Located in the Northeast corner of Spain, Barcelona has lots to offer tourist and slow travelers alike. We visited Barcelona as our first official stop on a tour of Europe in 2022. We arrived via a 14-day trans-Atlantic cruise on the Carnival Pride. While we had some brief visits to Ponta Delgada, Malaga, and Valencia from the ship, Barcelona was our first “real” stop on our trip.
Neither of us had ever been to Europe before. This trip would be three months of trying to see all the “touristy” things you should see in most of Europe. Obviously, we didn’t see all the tourist destinations, especially as we wanted to stay more than a night or two in most locations.
Also, we didn’t try to hit every highlight in every city. We just sort of followed our internal wandering spirit voices and let them guide us on the journey.
Overview
Here is what Chat GPT has to say about Barcelona:
“Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, is a destination that should be on every traveler’s bucket list. Known for its stunning architecture, delicious food, and vibrant culture, Barcelona offers something for everyone. Whether you’re interested in exploring the works of Antoni Gaudí, sampling tapas, or soaking up the sun on the city’s many beaches, you’re sure to fall in love with this beautiful Mediterranean city.”
Accurate, but pretty sterile. As you can imagine there is a lot more life and vibrancy to this town than completely comes through in a blog post, but let’s try and capture some of that.
Are cruise ship debarked at 6:00 am. Turns out there isn’t a lot going on at the port at that time, and we were definitely a bit early to check in for our Airbnb. Our first challenge was finding a luggage storage place.
Thankfully there are plenty of these in town, but of course they don’t open until 9:00 am at the earliest. Compounding things was the fact that we arrived on the Sunday of the Barcelona Marathon, so many central city streets were blocked. We managed to get a cab to get us close enough to a luggage storage facility that had a cool little restaurant nearby where we could grab coffee and a snack.
First Impression
After finally ditching our bags (thankfully we purposefully packed light for this trip) we were able to set out and explore the city. The first major revelation we had about Europe is that Paris isn’t the only city with an Arc de Triomphe. Barcelona has one of those too, with only a slightly different spelling, Arc de Triomf.
Needless to say, they both are pretty cool, but I would say the Barcelona Arc might just be a bit more picturesque. Just a bit Southeast of the Arc is a well-maintained park that contains some cool architecture on the periphery and hosts the Barcelona Zoo.
The other thing that struck us most immediately is the abundance of outdoor seating at restaurants and cafes. The weather was especially warm for late spring, and we found that Barcelona was the beginning of a trend of rarely, if ever, eating indoors if we could at all help it.
The other interesting thing that actually took a few days to sort out was that in Barcelona, being the capital of Catalonia (a region in Spain), the primary language is Catalan. And the Catalan people reportedly can be pretty put off by non-natives, more so than other cities it would seem. Still, most everyone we met was polite and friendly (maybe they cursed us under their breath afterward?).
Best Thing
Okay, let’s get real. The best thing about Europe in general (at least to me) is the food. But we will save that for its own section. Once you disqualify food as an entry for “best thing” that most certainly leaves you with La Sagrada Familia.
If you only have one day in Barcelona to see the sights, this is the sight you want to take in. This massive Catholic church largely designed by the architect Anthoni Guadi. The Sagrada Familia is a popular spot, so make sure you make a reservation ahead of time. Typically, the reservations can sell out and there is only a limited amount of general admission entry.
Even after seeing about a hundred other churches later on during our trip, I would still pay to go see La Sagrada Familia again. It is a special place on a continent filled with special places.
If you have time afterward definitely visit the Gothic Quarter and stroll the nearby La Rambla where there are lots of shops and restaurants and a cool old food market. The fresh fruit is amazing.
Restaurants and Food
Who’s ready for some tapas? You’ve definitely come to the right city when it comes to small plates and finger foods! In our experience tapas served almost anywhere were pretty darn good.
A tapa sub-category specific to Barcelona is the Pincho (or Pintxo) which is food served on a stick. There is an alley just of Avenue del Paral-lel that is full of restaurants that serve almost exclusively these fun little delicacies. In my mind, it isn’t a visit to Barcelona without a stop for a beverage and a few of Pinchos!
An important note is that along La Rambla and some of the areas around the most “touristy” spots can have really high prices, and lesser quality food.
Plan your dining to happen outside of the most intense tourist areas. That said there are some great little shops offering fun eats like Las Fritas where you can get a cone of just-made fries (chips) with delicious toppings and a cold beer if you like.
There are two restaurants that stood out for us, one conveniently located directly under our Airbnb. The Molinet Café Antic has a phenomenal breakfast and an amazing charcuterie board! Even good pictures don’t do it justice.
And a sleeper surprise was a tiny Mexican food shop located on Avenue del Paral-lel called Tacos 99. The serve something they call a quesadilla which is a lot like a deep-fried taco. It comes with several choices of ingredients and all of them are to die for. I often think of booking trips to Barcelona simply just to go there.
Most Fun
I am a football fan. In my humble opinion the best part of our trip to Barcelona was watching FC Barcelona in action, in person! We had the privilege of attending a match at Camp Nou and it was super cool.
Not only were we blessed with a magnificent sunset to start the match, the environment of a football stadium in Spain is like nothing else. From an American expectation point of view, we were surprised to find out that alcohol is not available inside the stadium. Which, in turn, does explain the plethora of bars and kiosks outside that are serving thirsty fans.
And we noticed that while official policy is that no food can be brought in the stadium it seemed to be a little-followed rule as almost all the locals seemed to pull out a sandwich or other foil-wrapped goody at half time as the stood at their seats.
Final Impression
Barcelona is a city rich with history and full of cool things to do. We spent 10 days and definitely didn’t see all of the highlights. The cost to stay was very reasonable, prices for food and attractions were affordable, and the city was entirely walkable or accessible by metro.
I am writing this retrospectively, so I have the advantage of comparison now with other European cities. Maybe it was just because it was our first immersion into Europe, but Barcelona has a special place in our hearts.
And as far as “usability” goes, we found it very easy to navigate, find good restaurants, see all the sights, and also take in some local culture. Sitting in square sipping sangria on a Friday evening and seeing all the local kids gather to play football, ride scooters, and run around with wild abandon while their parents visited with friends and neighbors was a priceless memory. Even if we were just outsiders looking in.
Would We Go Back?
We have lots of new places we want to visit, so the initial answer is going to be, “not right away, but sometime. Yes!” When we go back, we will want to stay longer, probably see less of the tourist attractions and just try and blend in with the locals.
In particular we are interested in staying near the beach. We only stopped for a few minutes at the beach boardwalk as we went on a Hop On – Hop Off bus ride, but the beach vibe seems very enticing.
Hot Tips
- Better food and lower prices are found when you get away from the busiest tourist sections.
- Take a walking tour on your first or second day. We use Airbnb to book most of our excursions and we are rarely disappointed. Airbnb is picky about their tour recommendations and most times we found ourselves in small groups with fantastic hosts. Walking tours are the best way to get a feel for the culture and area whenever you are in a new city.
- Use the Metro! It is cheap, easy to use, safe, and clean. Way better than taxis or renting a car.
- La Rambla is a fantastic spot for people watching. Splurge on an over-priced drink and sit at one of the cafes and watch the world wander by.
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