Over the Easter weekend we booked a four-day trip to Barcelona. We had a fairly early flight so we could get settled, before a busy few days.
Once we landed we caught the metro across to our hotel – Eddy’s Room.
Our cosy room and an old fashioned lift that took us up to our floor.
After chucking our bags in the room, we wandered down to Las Rambla, the major strip of Barcelona.
It was now early afternoon and we were starving! We nipped down a side-street to a small café called Kasparo where we ordered a couple of baguettes. Frustratingly it took an hour for our food to come and the baguettes weren’t even that great – so annoying!
Once we’d finally eaten, we meandered through the Mercado la Boqueria, a large under cover market just off Las Rambla. The market had a large array of different foods and spices. We definitely should have just come here for lunch!
From here we continued back along Las Rambla down towards Port Vell. Along the street there were loads of entertainers, artists and other performers so it made for a nice relaxed stroll.
The 1.2 kilometre long Las Rambla runs from Placa de Catalunya down to the Christopher Columbus monument at Port Vell. The 60 metre monument is a gathering place for tourists and locals alike. It’s a common belief that he is pointing towards his home city of Genoa, Italy, however it’s much more likely that Columbus is just pointing out towards sea.
As the evening was drawing in, we made our way back to the hotel to freshen up before heading to the Camp Nou, home of FC Barcelona. I had managed to get a couple of tickets to the Barcelona vs. Real Sociedad game from their official website a month or so before we left. It was always a bit of a dream of mine to watch Lionel Messi!
With a capacity of 99,354 we were not surprisingly up in the heavens, and with no roof it was quite an experience!
Whilst in the day time it was upwards of 23°C, the evening was pretty chilly, and something we hadn’t really considered. So being in the top tier of the Camp Nou when it started raining it wasn’t ideal! Luckily, our spirits were raised when Lionel Messi scored twice in fairly quick succession.
After about 30 minutes or so, the rain eased off and we could enjoy the rest of the game. Here’s Messi nut-megging a Real Sociedad player…!
Luis Suarez in action.
It finished Barcelona 3-2 Real Sociedad in the end after a bit of a fight back from Sociedad. But a really entertaining game and thoroughly enjoyed – maybe more by me than Amy…!
The following morning was Easter Sunday, and we were wary that certain places would be shut. After grabbing a quick breakfast from L’art del Pa just down the road, we returned to the Camp Nou for the stadium tour.
With it being the Easter holiday’s the museum/stadium tour was packed!
The museum area was extremely busy, but we spent a good hour or so looking at the memorabilia and reading about the history of the club. These are Lionel Messi’s boots when he broke the all-time Barcelona scoring record of 232 goals. And Man Utd fans may recognise this trophy, as it’s the one Barcelona lifted when they beat you in 2011.
You could then go and sit in the stands and admire the infrastructure of this great stadium, which looked particularly smart in the bright sunshine!
From here you could go through the press room, a medical room and then down pitch-side.
There was also the opportunity to sit on the Barcelona bench and in Luis Enrique’s seat.
Having spent the majority of the morning inside the Camp Nou, we made our way back towards the centre of Barcelona and down by the port. Here we found a little restaurant and tucked in to some well-deserved tapas – calamari, peppers and patatas bravas.
The afternoon consisted of a fair bit of walking. We began by ambling through the backstreets and along Barceloneta Beach. Not surprisingly the beach was super busy, considering it was in the low 20’s – typical Brit tourists!
There were some cleverly crafted sandcastles which lined the boardwalk along the beachfront, here’s one of the better ones.
We then made our way across town to the North of Barcelona to see Parc Güell. One of many works of art by the famous Antoni Gaudi (1852–1926), Parc Güell is a public park with some beautiful gardens and architecture.
A particular favourite piece in the park was the Pont de Baix bridge, a network of paths which wind up the mountain.
Located on Carmel Hill, you have some wonderful panoramic views of Barcelona from the summit.
You can also clearly see the La Sagrada Família in the distance.
The Municipal Garden at the foot of Parc Güell had recently been made ticket-only access, so we were unable to visit during park opening hours which was a shame – although I made the trip back on the final morning.
After a long day of walking we had a quick nap and a shower at the hotel before catching the metro down to the port again. The port front was lined with plenty of traditional Spanish restaurants and we were both keen to have some Paella and a beer. We found the nice restaurant of L’arros where Amy ordered Squid Paella and I had a Chicken, Pork and Pea Paella. It was amazing!
Our third day began at another piece of Gaudi architecture – Casa Batlló. A well renowned masterpiece located in the centre of Barcelona, it really is a sight to behold!
Inside the house, designed in 1904 for Josep Batlló, was a cascade of curves and irregular shapes that were all well thought out by Gaudi. The shapes and colourful mosaics all contribute to the incredible natural lighting and personality of the talented Antoni Gaudi.
The rooms were interchangeable, and the windows could be adjusted depending on time of day – all immaculately designed and implemented.
The centre courtyard of the Casa Batlló seemed to mirror the sea, with its blurred windows and colourful blue tiles leading up to the roof. The tiles near the ground floor were a lighter colour, whereas near the roof a lot darker – this was all created to work with the natural light that filters through from the ceiling.
Perhaps the most stunning part of the house was the roof top. With the wacky chimneys and colourful tiles it was like a scene out of Alice in Wonderland!
