Having recently visited this fabulous city, I can't wait until I take my next trip there…
I went for 3 days, which is definitely not long enough. To see all the sites properly I'd say you need about 1 week, but if like me you only plan to go for a long weekend, you can certainly get a brilliant taster for this fabulous city.
There is so much to see and do where do I start… I could list all the different places you can see, put that would make me like a guide book, which you may already have bought, so instead I'll give you a run down of the places we managed to get to. We decided to get around by the open top tour buses due to having a disabled friend within our group. (Metro was out for us, because of too many steps). The open top buses were fab, great fun as well as seeing all the sites as you go by, and not just the ones listed on
your map! We decided Sagrada Familia, inspired by Gaudi was a must for us. The guided tour around Sagrada Familia is definitely recommended, it's well worth the few Euros to go round, even just to see the drawings of what they hope to create once finished. I'll be definitely going back to see the finished building (in 20 / 25 yrs time that is!!).
As we were located just off of La Rambla, we ventured onto this magnificent street many times in our trip. La Rambla is a stretch about 2 miles long in the heart of Barcelona. While on your visit to Barcelona this is a must see place. It is so different to anything I've seen, lined with small shops/stalls selling a variety of things, from flowers and birds to those little souvenirs we all like to take home. Also while you walk down La Rambla you will see many human statues dressed in costumes of all colours of the rainbow. Some will even give a display if you put a few coins into their pot. Situated at the bottom of La Rambla is the Port. This for us was a very brief visit, but would definitely go back to this area next time I visit to check out all the different stalls that lined the front. Prettier than I expected as well.
While in Barcelona I visited my first Art Gallery - Picasso. I was pleasantly surprised as to what it was like. There were far more pictures than I expected, ranging from his teenage years right through his life. Some really get you thinking about what was going through his mind at the time… but I'll leave that for you to go and see for yourself. Worth a look even with the quite lengthy queue, don't be put off though, it moved quite fast.
The one place we were disappointed with was the Gothic Cathedral as it was completely covered in scaffolding on the outside. (Hopefully you'll be more successful). The inside made up for this though, as the intricate detail was magnificent. As it was a Sunday morning when we visited, we saw weekly mass taking place too, so think about this when planning to visit.
Well I could go on and on, but you don't want to listen to me, so lets now talk about food…
If you love Tapas then this is the place for you, there are so many places to sample this great cuisine you are spoilt for choice of where to go. If you don't fancy sampling Tapas, don't worry as there are 100's and 100's of places to eat catering for all tastes, we had fantastic steaks one evening! When out and about we found an excellent Tapas bar just round the corner from Sagrada Familia, ideal for a mid afternoon snack and cool beer after walking round sites all morning. Be aware of eating places located in the main areas, I.e. La Rambla, these can be far more expensive than those located a few meters away down one of the side streets.
One thing that did un-nerve me about being in Barcelona was your personal security. Everywhere you go you must be extra vigilant, this city is rife for pick-pockets, they try allsorts to distract you in an attempt to get your valuables. So please be careful if you visit.
If you do decide you want a sample of this city, you definitely need to take your comfy walking shoes with you as you'll find you walk for miles, forget those high heels, leave them at home!
Enjoy your trip..
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Nov 20th, 2005
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