guide to barcelona

we loved barcelona!!! it's such a fun city full of personality.

i'd say it's a must-visit! here are some favorites...

the well-traveled wife's 

{eats}

if you wanted, you could probably survive

only eating at la boqueria off la rambla. it

is a huge market that is so incredible, with

every kind of food imaginable. get the fresh

fruit juices every day. they are 1€ and the

BEST. also get empanadas, and walk through

the fresh fish market after you eat...crazy!

you HAVE to go to los caracoles!

ultimate barcelona dining experience.

get paella for sure, and make sure to

try other fresh fish. this restaurant

has been in the same family for 

generations, and lots of famous 

people visit this place..so it's 

touristy, but in a good way.

you feel like it's a classic

spanish meal! they even have

guys come in and play music

while you eat, and you have

to walk through the kitchen

on the way into the restaurant..

it's so unique and fun! right in

an alley off la rambla, and so fun.

eat churros con chocolate for

breakfast and paella at a sidewalk cafe..

also try tortilla de patatas somewhere,

one of my favorite simple & classic tapas.

splurge on fancy spanish cuisine at loidi.

{transportation}

the barcelona metro is really easy..

don't be afraid to use it! but even better is...

vesping! this is the best way to see barcelona 

by far. this company is so innovative, and makes

seeing barcelona on a vespa really easy. they

provide their vespas with built in GPS, and there

are different tours built in that you can just

select and go on! we did the beach tour and 

the mount tibidabo/ park güell tour. amazing!

we recommend them 100%. it made us feel

like locals zipping around the city, without

being lost / having to pull out the map.

see our day on the vespa around barcelona.

when it comes to getting to and from the airport, 

take the aerobus! the aerobus stop is on plaça cataluyna 

right outside el corte inglés department store, and it leaves 

every 5 minutes..so it's a good plan for transportation to/from 

the airport! *make sure to ask the attendant which terminal 

you need for your airline, and get in that line.

if you're looking to go a little fancier than our style
on the aerobus, you can try barcelona's higher
end airport transfer with blacklane in a black car.

{sights}

mount tibidabo

this was my favorite place in all of barcelona.

you have to, have to, have to visit mount tibidabo

(especially if you're a fan of joey on friends :) 

you can ride bikes, take a vespa, or take the 

gondola across the water to the top. it's so

stunning and worth it. the cathedral is so

pretty and you need to pay the couple of

euro to go up to the very top. you have

the greatest view of the entire city!

i adored it. it is like the sacré coeur 

in paris but even higher up and more

amazing! miro museum is also there.

park güell 

pretty, HUGE park on the hill designed by

gaudi. you can take the underground here,

or vespa there like we did :) it's so well

designed and fun to stroll around and 

take in the different plants and structures.

sagrada familia 

our visit here was unbelievable.

either do this with a guide, or watch the 60 minutes special 

beforehand to learn all about it. GET TICKETS ONLINE! 

i usually ignore advice like this, but for real-- avoid the

wraparound line and just buy them before... same price,

shorter wait time! pay to go all the way to the top in

the towers. trust me, this place is so incredible and

worth the money to spend time, go up the towers,

and soak it all in. it's truly a work of art. i cannot

get over the fact that it has been in construction

for 130 years and still has 50+ to go. it may look

like a random huge cathedral with cranes and

construction until you know the history...

see another 60 minutes special on it here.

and, although la sagrada familia may be the most

amazing, you can't miss the rest of 

gaudi architecture.

casa batlló is the one i'd pay to go into if 

you're just choosing one along with sagrada,

but walk along and see the exterior of them all!

plaça catalunya is one of the main plazas 

at the top of la rambla. it is a main metro/bus stop and 

it's where the aerobus will take you from the airport. 

it has pretty buildings, but watch for pickpockets!

wander down la rambla,

the best tree-lined, pedestrian street

with shops, restaurants, & la boqueria.

plaça reial-- it's off la rambla, and here you

can see the steps where columbus told ferdinand

and isabella that he discovered america..pretty cool!

beach boardwalk

you can bike/roller blade/walk along here..

barceloneta beach is the most popular

beach with some restaurants and a fun

crowd in the summer...not the very best

beach, but easiest to get to by metro, etc.

port olimpic

the olympics were in barcelona,

so there are still lots of sights and

arenas from that. right down on the

water is the olympic port with all

of the boats..reminded us of SF!

picasso museum

one of the most extensive collections

of picasso in the world...worth seeing if

you're a picasso fan! (free on sundays

after 3 PM, closed every monday)

arc de triomf

barcelona has its own arc de triomf...

it really is the paris of spain! we went 

by this on the vespa and it was fun to see.

els encants vells is barcelona's biggest

"old charms" flea market. if you have some extra

time and want to feel local, go here. it feels like 

it's mostly all locals and it's fun to look around

at all the spanish antiques, fabrics, and so much

more. the only sad thing is you probably don't have

room in your suitcase for any of it! but still fun to see.

{hotels}

i think you have to stay in at least one hostel

in europe, and bon moustache hostel

 is the cutest one. everything is themed around 

moustaches, and it's darling. we loved staying here.

it's family owned and really clean and fun!

it's between la rambla and sagrada familia,

feels like more of a local neighborhood.

tell isabella we sent you! :)

if you don't want to do a hostel, there

are some fun hotels off la rambla.

and, that's it!

any of your barcelona favorites to add?

xo

//////

see posts from our trip to barcelona here:

barcelona by vespa

la rambla + la boqueria

favorite meal in spain

sagrada familia

gaudi architecture

where we stayed

our last night in barcelona