The roof was one of our last stops and it gave us some pretty nice views down onto the streets of Barcelona.
It was then on to the garden area which continued in a similar mosaic vein. It was quite strange that such an iconic house in Barcelona was surrounded by regular houses either side.
We finished up the audio tour and made our way back out into Barcelona. With the sun shining we decided it’d be a good idea to visit La Sagrada Família – at least from the outside.
As you emerge from the metro station, you are dwarfed by the huge La Sagrada Família. Another piece of Antoni Gaudi genius, he began construction in 1883 and it is still yet to be completed (est. 2030).
Probably the best view of the huge Roman Catholic church is from across the pond in the Placa de Gaudi.
The intricacy and beautiful architecture has divided the citizens of Barcelona as many believe Gaudi’s original plans have been altered – after much of them were destroyed in the Spanish Civil War.
As you can see, there’s a large amount of construction work going on. We will definitely have to re-visit when it is completed. Not only to see the church in all it’s glory, but we also weren’t able to go inside as it was fully booked – massive let down!
From the La Sagrada Família we made our way back towards the centre, more specifically the Gothic quarter of Barcelona.
After a lovely panini at Conesa, we followed our map through the back streets of the Gothic quarter. The walk lead us to the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia, more commonly known as the Barcelona Cathedral.
And then on to the Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar.
For most of the afternoon we explored the Montjuïc region of Barcelona, a large hill that overlooks the centre. Our metro station was just outside the Arenas de Barcelona, that had a viewpoint deck.
Although not anything ground breaking, there were some nice views of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (National Museum of Catalunya) in the distance.
We made our way towards the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, with the help of the street escalators, much to our delight with the amount of walking we had done!
The museum from below.
The museum was actually closed as it was the bank holiday Monday, not that we were particularly bothered as we’re not huge fans of museums! But it did offer some nice views back across Barcelona.
Our next stop in Montjuïc, which we sort of stumbled upon, was the Stadio Olimpico – home of the 1992 Olympic Games.
You could also go inside and admire the stadium, with people able to pay to try out Olympic sports (100 metres etc.).
With our feet beginning to ache, we caught the bus to the top of the Montjuïc hill where the Montjuïc Castle was. Whilst it would have been interesting to go inside, the queues were huge and it was super expensive so we decided against it.
We decided to jump in the cable car back down the hill before making our way back to the hotel.
There were some pretty good views of Barcelona.
In the evening we were treated by my Mum and Dad to some dinner. We opted for traditional tapas dishes, and what a great decision it was! Possibly our favourite meal of the trip! Although, it was marred a bit as a family sitting near us had their bag stolen so that put us on edge a little.
With this being our last evening, we were keen to visit the La Sagrada Família at night. It was a sight to behold! The pond gave off amazing reflections too which added to the pictures.
The final morning of our trip, I was up super early as I wanted to visit Parc Güell before opening time (Amy had been before). While I’d seen the majority of the park, I wanted to get a glimpse of the highlight – the Municipal Garden.
As you enter the park there are two quirky pavilions, the roofs brightly decorated with mosaic tiles. Seems to be a theme of Antoni Gaudi’s work.
From here you move up to the “Dragon Stairway”.
About half way up the staircase is the multicoloured mosaic salamander, known as ‘el drac’ (the dragon). Probably my favourite part of the park.
The stairway leads to the Hypostyle Room, which was designed to be the market for the estate – it’s made up of 86 striated columns. The roof also had all sorts of colourful patterns and designs.
Above the Hypostyle Room was the Nature Square, a large area with stunning views of Barcelona.
The wavy bench that runs around the square is perfect to people watch and enjoy the views. Once again covered with colourful mosaics.
I even set up my tripod for a picture but managed to blink in all three pictures?!
From here I made my way back down through the ‘Portico’.
And down the streets towards the metro station – some cool graffiti en route.
After arriving back at the hotel, I woke Amy up and we finished packing before grabbing a ham and cheese croissant and then making our way to our final major stop – Palau Güell.
Palau Güell was the mansion designed by Gaudi for his good friend Eusebi Güell (basically an industrial tycoon who paid Gaudi to do all sorts – Parc Güell included).
The mansion was very dark and Gothic-like, pretty much the opposite to the colourful Parc Güell. The tour began in the basement where the horses were primarily kept.
Before heading up the red carpet and into the main part of the mansion.
The main party room has a high ceiling with small holes near the top where lanterns were hung at night from the outside to give the appearance of a starlit sky.
Amy enjoying her audio tour…!
The roof, was once again probably the highlight of the house. With the crazy looking chimneys and beautiful views of the city, I’d imagine Eusebi Güell would have spent a fair amount of time up here.
We decided we’d spend the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the sunshine. This was in a little café in Plaça Reial. We also got to enjoy some street performers who were really talented!
Having seen the food that was to offer in the Mercado la Boqueria on the first day, we had decided we’d go back for lunch. Amy was particularly excited!
We tried some Catalonian food, starting with sausage and chicken kebabs on a stick, bolognaise potato skins and a chorizo and cheese pasty.
With an early evening flight we made our way back to the hotel, stopping at the Arc de Triomf (not the one in Paris…!) on the way.
And chilled on our balcony at the hotel for a while.
So long Barcelona, I’m sure we’ll be back!
Alex and Amy's Travels 