I've just returned from 4 days in Barcelona, and it was the most beautiful city I have ever visited in my life.
I went with 2 of my friends, and when deciding where to go away, one thing we were looking for was the price, and a place that people our age didn't go to just to go clubbing or smoke weed (a.k.a Amsterdam).
So when a good deal in Barcelona cropped up, we thought, why not?! I've always wanted to go to Barcelona but never actually considered it, so I was excited to explore the city for the first time.
When arriving there after an early morning flight, we were met with warm sunshine and the most chilled out city I've ever seen. As soon as you arrive you feel relaxed and everything is so quiet and calm. Once we got to our hotel (Hotel Condado, highly recommended!), we freshened up and headed off to explore.
Our first stop was the Sagrada Familia. I thought we could walk there, but it was a long walk from our hotel! But the sun made it all the worthwhile and once we were there, we were in awe of the amazing architecture! Obviously this is very touristy, so expect lots of people surrounding it.
Because the weather was so nice, we sunbathed a bit outside before making the long trek back (stopping for ice cream of course). Day 1 was filled with chill time as we had only had about 4 hours sleep, and was finished off with a lovely meal in the evening, followed by a 1 euro bottle of wine which was soo nice! Although having the wine sent me to bed, but it did give me a full 10 hours of sleep!
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| La Sagrada Familia |
Day 2: We woke feeling refreshed and ready for a busy day of sightseeing. Our first trip was to Barceloneta to see the beach. It was very overcast at the time so when we got there, it was quiet and there didn't seem like a lot to do.
So my advice would be to visit when the weather is nice to sit on the beach. We walked all the way up the beach and visited Parc de la Cuitadella. This place was so lovely for a spot of lunch, and we explored the various statues and buildings located in the park. The sun decided to come out, just in time for a next stop to the cable cars that head up to Montjuic! This view was breathtaking, make sure you do this! The cable car only costs around 11 euros for a round trip, and the view from the cable car is just as good as the view from the top.
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| An overcast Barceloneta beach |
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| Parc de la Cuitadella |
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| View of Barcelona from Montjuic |
There is a castle at the top of the mountain, however you have to pay and although it was only 7 euros, we decided not to as we were on a student budget. This meant we didn't see the fountains but we weren't bothered about it, instead we sat around the back where we got an amazing view of the harbour. After a little walk around the gardens and so many pictures taken of the whole of Barcelona, we headed back to our hotel to chill before venturing to Las Ramblas for our evening meal.
For dinner, we stumbled across this tiny mexican restaurant around the backstreets, and I really wish I had remembered the name as it was so nice! I would recommend it to anyone. After some Sangria and more wine, we headed back to get some rest before day 3!
Day 3: We headed to Las Ramblas to explore the gothic quarter. Las Ramblas is very busy and touristy, so beware of pickpockets. Visit La Boqueria food market, your senses will come alive with the sights and smells of all the fresh food. Make sure you have a fresh smoothie, I had a Mango and another fruit which I didn't actually know what it was, but it was the freshest most delicious drink I have ever tasted. We then wandered down to the harbour to eat lunch, before exploring the narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter. For anyone that has seen the Cheetah Girls 2 movie, this is where they filmed the song 'Strut', so it was amazing to see the tiny shops and local cafes that were in the film.The streets are so beautiful, you feel enchanted by them. We also came across Barcelona Cathedral, and by this time it was so hot we had to take a break on the steps for a drink. This mean that I actually got sunburnt!
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| La Boqueria |
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| Las Ramblas |
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| Barcelona Cathedral |
From all the walking, we headed back to the hotel to rest our sore feet and chill before our last evening. By this time we had figured that we loved eating in Las Ramblas, so we headed back there for traditional Spanish Paella, Tapas and Sangria! The flavours were exhilarating and the price was so good! to finish off our perfect last night, we headed to a bar for, yep you guessed it, more wine! It was the most perfect ending to the perfect holiday.
Day 4 consisted of wandering around and buying souvenirs before a flight back to the UK.
For anyone that hasn't been to Barcelona, don't even think about it, just go! You will discover what a magical city it is, and it will take your breath away! I will definitely be returning as I didn't have to chance to visit Parc Guell, and I would love to see more of Gaudi's architecture. But we did most of the city in four days and I wouldn't have changed a thing!
