Visiting Barcelona

Let’s start with a disclaimer, these pictures are not the greatest.  I didn’t want to take my camera because I was given so many warnings about pickpockets (I never saw any crime when I was there, however).  So all these pictures are taken on my phone, on the move and with different settings (I often forget I’m taking things in the square mode for Instagram).  Anyway, without further adieu, get ready for the photo dump from visiting Barcelona!

We arrived late in the day on the first day of the trip so headed straight from the airport to the hostel.  This was my first ever hostel experience and honestly, it couldn’t have been better.  We stayed in a place just outside the centre which meant it was not only quiet but much cheaper.  We shared a room for three which came to £40 each for three nights including WiFi and breakfast, it even had a ping-pong table.  The guy who ran it couldn’t do more to help and it was less 30 minutes on the metro from the centre.  You can get a ticket called a T-10 which is 10 trips for 10 euros and can be used by different people at once, seriously cheap.

The second day we were up early and headed into town to get a full view of the city.  We had a quick wander down the shambles before getting a hop on hop off sightseeing tour bus.  I’d not done one of these before but it was defiantly worth it to get a feel for the city.  It made it a lot easier to get around in the following days without getting lost and meant we got to see almost everything we wanted to on the first day.  There were three different routes but we only did two and got to see so much of the city, it included an audio guide which was another big help and a booklet of discounts.  We stopped off at several places including the Olympic stadium, cathedral and my personal favourite, Guell park, a must-see when visiting Barcelona.  At the end of the day, we headed back over to the museum quarter to see the magic fountains, a truly beautiful and romantic short water show, before heading in for the night.

Day two saw us heading towards the centre again, as we had covered so much in the first day this left us with time to explore more casually today.  We got to take a look at the shambles much more thoroughly and checked out a couple of bars, including a really cute and quirky fairy cafe, tucked away near the waxworks.  Definitely stop in here if you get the chance it is so cosy and mystical.  We also revisited some of the stops we wanted to get a further look at from the first day and did some tourist shopping.

The final day we had laid aside time for just one important thing before we took the plane home.  We had managed to get tickets for Barcelona’s most popular attraction, the la Sagrada Família.  If you manage to get tickets (you have to book at least a few days in advance) you won’t regret it.  It is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen, and the inside is even more stunning.  The colours in the stain glass windows light up the space under the Spanish sun, unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.  It is still unfinished despite being under construction for over 100 years so when it is completed I can only imagine how grand it will be.

I had a fantastic weekend, I loved visiting Barcelona it was one of the only city breaks I have ever done in and it has left me desperate to try more.

What is your favourite European city?