If you ever decide to take a visit to this lovely city be prepared to be mystified.
Hopefully you will not be like me and be completely gobsmacked at the history, the art, and the overall wealth of this iconic Catalonian city. I was lucky enough to participate in a couple of free tours through my hostel and the guide was extremely knowledgable of the city and the history behind a lot of the architecture.
Hopefully you will not be like me and be completely gobsmacked at the history, the art, and the overall wealth of this iconic Catalonian city. I was lucky enough to participate in a couple of free tours through my hostel and the guide was extremely knowledgable of the city and the history behind a lot of the architecture.
Food
Naturally I have to do a piece about the food.
So much diversity! I loved it! Yes to exclamation marks two times because the food was just that amazing - and diverse. You will find everything here from traditional Barcelona tapas called pinchos to typical Spanish food like tortas' (I was in HEAVEN because it is very rare to find torta's in the south of Spain in such abundance).
You will also find cuisine from around the world - there were a ton of Ramen noodle shops, typical food from Latin America like tacos or quesadillas (more tex mex style), and then of course your vegan options and brunch places. I tried to sample as much as I could, but along with the delicious food options comes the not so appetizing prices. So while I sampled quite a bit, there is still so much more to be discovered.
Food wise I would highly recommend avoiding touristy areas like Passag de Gracia or Las Ramblas - even the Gothic Quarter. I stayed in a little neighborhood that was close to the action but off the beaten path. What was the advantage of that?
Finding all the restaurants that locals visit!
So much diversity! I loved it! Yes to exclamation marks two times because the food was just that amazing - and diverse. You will find everything here from traditional Barcelona tapas called pinchos to typical Spanish food like tortas' (I was in HEAVEN because it is very rare to find torta's in the south of Spain in such abundance).
You will also find cuisine from around the world - there were a ton of Ramen noodle shops, typical food from Latin America like tacos or quesadillas (more tex mex style), and then of course your vegan options and brunch places. I tried to sample as much as I could, but along with the delicious food options comes the not so appetizing prices. So while I sampled quite a bit, there is still so much more to be discovered.
Food wise I would highly recommend avoiding touristy areas like Passag de Gracia or Las Ramblas - even the Gothic Quarter. I stayed in a little neighborhood that was close to the action but off the beaten path. What was the advantage of that?
Finding all the restaurants that locals visit!
Things to do
After stuffing your face on all the food - walk it off.
You can purchase a transportation T 10 pass which gives you 10 rides for 9.98 or something like that OR you can grab a map and walk to the different sites. The walking is not that hard - maybe if you are not used to it - at first you might find it to be a bit of a trek but I assure you that the city is walkable and public transportation is not necessary.
That being said - sites to see especially if you are on limited time:
Las Ramblas = Once an old barrio that was unique to the city now just a tourist attraction with loads of shops and restaurants. I'm pretty sure there is still some of its old charm hidden in there somewhere. Good luck bustling through all the tourist and street vendors. This area is also popular because of the markets - although again it is highly tourist driven (you can tell I was highly unimpressed by this)
Park Guell = Just absolutely amazing! Please don't get stuck on the main attraction but walk the entire park. Either go early in the morning before sunrise or sometime during or before sunset. It is absolutely beautiful either way and make sure to walk the entire park and not just the touristy section.
Passag de Gracia = The "wealthy" area but also houses the two main Guell attractions Casa Batillo and Casa Milo. The typical shops you'll find include Prada, Gucci, but also El Nacional - a great place to sample pichos and cava.
Gothic Quarter = Another great area to learn about the history of Barcelona that differs from Las Ramblas and Gracia. Also extremely touristy but houses some great museums that are free after 3pm on Sundays. Also great coffee shops and little tapas bars - but you will pay since it's in a high tourist area. A fun fact our tour guide told us was that you can find little plaques on the corners of the streets that used to the "direction signs." Apparently many couldn't read and so they used pictures to direct others. So when in the Gothic Quarter look for these plaques! They have four squares with pictures and then a pointy boob at the top which typically directed people to the brothels. (Please be as appalled and amused as I was at this random fact)
You can purchase a transportation T 10 pass which gives you 10 rides for 9.98 or something like that OR you can grab a map and walk to the different sites. The walking is not that hard - maybe if you are not used to it - at first you might find it to be a bit of a trek but I assure you that the city is walkable and public transportation is not necessary.
That being said - sites to see especially if you are on limited time:
Las Ramblas = Once an old barrio that was unique to the city now just a tourist attraction with loads of shops and restaurants. I'm pretty sure there is still some of its old charm hidden in there somewhere. Good luck bustling through all the tourist and street vendors. This area is also popular because of the markets - although again it is highly tourist driven (you can tell I was highly unimpressed by this)
Park Guell = Just absolutely amazing! Please don't get stuck on the main attraction but walk the entire park. Either go early in the morning before sunrise or sometime during or before sunset. It is absolutely beautiful either way and make sure to walk the entire park and not just the touristy section.
Passag de Gracia = The "wealthy" area but also houses the two main Guell attractions Casa Batillo and Casa Milo. The typical shops you'll find include Prada, Gucci, but also El Nacional - a great place to sample pichos and cava.
Gothic Quarter = Another great area to learn about the history of Barcelona that differs from Las Ramblas and Gracia. Also extremely touristy but houses some great museums that are free after 3pm on Sundays. Also great coffee shops and little tapas bars - but you will pay since it's in a high tourist area. A fun fact our tour guide told us was that you can find little plaques on the corners of the streets that used to the "direction signs." Apparently many couldn't read and so they used pictures to direct others. So when in the Gothic Quarter look for these plaques! They have four squares with pictures and then a pointy boob at the top which typically directed people to the brothels. (Please be as appalled and amused as I was at this random fact)