The amazing city of Barcelona is 39.2 sq miles in size. That's a lot of territory. While we didn't see it all, we covered quite a bit of the city over the past five days. With the exception of the taxi from the ship, one funicular and one cable car it was all on foot!
Our hotel is located in the Gothic Quarter of the city, just a few blocks off what is arguably Barcelona's most famous street, La Rambla. This three quarters of a mile, tree lined street has a wide pedestrian path in the middle and is bustling with activity day and night (just not at 8:00 AM). We were thrilled when the friendly person working the hotel's front desk told us our room was ready and we could check in early. Shortly after dropping the luggage in the room, we were off to explore.
We had a few things on the agenda for our five day stay. Some were revisiting areas we had enjoyed in the past, as well as some new things we wanted to explore. We also had a couple of places out of Barcelona we were interested in visiting (Montserrat and Tarragona). Both of these would require a train ride to reach. As it turned out, every day in Barcelona was so much fun that we never made it to either of them. Thankfully we had visited the beautiful monastery in Montserrat in the past. Tarragona will just have to wait.
Here's a few highlights of our five days in Barcelona:
Artist and Architect
Over the years many notable people have called Barcelona home. Two of it's most famous residents were Pablo Picasso, the world famous artist and Antoni Gaudi, whose works have left a lasting impact on the city.
Picasso was born in Malaga in 1881. His family moved to Barcelona in 1895. He called Barcelona home on and off until 1904 when he moved to Paris. He had numerous friends in Barcelona and visited the city throughout his life. There is a small, but well worth visiting, Picasso Museum here in Barcelona that showcases much of his early work. While none of his more famous paintings are here, it's interesting to see his transition from more "classical art" to the modern cubism that he is known for throughout the world.
The famous architect, Antoni Gaudi's works have left an impression around Barcelona. There are a number of his famous houses intermingled around the city, as well as his influence on the design of Parque Guell, which is now a huge city park. His most famous work is actually still a work in progress, and that's La Sagrada Familia, the massive basilica that can be seen from many parts of the city. Contruction on the basilica began in 1882 and became the driving force in Gaudi's life until the time of his death in 1926. There have been periods where construction has been halted for various reasons (wars, finances and even COVID) but work is now continuing on the project and it is expected to be completed in 2026, some 144 years after it started! In a unique way Gaudi continues to oversee the construction. He's buried inside the church.
Sun and Fun
Barcelona is located on the Balearic Sea, which is a section of the Mediterranean Sea. Although it does get chilly (temps have been in the 60's to low 70's this week), Barcelona gets over 2500 hours of sunlight per year. Mix the sea with the sun, throw in a bunch of sand and you've got some really nice beaches that are within walking distance of the Gothic Quarter. Saturday was sunny and warm and it seemed like all of Barcelona was outside, with a large number of folks enjoying beach time. We enjoyed walking past the modern Port Vell Waterfront Harbor which was lively with families and friends packing all the outdoor cafes. The beach has a very nice promenade that extends for far longer than we were going to walk. After turning around, we stopped for lunch at one of the many outdoor beachfront cafes and enjoyed watching some of the very competitive sand volleyball games before making our way back towards the hotel as the sun set.
Foodie Heaven
I'm not exactly sure what defines a person as a "foodie". Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure that Barcelona could easily be considered "foodie heaven". There are over 7,500 restaurants throughout the city, serving a wide variety of different cuisines from around the world. Local favorites such as pastries, paella and tapas can be found everywhere. You gotta eat, so you might as well eat good, and in Barcelona that's a pretty easy assignment!
Getting Lost in Barcelona
Thanks to modern technology, getting lost in a city is pretty hard these days. We were never truly "got lost" but we do love getting "lost" by simply wandering around, turning whichever direction we want to go without a real destination in mind. We've always enjoyed traveling this way and we now seem to be enjoying it more than ever. We no longer really need to see too many particular sites. We want to experience where we are, and this magnificent city is perfect for doing just that. In our five day stay, my i-phone tells me we walked over forty-five miles. That's a lot of wandering and boy was it amazing!
NOTE: Areobus is an easy and inexpensive way to get between the airport and the Gothic Quarter. The link below may be of some help.
