Barcelona is one of the most popular city break destinations in Europe, and for several very good reasons. It is only a short flight from the UK and with budget airlines can be very cheap to reach. Being a coastal city the climate is not too oppressive for our sensitive natures and there is a little bit of everything available to keep just about any kind of visitor entertained. There are bars, restaurants and night life if that’s what you’re after. There are museums, galleries and spectacular architecture if that’s your bent and there are beaches, parks and shopping to fill in the gaps. Whatever type of break you’re after; chances are you’ll find it in Barcelona.
Having recently spent four days in the city what struck me most was just how much there was to do and how much I’d left undone. I’ve been on several city breaks over the years and I usually come away with the impression that you either need a couple of days or a lifetime to really enjoy a city. Even with such places as Rome or Athens you can see most of the sights over a weekend and if you went back would probably wind up seeing the same sites again. The other, rather impractical, option is to live in the city for a couple of years and really immerse yourself. With Barcelona the quick tripper has to make a lot of decisions about what to see and what to leave out which is why you can find yourself heading home with as many regrets as happy memories.
This isn’t intended to be a comprehensive guide to Barcelona; you really would need a book to do that. What I will do is talk about some of the places I visited, some of things I saw and some, hopefully, useful tips for anyone thinking about making a similar trip.
Getting there and getting about~ Barcelona is very well served by the airlines and you should not have any trouble finding flights at a time and date you want. It is particularly well served by the budget airlines and given the short flight times, less than two hours from Gatwick, the lack of creature comforts will not be a problem. The total ticket price for two in mid June on EasyJet came to £220. From the airport you can either take a taxi (from about E25) or the dedicated airport coach which is E3.90 per person. The coach makes a couple of stops on the way and terminates at Placa Catalunya, it runs every ten minutes or so during the day and is air conditioned so unless you are a long way from a drop off point and would need a taxi anyway is probably the best option. Once in the city there are a number of ways to get about, the bus and metro networks offer great coverage and will be the cheapest way to cover any kind of distance with a variety of ticket options available. As with any public transport system you are bound to the laid out routes and stops and you may still find yourself with some walking to do to reach your destination. Another option is the Bus Touristic, this is an open topped bus running on three routes in the North, South and East of the city. Tickets allow you to hop on and off at any of the numerous stops but at E18 per person is not overly cheap for short hops especially in groups of two or more. The city has a plentiful supply of official taxi’s, easily identified by their black paintwork and yellow doors and they offer convenient transport at relatively good prices, certainly a lot cheaper than their London counterparts. To give you an example (you may need a map for this) we took one taxi ride from the Sagrada Familia to Park Guell which cost E5.50 and then from Park Guell to Port Vell which cost E8.50, another bonus is that tipping is not expected, rounding up to the nearest Euro apparently being acceptable. Having said all that, Barcelona is for the most part very flat with broad, easily navigated streets that making walking the best option most of the time.
Places to stay~ There is no shortage of accommodation in Barcelona to match all budgets although in busy times (ie most of the year) you’ll find many hotels running at full occupancy. At the cheapest end I saw several hostels in the Gothic quarter offering backpacker accommodation for about E30 a night. From there you’ve got the standard budget hotels running through the quality chains up to the exclusive luxury hotels. Prices will vary according to quality and location obviously and most will be room only. Price will clearly be a key deciding factor but you also need to take into account travelling time and costs if you’re not going to be staying centrally. We stayed in Hotel 1898, one of the Nunez Navarro chain, and were very happy. They have several hotels well placed in the city and all look very well set up and would be a good option.
Eating and drinking~ At the risk of repeating myself you won’t have any problems finding places to eat or drink in Barcelona as both are very well catered for. If you’re looking for a drink there are the suitably noisy bars showing football on big screens, including some ubiquitous Irish theme bars (what city is complete without them?) or for more salubrious surroundings there are calmer places where you can sit and have a quieter drink, one place called ‘Schilling’ near Placa de St Jaume being particularly pleasant, if a little busy later on.
For dining you have every option from McDonalds up to some very expensive restaurants and plenty in between. Not surprisingly Tapas restaurants are thick on the ground and in most of the popular areas you will have several to choose from. Being a harbour town there are plenty of seafood places but really most eating preferences are well provided for. For vegetarians it seemed that a lot of the restaurants haven’t gone to great deal of trouble to offer much choice but I did notice several dedicated veggie restaurants around so you won’t go hungry. If I had to recommend one place it would be 7 Portes near Port Vell. This restaurant has been open for about 150 years and retains a fantastic Edwardian (or whatever the Spanish equivalent is) ambience with white jacketed waiters and swathes of crisp white linen. Not the easiest place to find, you could walk past without noticing it, come the evening the lengthy queues outside are testament to its quality and popularity.
Las Ramblas~ Most guides and reviews of Barcelona start by talking about Las Ramblas and while it is hard to avoid it is a pretty desperate place and not somewhere worth lingering. Running from Placa Catalunya down to Port Vell you’ll find a host of restaurants, shops and stalls clamouring for the tourist Euro and while it is big on quantity it is very short on quality. There has clearly been a move to make this area ‘colourful’ with numerous street artists and buskers but the prevailing sense is still very tawdry and definitely not in keeping with the rest of the city. A lot of tourist guides make an issue of safety around this area but I found it a lot less threatening than most of the tourist areas of London I walk through every day and the scam artists turned out to be ‘three card trick’ merchants working such an anachronistic schtick that I assumed it was part of the street theatre. Two things on Las Ramblas are worth looking out for though, one is a Joan Miro work laid into the pavement and the other is La Boqueria market. La Boqueria market is a real feast for the senses with stalls selling fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood. Each stall is a work of art with the fruit and veg stalls especially well presented and many of the seafood stalls having live specimens on view. There are several stalls serving food freshly cooked from their own stock, where it is less a matter ordering from a menu than deciding whether you want what the chef has just cooked. The pace is fast and the voices loud and the sheer number of locals crowding around the food stalls is as good a testament to them as you need.
