Barcelona, Spain

I’ve been to Barcelona twice, but there was nearly 10 years between the two visits. The first one was on my first ever trip to Europe, the trip that arguably set the course for the rest of my life. The second time was just last month, when I tagged along with some friends who had never been.

There is a lot to love about Barcelona, and for many people, it’s their favorite city in Spain. For me, I can confidently say that’s Madrid (but again, I always, always, always seem to gravitate towards bigger cities and capitals.)

Here are my tips and recommendations for Barcelona:

• Sangria and Tapas, everywhere. All the time. Why eat or drink anything else?!  La Pepita was an adorable little spot for this, as was another little tapas place at Placa Reial in the Gothic Quarter, but truthfully, you can get good tapas and sangria almost anywhere in Barcelona.
• Picasso museum: I’ve been to this museum twice. Obviously, most of his works would be in Spain as he is Spanish, but the largest collection of his works are in this museum in Barcelona because many of his formative years were spent there.
• Sagrada Família: Arguably the most famous monument in Barcelona– a large unfinished Roman Catholic church that has been under construction since 1882. I saw it 10 years ago during my first trip to Spain, and It’s just now in its final stage of construction, at 133 years. That is history in the making.
  
• Park Güell: If you have ever seen an Instagram photo in Barcelona, then you have probably seen photos of Park Güell. It’s known for its broken glass/mosaic tile decoration, which is beautiful to see. Note that to get into that artsy-fartsy portion of the park you will have to get a ticket, but there is tons to see without that part. The park is very hilly and has a bunch of gorgeous architecture, (see photos below) so you can definitely still get some great photos if you don’t want to pay.

•  Placa Reial/Gothic Quarter. The Placa Reial is a beautiful square with a bunch of palm trees and great restaurants to try out. It’s also in the Gothic Quarter, a must-see area in Barcelona that stretches from La Rambla (a very famous street in the city) to Via Laietana.

• My group was obsessed with all the sweets and bakeries. I’m not a huge sweet person, (and if I was, I would already have gained 50 pounds being here in Paris.) but if that’s your thing, you’ll be in heaven in Barcelona!