11AMCLUB’S GUIDE TO BARCELONA

If Kenny’s dream is to visit all UNESCO World Heritage Sites, my dream is to visit all the big cities and eat tons of ice cream there. Adding to my favorite big cities list, Barcelona debuted high in my top five. There is absolutely nothing to not love about Barcelona. It hits all the Kristie’s Favorite Things checklist: abundant sightseeing spots, tasty cheap foods and picturesque walls for my outfit pictures. Kenny and I did a Tour de Spain for Thanksgiving and we both can agree that it was one of the most fun trips we’ve been to. We went to Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Seville and Granada and we will have a post for each city we went to as throughout the trip we accumulated about 3000 pictures (not sure if it is a result of our photography talents or we just had plenty of blurry pictures).

Spain is a relatively cheap vacation destination. I went during low season, so I was able to snag a flight ticket for about $500 from NYC. Lodging is pretty affordable too. All our lodging ranged from $60-$80, but that was only because I wanted to live comfortably and have a private bathroom. However, if you enjoy living in co-sharing places, I am sure it will drive the lodging cost even lower. Eating out is about the same price as eating out here in NYC, maybe occasionally cheaper. As much as Kenny and I love eating out, as evident from our Instagram page, there are times where we just did not want to leave the comfort of our hotel room. During those times, we resorted to buying carrot sticks, guacamole, hummus, chips, cheese and A LOT of Spanish ham. For each city, we will be discussing the basics, how to get around, what to do, and most importantly, what to eat! We spent six days in Barcelona and I think we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. So please stick around as I go through in depth of our time in Barcelona.

HOW to GET AROUND

Getting around in Barcelona is pretty easy thanks to the Metro. We recommend getting the multi-person T-10 for €10 for 10 tickets so it’s at €1 per ride. To go between cities in Spain, we recommend the Eurail which you will have to purchase in advance outside of Europe. You can also look into flights, but we just really did not want to go through the hassle of going in and out of airports.

WHAT TO DO

Works of Antoni Gaudi: Sagrada Família, Park Güell and Casa Batlló
Kenny went to Barcelona twice prior to this trip and he has never made it in Sagrada Família. Thus, for this trip, we made sure that it was our first priority. Sagrada Família was breathtaking. It is probably the most intricate architecture I have ever seen in my life. We bought the Top Views (with the Passion Tower façade view) ticket for €29 which came with an audio guide. Park Güel was also as fascinating. Several sections of the park were closed for construction but it was still very stunning. We went for golden hour and the sky turned a very soft shade of pink which complimented the mosaic park tiles. Kenny and I went to Casa Batlló a day before we left Spain at night, almost like an afterthought, but were we blown away. As a tech enthusiast, Kenny was very impressed with the audio guide which came with a VR experience. It made the visit far more interesting than it would have been.

Montjuïc Castle
If you want a cheap aerial view of Barcelona, Montjuïc Castle is the perfect place to visit. Montjuïc Castle is a defunct military fortress located on top of Montjuïc hill. After spending some time in the castle, we took the cable car halfway down and proceeded to walk down the hill. On your way down, you will be able to see the the Montjuic Municipal Pool, which was used for the 2003 Olympics that Barcelona hosted.

Casa de la Ciudad (City Hall)

Casa de la Ciudad is Barcelona’s City Hall which is located across the Catalan Government’s Headquarter. You can visit the City Hall every Sunday of the year for free.

Arc de Triomf and Parc de la Ciutadella (Ciutadella Park)

Arc de Triomf seems like a familiar name if you have been to Paris before. Similar to the one in Paris, it is an arc and it acts as an entrance to Parc de la Ciutadella. Parc de la Ciutadella is essentially Barcelona’s Central Park. It has a fountain, a lake, a zoo, and several museums. We went to the park the first day we arrived and it was the fountain was definitely the highlight of our visit for two reasons. First, it was very breathtaking. The fountain was very well taken care of, evident by how clean the water, statues, and the staircases are. Second, I witnessed someone got pickpocketed and it made me very paranoid throughout my stay in Spain. Therefore, if you are planning on visiting the park, just be vigilant!

La Rambla

La Rambla is Barcelona’s busiest street. I recommend doing all of your shopping here just because they have practically everything from high-end European leather goods, cheap clothing stores and even a supermarket. I however do not recommend having your meal here or anywhere close to La Rambla. The restaurants are usually a tourist trap as they are unreasonably overpriced with average taste.

La Boqueria Market

La Boqueria is a public market with an entrance on La Rambla. The market hosts numerous stalls ranging from fresh seafood to a sit-down brunch. I find it fun to be here, however it is obviously slightly overpriced being a tourist hub. The only worth-it purchase that I made was a tiny cup of Pitaya Coconut juice for €1 each. What a bargain!

Gothic Quarter

Kenny and I love the Gothic Quarter because that’s where our favorite cafe (Satan’s Coffee Corner) is located at. Since we went to Satan’s more than twice, we were always in the Gothic Quarter and discovered a lot of indie local designer stores which make the most ingenious products. Our favorite is the t-shirt store Typographia.