Yohanna Gozlan, an intern at CasaVersa, writes how you can make the most of your stay in the fabulous Barcelona city, Spain.
Barcelona is the capital city of Cataluña and also a hub for Spanish culture, with the architecture and museums of Gaudi, Dali, Miro,Picasso, along with the tasty cultural experience of Spanish food.
I think every city offers something different according to what you are looking for, but in Barcelona, there really is something for everyone. Barcelona is a little paradise in Europe.
Culture and architecture
El parc Guell and the famous Salamander
Barcelona is famous for it’s collection of buildings designed by the architect Gaudi. The most famous ones are along Passeig de Gracia (line 3 on the metro), where we can see la Pedrera y la Casa Batllo. El Parc Guell, is a park designed by Gaudi, is a lovely relaxed place to visit.
Give him a coin, and he is gonna move. Seen along las Ramblas.
For another view of the city, walking along Las Ramblas, which is like Paris’s “Champs Elysees’’ is also eye-opening, full of activity and always crowded! Don’t forget to turn northwards in the middle of Las Ramblas to explore the Gothic area, which is filled with little shops!
But I have to say that the most impressive experience in Barcelona is visiting La Sagrada Familia, which is still not finish. You’ll stand in front of it with your mouth gaping open - this monument is just stunning. The building has so many details you’ll need to pay attention to see even half of them. A word of warning though - the queue to get in takes around one hour, so don’t forget to buy pass for avoiding it!
An exhibition of Dali’s painting on las Ramblas , for free
For all the culture lovers, Barcelona has a wealth of museums. La MACBA (Museum of Modern Art) and the CCBB offer great exhibitions each month.
Another interesting museum is El Caixa Forum, which is located next to Placa Espanya on Avenida Marques de Comillos, and is free! To end this list of my favorites, El homenaje a Dali, located at the beginning of Las Ramblas has a great exhibition of his paintings.
My best piece of advice for visiting Barcelona is to explore the city by bicycle, it helps you get around faster so you can explore all the wonderful little streets and enjoy the fantastic landscapes. It’s a very easy city for cycling, and guides are inexpensive and give you great insights into the city and it’s history.
What about Spanish cuisine?
Las tapas, a traditional Spanish starter
From the market , filled with delicious fresh produce
Without doubt, Barcelona offers an amazing food. You can find everything there: Catalan specialties, tapas, seafood, and more. You can find cheap restaurants and eat great, but there are also some amazing more expensive restaurants. In Barcelona, people eat really late: the lunch is at around 2pm and dinner is around 10pm. You’ll find cheaper restaurants by escaping from Las Ramblas.
The tapas is amazing around la Barceloneta, which is a little village. Also, I totally advise you to visit the markets, which are fabulous! La Boqueria in Las Ramblas and El Mercato St Antonio have amazing fresh products, and you’ll be able to taste a lot of them. If you staying in a home exchange apartment in the city you’ll be able to buy some fresh produce from the market and take it home to eat at home - and feel like a real local in the process!
Bars and Clubs
A cool club in the city
Barcelona reminds me a lot of Tel Aviv - it’s another city that never sleeps! There is always something which is going on! In general bars are open until 3 pm, so no rush to join El Borne or El Porto Olympico, which are areas full of bars! You’ll be able to find all styles of clubs along the beach: retro, hip hop, house, and funk and trance music. You’ll be able to buy tickets on the beach during the day to enter in clubs.
I will finish saying that I’m absolutely sure that you are going to find so much to suit your interests in Barcelona that you’ll never feel at a loss for what to do next.
Swap your home for great accommodation - check out homes available for exchange in Barcelona.
Nevertheless, it’s a lovely destination for eating-drinking and sightseeing… and Barcelona has so much to offer that one could spend weeks, probably even months exploring it, enjoying it!