MontJuic~ Set a short distance from the city centre MontJuic is a good place to visit for some quiet time. Redeveloped for the 1992 Olympics it is home to a number of museums and art galleries as well as extensive parkland offering excellent views of the city and harbour. One of the many reasons why a weekend is too short a time to spend in Barcelona you could easily spend a day at either the Fundació de Joan Miró or the Museu National d' Art Catalunya (MNAC) and then there is the Olympic Stadium and a cable car ride to be enjoyed. The best option is to pick one and earmark the others for another visit. We chose MNAC located in the Palau Nacional, a wonderful building that dominates the skyline for miles around. The old building has been sensitively and creatively modernised internally providing a huge, airy space and a very relaxing environment. Much of the art on display is religious and taken from numerous old churches in the region but there are also several rooms displaying work from the 19th and 20th centuries including some early Picasso.
Barri Gottic~ Like many cities modern Barcelona was formed by the merging of several historically distinct districts. For the tourist two of these will form the basis of any visit. To the north of Gran Via De Les Corts Catalanes is Eixample, home of the Sagrada Familia amongst other sites and to the south the Barri Gotic. Barri Gotic is the old town of Barcelona and is a characterful area full of narrow cobbled streets, alleyways and hidden squares. Although dominated by shops of varying quality (there are some very good ones amongst the souvenir stores and ice cream parlours) you are never more than a couple of turns away from a delightfully peaceful old square or easily missed church. One church you are unlikely to miss is Santa Maria del Mar, a stunning cathedral with huge vaulted ceilings and impressive artwork it is well worth a visit.
Antoni Gaudi~ If there is one thing that makes Barcelona worth visiting - that makes Barcelona unique it is the spectacular, and very public, work of Antoni Gaudi – architect and artist. Even if you think you don’t know his work you probably do. His sculptures in particular are instantly recognisable and even if you can’t put a name to them you’ll be thinking ‘so that’s where they come from’. The work of Gaudi can be found throughout the city and if you have the time and inclination you could spend a pleasant day touring them. For a more immediate fix there are two properties close together that are open to the public and are perfect showcases of his vision. Casa Battlo and Casa Mila (commonly known as La Pedrera) are two apartment blocks commissioned by wealthy developers for private and business occupation. Both buildings are notable for their free flowing lines, you won’t see many right angles, and the bold attempt to fuse the natural world with the functional. The buildings are both ambitious and yet practical and showcase Gaudi’s incredible vision and undeniable engineering skill that allowed the designs to be built without compromise. It’s worth seeing them both given the variety of design and each has a roof terrace that should not be missed.
Sagrada Familia~ It’s difficult to know where to start with the Sagrada Familia as there is so much that could be said. Gaudi’s crowning (if so far unfinished) achievement, it is justifiably Barcelona’s number one tourist attraction and it would be a mistake to come to the city and not see it. The building really is incredible and unlike anything else I have ever seen, the sheer scale is daunting as its towers taper high into the sky and the intricate design work of the exterior is both strange and beautiful. Despite its size the building’s foot print is relatively small and when you take away the areas cordoned off for the ongoing construction work the remaining public space is limited and given the number of visitors it receives (two million a year apparently) can feel rather cramped. Having said that, once inside you will spend most of your time looking upwards, so the crowds fade away to some extent. This is the only building I’ve been in where I wished I’d had a set of binoculars on the inside as the ceiling is so far away but the amazing attention to detail of every aspect of the cathedral will stand as a testament to Gaudi’s genius for centuries to come.
Park Guell~ Eusebi Guell wanted to build a spectacular private estate for the wealthy of Barcelona and commissioned Gaudi to create it. Lavish plans were drawn up and work began but Gaudi is nothing if not a very expensive architect and the project foundered after only two houses were built. The site was eventually bought by the city and turned into a public park. It is a visual wonderland, very reminiscent of Portmeirion of The Prisoner fame; full of eccentric design flourishes perfectly showcasing Gaudi’s command of space. Set high on a hill the park has splendid views of the city and Gaudi built a vast terrace to maximise this. Although incomplete there is plenty to see with two Hansel and Gretel cottages and several sweeping avenues. Guidebooks recommend a half day to do the park justice and this is about right, although the entrance with the famous sculptures can get very busy you don’t have to walk far into the park to find some peace and quiet.
Shopping~ If you like shopping you won’t be disappointed by Barcelona as there are several areas full of good quality shops. Passeig de Gracia and Rambla de Catalunya running north from Placa de Catalunya have a large selection of designer shops, El Corte Ingles is a massive department store also on Placa de Catalunya and there is a wide choice of places in the Gothic Quarter. In Port Vell is a modern mall with shops and restaurants. What is disappointing is the effects of globalisation which mean that there are precious few shops you can’t find in the UK. There is a good choice of antique shops dotted around and various flea markets around the harbour.
What we missed~ As I said at the beginning despite having the best part of four days in the city there was much we missed out on, and they are just the touristy bits. As with many cities there can be so much to be enjoyed by drifting off the tourist route which is why we walked between sights for the most part but it’s just a matter of making your own choices. Key points we missed included the Picasso and Dali museums, the Dali museum is a train ride away and would probably take up a whole day. We didn’t get to see the beaches or any of the Olympic sites. I would have liked to have spent more time in the various parks at Montjuic, Parc Guell and Parc Cuitadella and to have taken a trip on the cable car. And then there is the Nou Camp, home of Barcelona FC, more than enough to fill another long weekend in fact and I just hope I get the opportunity to go back.
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