Is Barcelona on your radar?
Barcelona was always a place that I wanted to visit, but not a priority on my list. I was excited to be able to cross it off of my list, as we made our way to Morocco.
We made Barcelona our base in Europe, and spent a total of three nights there.
Where to stay: We stayed at Mosaic by Ona Hotels. This was a boutique hotel in the heart of L’Eixample, midway of Rambla Catalunya street. The hotel was centrally located, and in walking distance to Casa Batlo and Sagrada Familia.
What to do: We really wanted to maximize our time in Barcelona, and hit the “hot spots”. You could spend a whole day just exploring one museum. We visited a total of 4 museums/ landmarks, but only bought tickets to go into 2. We also went to an authentic Flamenco show, and we were amazed by the talent and entertainment. Here are my recommendations:
Casa Batlo
Sagrada Familia
Parc Guell
Palau de la Musica Catalana
Tablao Flamenco Cordobes
What to eat: The biggest piece of advice that we got from the time that we landed in Barcelona, was to not order Paella after lunch, unless you are at the beach and to not eat at any restaurant that has photos of their food posted in the window.
La Boqueria Market was a must see, just because it is a well known landmark in Barcelona. It is crowded, busy, and for show in my opinion. We walked through, had some juice and then headed over to the beach for the good stuff.
La Fonda del Port Olympic is the best place in Barcelona for Sangria and Paella! The service is good and slow (take your time to enjoy your meal), take in the ambiance and leave happy.
Barcelona Tips: Use public transportation!! The subway system in Barcelona is extremely easy to use and very cheap. We were not able to take advantage of public transportation because of our tight itinerary, and it was just easier for us to hop into an uber with all of our luggage. The center of the city is about 30 minutes from the airport with no traffic. We arrived during the morning rush hour and it took us about an hour to make it to our hotel. There are many reports that Uber is not available in Barcelona, but it is. We used both uber and cabify to zip around the city and to make a total of 4 trips to Barcelona’s airport to catch flights to other countries. So here is the con. Those rides add up, and it cost us an average of $35 each way to get to the airport. After it was all over and we were headed back to the states, we had racked up $425 in uber and cabify charges. This was definitely not factored into our budget, but thankfully we were able to take care of it.
Barcelona is an incredibly beautiful and romantic city. Take an extra suitcase to bring home some sangria!
XO- Alisha
