Top Tips for Traveling to Barcelona
Two weeks after we came home from Italy in 2019, Michael and I headed off to Barcelona. The small gap between trips left me less time to plan and had us a bit disorganized on the ground. We just had the opportunity to go back to Barcelona for the weekend and we got to see a bit of what we missed the first time around. Here are some of my tips for making the most of your time in Barcelona (*some of these might not be as relevant in this post-Covid world):
Find the Right Neighborhood
… for you! Everyone is different and people will want to see and experience different things. I won’t claim to be an expert on the different parts of Barcelona, it’s an absolutely massive city (especially after 3+ years living in Dublin), but I definitely can see the pros and cons of staying in different areas. Do a quick Google search and you’ll find the descriptions of a few of the neighborhoods in the city. For our first trip, we stayed in Poble Sec. We wanted access to good food and a bit off the beaten path. This time, since we were only in town for a couple of nights, I opted for a hotel and we stayed on Avinguda Diagonal in between Gràcia and Eixample. This location was definitely more central, but we were further from Montjuic which was a nice place to run. Our location on this last trip was ideal in my opinion.
Free access to Parc Güell
Book Your Activities in Advance
This is something I did NOT do on our first trip. While I had done my research and found areas of interest and things I thought we should do, I didn’t book any tickets. This was also due to a bit of a misunderstanding on my end. We happened to be in Barcelona on the first weekend of the month of May. On the first Sunday of the month, tickets to many of the museums and attractions are free. BUT you still need to book them in advance. On our first trip, that meant we stayed outside of La Sagrada Familia, we only were able to access limited parts of Parc Guell. This time around, we did get into Sagrada Familia and I personally really enjoyed it. Next time, I definitely want to see the Picasso Museum.
Check Out Camp Nou
I honestly don’t know how I didn’t think of this the first time. We love sports and I love soccer. During our first trip to Barcelona, FC Barca was playing Liverpool at Anfield in the Champions League so we wouldn’t have been able to see them play, but we could have at least done the stadium tour! This time, we were thankfully meeting my much smarter friend who I met through soccer and she had already booked tickets to a match. We got to see FC Barcelona take on Elche CF and it was definitely bucket list material.
We did hope to see a bit more of a pre-game atmosphere, though. We headed to Les Corts a couple of hours before kick off expecting to see fans in the streets and packing out local pubs, but were a bit disappointed. We ended up at Futballarium for a pint. This pub - covered in scarves from teams all over the world - was showing… darts? And then searched “Full Bon Jovi Concert” to play on the other television with the sound up. Anyway, not our vibe. On our way into the stadium, Michael and I stopped at a bar called “Frankfurt Munich” that seemed to have more people hanging out outside and we had a couple of beers and hot dogs before heading to our seats. Disclaimer - alcohol is not served in Camp Nou (unless you have VIP tickets).
Don’t Be Intimidated by Public Transportation
The subway system in Barcelona is really great (again, especially coming from Dublin). You can even take the metro all the way from the airport into the city. There are a bunch of different options for multi-ride cards, so just make sure to know which one you need to get, turn the machine’s language to English (or whatever you’re most comfortable navigating), and off you go. Oh, and the buses are good too! We didn’t take any on this most recent trip, but we took a couple the last time we were in town.
Ignore the Smell
Or at least try to. At first, I thought it was our Airbnb hosts. Then, I noticed it again at our 4-star hotel. If you do a bit of digging on it, this is not exclusive to the two places I’ve stayed. It’s an old city with an old sewage system. Suck it up.
The view from our hotel room on Av. Diagonal. We stayed at the Occidental Diagonal 414.
Look Up
Do what you can to really take in the scenery. Every building seems to have its own story, its own unique art and architecture. Barcelona is an extremely impressive city from the ground up.
Find the Free Stuff
There are so many free activities in Barcelona. I mentioned Parc Guell, but there’s also Parc de la Ciutadella, Montjuic, plenty of beaches, street markets and more. Check to see if there’s anything going on while you’re in town - I bet you’ll be surprised. And if you’re up for a bit of a hike, head up to the Bunkers for an incredible view of the city. This year, we even got to see a few Christmas markets and learn about the famous Caganer.
Eat and Drink Everything
This is definitely blog-post-worthy on its own. But I don’t think I’ll ever feel truly able to make those kinds of posts unless I’ve lived in a city for longer than a week. Who am I to tell you the best restaurants and bars in Barcelona after 7 nights cumulatively? All I can say is to just ENJOY. In my opinion, there are a few tips and tricks to eating well in Barcelona:
Check out a Menú del Día - most restaurants will have a 2-3 course set menu on weekdays. It’s a great way to have a gourmet meal at a very good price. Search around for the neighborhood you want to try it in and make sure to make a booking if you can. On our first trip, we were lucky enough to get a spot at the bar at La Pubilla and had 3 courses and a drink for €16 each.
Stay away from touristy areas - this is purely my opinion and experience, but when you’re around areas that have major attractions, like Sagrada Familia, you’re going to find food that caters to tourists (hello, there is a Taco Bell and a Five Guys across the street from the church!!). If you can get a few blocks away, you’re likely to find better food at a more affordable price. This also goes for eating on the beach - we had a nice lunch at Barceloneta, but we definitely paid for the location. Which leads nicely to…
Avoid restaurants with pictures of their food - probably just a me thing, but I hate this everywhere I go… do any of your favorite restaurants at home have pictures of the food they serve? Ok… maybe that tacky Mexican restaurant with the bomb food, but that’s totally an exception and not the rule..
Drink so much wine - I mean, how can you resist when the most expensive glass of wine is €4?
Try at least one pintxo bar in Poble Sec - we’ve tried a few now. It’s definitely different since Covid (the bartenders bring the plates to you), but you still pick what you want by going up to the counter and get charged based on the amount of toothpicks you acquire. We’ve been to Pincho J, La Tasqueta de Blai and La Esquinita de Blai. All fairly similar, but just a fun experience and a cool way to try new food! If I were you, I’d go with an empty stomach and try to grab 2-3 pintxos before heading to the next spot. It does get pretty crowded, so be prepared to have some fun.
Buy fresh food - if you’re staying at an Airbnb or anywhere with a kitchen, head to La Boqueria and buy some fresh produce, seafood, meats and cheeses and get to work!
There are a few things we haven’t tried yet in Barcelona that we are definitely going to make an effort to do the next time we’re there:
Go to a restaurant that doesn’t serve tapas - if you ever search for the “Top Restaurants in Barcelona,” that list is going to have way more than traditional Catalan cuisine on it. Even though we love tapas, we just love good food in general. Next time, we have already decided we’re going to try some of the other amazing food the city has to offer!
Try a vermouth bar - another example of “how have we not done this yet?!”
Day trip to a vineyard - DUH!
Barcelona is an incredible city and I’m so glad we’ve been able to experience it twice so far!
