about 1 hour north of Barcelona, is famous for a Benedictine monastery that is perched on the cliffs of unusual rock pillars. To millions, Montserrat is a pilgrimage destination to touch the statue of the black Madonna who is believed to perform numerous miracles. Others come to Montserrat to hike and enjoy the sweeping views of Catalonia. But whatever your reason, if you have an extra day in Barcelona, do not miss visiting Montserrat-- it was easily one of our highlights in Spain.
We bought the round trip Trans Montserrat ticket (cable car option) for about 36 euros per person, and took the first available morning R5 train from Barcelona's Placa d'Espanya station to Aeri de Montserrat, and then caught the yellow circular cable car to the monastery. Instead of taking the cable car, the other option was to take the slower rack railway (aka Cremallera) to the monastery, but we wanted to take the fastest and more scenic cable car route. (Initially, purchasing the tickets at the train station was a bit confusing, but we found this website: "train journey from Barcelona to Montserrat" to be super helpful in outlining all the transportation options in clear detail and in English.)
After the 1 hour train ride, we hopped inside the cable car, and from a distance, we could see the magnificent monastery perched on the side of the mountains. The rock pillars, although different in color, reminded me a bit of the rock formations at Pinnacles National Park in California, and I marveled at how difficult it must have been to transport building materials up this mountain during the 11th century.
Once off the cable car, we visited the museum, toured the monastery, stood in the long queue off the side of the monastery to touch the famous Black Virgin Mary, went up the funicular Sant Joan and then hiked down the mountain to breathe in the mountain air and enjoy the sweeping views. All in all, it was a very relaxing and serene day.
3. Explore La Boqueria Open Market at Las Ramblas
Las Ramblas is a street in Barcelona that stretches from Placa de Catalunya to the Christopher Columbus monument, with La Boqueria, a large public outdoor market, about half way in between. La Boqueria is a bit touristy, but the maze of stalls sell everything from fresh fruits and meats to dried fruits, nuts, and chocolates. There's even casual sit down dining stalls if you wanted to rest your feet. Sample a variety of snacks/tapas and wash everything down with a cup of fresh fruit juice. While crowded, it was much more enjoyable to browse than the shoulder to shoulder super crowded San Miguel market in Madrid. Plus who can say no to those cute chocolate chicks, bunnies, and penguins?
4. Visit Barcelona's City History Museum
The City of History Museum in Barcelona's Gothic quarters tells the history of Barcelona since the Roman times. When you enter the museum, you take an elevator down to an underground excavated archeological site of old Barcelona. This is the largest Roman settlement ever discovered in Europe, and is the REAL DEAL-- not a replica of artifacts. An audio guide plus written English explanations discuss Roman city life, the chemistry of clothes dying and washing, wine making, garum fermentation (fish sauce!), and how the city of Barcelona was developed from the foundations of this ancient city. The tour then continues beyond the ruins to another floor that takes you through to Barcelona's middle ages.
At a very reasonable entrance fee of 7 euros per person, I'm really surprised this gem does not make everyone's "to do list" in Barcelona. We spent hours here and loved it.
5. Visit the Picasso Museum and then Snack on Empanadas Around the Corner
The Picasso Museum in Barcelona houses the most extensive collection of Pablo Picasso's work, and is displayed in chronological order (early years, training period, the Blue period [1901-1904], and the Analytic and Synthetic Cubism period [1909-1919]). So it is easy to follow, even for the non-artistically inclined like myself. I can see how he started out with realism, and then experimented with different ideas that lead to his signature cubist style. This was also where I had my, "Oh, I get it moment!" when I saw Picasso's interpretation of Velazquez's painting of Las Meninas (which I had seen earlier in the week at Madrid's Prado museum).
After we had our fill of Picasso, we went around the corner to fill our bellies with empanadas from La Fabrica. They were the best empanadas I've ever had--the crust was nice and thin, and the meat and veggies plentiful and bursting with flavor on the inside. The best part? Even if you can't read Spanish, each variety of empanada had picture symbols of what was inside. So for example, the carne empanada had symbols of beef, onions, eggs and olives (see photo above). Just brilliant. Love, love, love.
6. Stroll around Gaudi's Park Guell
Count Eusebi Guell and Gaudi originally intended this park to be a housing community filled with luxury homes, but in the end, only two houses were built with no buyers. Gaudi bought the houses and moved in with his family and lived there until his death in 1926. Today, Park Guell has been converted to a public park. While the park is free, entrance to the "Monumental Zone" which includes the terrace and iconic multicolored mosaic salamander, popularly known as "el drac" (the dragon) requires an entrance fee. Purchase tickets ahead of time, as there are timed entries and are often sold out.
