Written by Alvaro Leal
Hello, I’m Alvaro. I’m a Spaniard who was born in Barcelona. But I stayed there for so little (I only lived there for the first two years of my life), that I don’t have many memories of that beautiful city. That’s why I decided to go back there to visit the place where I was born, and finally find out for myself why it is so popular and such a touristic place. In this diary I will log the places that I will be visiting each day during my stay there. My intention is to compile recommendations, places worth seeing, foods to try, things to avoid, etc. This might help you on your next trip to Barcelona. So buckle up, and follow me on my journey to Barcelona.
Day 1 – La Sagrada Familia and Casa Batlló
Ok, I made it. I’m now in the place that has literally the first things I saw in my life. I’ve come full circle 🙂
I went to Barcelona by train. It is very convenient because Barcelona has many high speed train connections to different cities in Spain. That way, you can get here very fast from different places, if you are visiting other cities in Spain, like Madrid or Valencia. Once you get here, you can take whichever public transportation that suits you best to get to your hotel. The public transport system works really well in Barcelona. And you have many options: metro, bus and tram.
I’m staying in a hotel near Plaza Cataluña, which is one of the main downtown squares. From there you can visit many of the most touristic places of the city center. I definitely recommend booking a hotel somewhere near that area, because that way you can walk to many interesting places, without the need of getting into the public transport system.
One of the first places that I’ve visited is La Rambla. It is one of the main streets of Barcelona. It is a beautiful avenue, which connects Plaza Cataluña with the old port. Therefore, walking down La Rambla you get to the sea. But while you are going down that route, you can see a couple of interesting places to visit. One of them is La Boqueria. It is a very famous market where you can find fresh food and many tapas restaurants. Another place worth visiting is La Plaza Real. It is a popular square located in the Barrio Gótico full of restaurants. There you can have a lovely lunch in one of the many terraces available.
If you cannot spend too much time in Barcelona, I would suggest that you place a visit to La Sagrada Familia at the top of your priority list. It is a very special place like nothing you have seen before. And even though it is still under construction, you can be taken aback with what has already been built. However, the full shape of the building will still differ quite a lot to its current state. This is a picture of a model of how it will look once it is finally finished.
La Sagrada Familia is an unusual religious temple. It looks like a regular cathedral from a distance. But once you get in you start to realize that it has nothing to do with whatever similar place that you have visited before. I didn’t know that before I got there, but all parts of the building are inspired by nature. Starting from the huge columns in the main room, which resemble tree trunks, giving you the impression of being in the middle of a forest full of really tall trees. All the way up to the beautiful tips of its towers, which are decorated with sculptures of different fruits and crops. And all of those details have a hidden meaning, like the grapes hanging from that kind of umbrella over Christ at the main altar, which refer to the wine used by Christ in many biblical ceremonies.
I could talk about La Sagrada Familia for hours. Because it is such a magical place, you could spend the whole day being amazed by the genius of its architect, Antoni Gaudi. And I actually spent most of my day there. After that, I visited another must see in Barcelona, La Casa Batlló. It is another building designed by Antoni Gaudi at the beginning of the twentieth century for a very wealthy family, following the Catalan modernism trend. Its shape looks like it had been taken out of a Tim Burton movie. And it is not only incredible from the outside. The interior is stunning as well. So this is definitely a must see in the places to visit in Barcelona
That was it for today. Visiting La Sagrada Familia took me quite a lot of time, because I could not get enough of all the details and secrets that are hidden in every bit of it. But if you are not into architecture so much, I guess that you can spend less time there and take some time walking down Paseo de Gracia, which is one of the main and most famous avenues of Barcelona.
Day 2 – Parc Güell and La Pedrera
At this point I’m quite sure that you have guessed that I’m a big fan of Antoni Gaudi. I love creativity. In any area. Whether it is movies, music, video games, … I value that greatly, because otherwise any piece is just another version of something that you have experienced before. And the work of Antoni Gaudi is truly unique. That is why today I have visited his next two masterpieces: Parc Güell and La Pedrera.
Parc Güell is a big park located in the upper part of the city. It is composed of several gardens and buildings, following a style inspired by nature. And similarly to the Casa Batlló, its construction was financed by the Güell family. Apparently Eusebi Güell and Gaudi took inspiration from the Apollo’s temple in Delfos for building this place.
After going to this park, I visited La Pedrera, formally known as Casa Milá. Another famous building by Gaudi, which follows this amazing modernism style. This building is currently used as a showroom for multiple exhibitions, so its interior has not been preserved following its original design, as it is the case with Casa Batlló. Therefore, the parts that are more surprising are the facade and the rooftop.
The rooftop of this building is unbelievable. It is full of chimneys and little towers shaped in a really beautiful design. It gives you the feeling of being in a fairy tale. So if you visit this place, you definitely must go up to the rooftop to get delighted with this environment.
And that was it for day two. I know that by this time you may have started suffering from Gaudi overdose, but don’t worry, tomorrow we will switch gears visiting other places that look completely different.
Day 3 – Parc de la Ciutadella and Montjuic
This is my last day in Barcelona. After spending a couple of days in the city center, I wanted to move away from it and visit other areas of the city. That is why first I went to the Parc de la Ciutadella. This is a lovely public park that is located near the beach area. It is quite big and for several years it was the only public park in the city. There are a couple of lakes decorated with beautiful statues. And if you are visiting the city during the summer, it is nice to get to a place where you can get fresh air thanks to the trees and the lakes.
After walking around the park for a while, I headed toward the beach called La Barceloneta. It is one of the most famous beaches in Barcelona. There are many beach clubs, bars and restaurants, where you can have a drink by the sea or have lunch or dinner. It is a really nice place full of people from many places all over the world. So if your plan is to travel alone to Barcelona, you can meet new people in this place pretty easily.
In the afternoon I took the metro to Plaza de España. This is another touristic place in Barcelona. There is an avenue called Reina Maria Cristina, that takes you from Plaza de España to the national art museum. It is a monumental building that sits on top of a hill. On the way up, there are several fountains known as the Fuente Mágica de Montjuic, which at night perform a light and music show that is really nice to watch. You need to pay attention to their timetable, because it is only played some days at very specific times. But if you have the chance to watch it, I would definitely recommend it to you. (sometimes closed due to water bans!)
That was it. My time in Barcelona is over. I really enjoyed my stay here. Barcelona is a beautiful place, full of many amenities for the tourists, and many interesting places to visit. And also think that apart from the extensive catalog of things to do and see, its main appeal is the variety of areas that you can get to. Beach, mountain, modern architecture, classical one, parks, avenues, … you name it. I spent only three days here, and I could only visit a handful of those places. That is why I’m planning to get back soon.
I hope you enjoyed my notes, and that they can be helpful for your next trip to Barcelona. Have fun!
1.Alvaro is also an author in his field, you can check his programming book here.