We went twice--once during the morning to see what you can actually view without paying the entrance fee, and then later, we paid the fee to go inside the Monumental Zone. If you are only interested in seeing sweeping views of the city and taking a walk among birds and trees, then you can just do the free part. But if you want to see any of the famous mosaic works of Gaudi, especially "the dragon" fountain, and sit on the curved mosaic balcony wall, you have to pay. Despite a lot of trip advisor reviews saying it wasn't worth the entry fee, we enjoyed walking among the whimsical mosaic works and sitting on the balcony wall to take it all in. It felt like walking through "candy land" with sugar draped and gum drop dotted mosaic houses, and just made you kinda smile. The only non-enjoyable part were the massive crowds...
7. Visit the Montjuic Fountains at Night
The montjuic fountain was constructed for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, but was damaged during the war, and then later restored for the 1992 olympics. Today, the fountains put on a free water, light and music show during Friday and Saturday evenings, with extended hours during the summer months. Check here for the schedule. It's similar to the Vegas Bellagio fountains at night, but the show is a lot longer. I'd suggest to come here early to stake out a viewing spot. (And watch out for pickpocketers in this crowded area.) As you can see from the photo above, it was raining the day we were there, but still breathtaking and magical.
8. Treat Yourself to Catalan Creme Foam at Tapeo
By the time we went to Tapeo, we had tried catalan cream at several different restaurants already. This catalan cream foam was hands down the best we've had-- light and fluffy, but still had that custard taste with the torched creme brulee sugar top. I'm not gonna lie, the service is very slow here and at times annoying, but the the catalan cream foam made up for the slow service.
Our Barcelona Itinerary in April 2019
(Sunrise ~7:35 AM, sunset ~8:16 PM; Temperature: Low of 50 F, high of 70 F)
Date |
Time |
Activity |
Day 1 |
3 PM |
Arrive in Barcelona. Check into Catalonia Barcelona Plaza Hotel. Buy T10 Card, Zone 1 for 10 metro rides |
|
4 PM |
Passeig de Gracia street to see modernista buildings (Casa Mila, Casa Lleo, Casa Amatler, Casa Batllo) |
|
5 PM |
Take Casa Batllo tour |
|
8 PM |
Dinner at Cerveseria Catalan |
|
10 PM |
Photograph Casa Mila at night |
Day 2 |
9 AM |
Hotel breakfast. Then Walk to Montjuic park and olympic stadium |
|
2 PM |
La Sagrada Familia Tour |
|
6 PM |
Dinner at La Barca Del Salamanca |
Day 3 |
7 AM |
Hotel breakfast. Check out, leave luggage at hotel storage |
|
8 AM |
Buy tickets for Montserrat |
|
10 AM |
Arrive in Montserrat, tour and hike |
|
3 PM |
Leave Montserrat |
|
5 PM |
Retrieve luggage from hotel storage and taxi to El Avenida Palace Hotel. Check in |
|
7 PM |
Dinner at Irati |
|
8 PM |
Dessert at La Boqueria |
Day 4 |
9 AM |
Breakfast next door at Cuidad Comital |
|
10 AM |
Follow Rick Steve’s Gothic quarters walk. Cathedral plus tour of roof top |
|
12 PM |
Barcelona City History Museum |
|
4 PM |
Palau Guell tour |
|
6 PM |
Dinner at Takumi Ramen |
Day 5 |
8 AM |
Breakfast next door at Cuidad Comital |
|
10 AM |
Park Guell perimeter (free) |
|
12 PM |
Lunch at Bar Casi |
|
2 PM |
Navigation Museum |
|
6 PM |
Picasso Museum |
|
8 PM |
Dinner at La Fabrica |
|
9 PM |
Visit James Turrell exhibit near Picasso M (08003 Barcelona ) |
Day 6 |
8 AM |
Park Guell inside Monumental Zone |
|
11 AM |
Casa Vicens |
|
1 PM |
Lunch at Cerveseria Catalan |
|
3 PM |
Rick Steve’s Las Ramblas walk |
|
6 PM |
Dinner at Placa Espanya Arena + shopping |
|
9 PM |
Montjuic Fountains show |
Day 7 |
AM |
Souvenir shopping |
|
1 PM |
Palau de La Musica |
|
3 PM |
Lunch at Tapeo |
|
6 PM |
Traditional Church dance |
|
7 PM |
Photograph La Sagrada Familia at night |
Day 8 |
7 AM |
Check out and flight to Lisbon |