Hello stemians!
I wish you a Happy Monday and a great week ahead, hope you are well!
Barcelona it's such a complex city so that’s the reason for writing two posts. In my first post, I covered the costs of accommodation, public transportation, meal costs and much more.
If you missed my first post, here it is:
Here are some free things you can do in this city:
- Go and visit the Park Guell! It is absolutely free to wander a big part of this park all and if you want to visit completely it for free, including the famous market area with its mosaic benches and the houses, you must come before 08:00 or after 21:30 (in the high season). If you miss the free window, you can buy a ticket that cost 7.50€
- A hike on Monjuic Hill- it is worth the time walking up to the hill, the views are amazing and free!
- If you are lucky enough and you are in Barcelona, in the first Sunday of the month you can see several museums for free, such as Picasso Museum, Nacional d’Art de Catalunya and Museu d’Història de Catalunya. But because it’s free it’s better to visit in the evening between 17:00-19:00 or pretty early in the morning.
- You can relax on one of Barcelona’s beach, but it is vital to have with you some sunblock.
Until the Olympic Games in 1992, Barcelona did not have any beach. WOW!
- Promenade along the Passeig de Gracia. There you get to see the Gaudi’s architecture, Casa Batlló and Casa Milà (I wrote about these in my first post), Casa Amatler and also other stunning and luxurious houses and shops. You won’t get bored! In order to avoid the crowds, it’s better to visit early in the morning or one a late evening!
- If you are in this city, it’s mandatory at least to see the exterior of Sagrada Familia, but Barcelona has another remarkable cathedral, built more than 700 years ago, the gothic Catedral de la Santa Cruz y Santa Eulalia.
- Another trademark of the city it’s the Arc de Triomf, which was built in 1888 as the entrance of Barcelona World Fair. It’s situated really close to the Park Ciutadella. It was a pleasant day so we enjoyed the time spent there.
You can rent a boat.
Here I saw these green parrots, which are so cute!
This park ’s pretty large, so you can’t get bored!I fall in love with this amazing fountain designed by Josep Fontserè with possible contributions by Antoni Gaudí.
Next to the park is the Barcelona ZOO, but I am not a big fan of the zoos so I didn’t visit it, animals should be free, not in a cage without freedom.
You can also see the Parliament of Catalonia.
One of my favourite part of the trip was taking the cable car: we bought tickets from there, but it’s better to buy online. A return ticket costs 11,43 €. We took the cable car from the station located near Barceloneta Beach to hill Montjuïc. We saw killer views, really stunning.
One of my friends was really scared and unfortunately she couldn’t enjoy the ride so we didn’t return to Barceloneta, we stayed and discovered Montjuïc.
We visited from outside the Barcelona Olympic Park, in the year I was born, 1992, Barcelona held the Olympic Games.
We couldn’t leave Barcelona without attending some shows at The Magic Fountain. It is located in front of the Palau Nacional and was created for the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition.
The fountain was designed by Carles Buigas and at the time it seemed too ambitious to accomplish in the time they had before the opening of the exposition. The original design included the water fountains and lighting, later in the 80s music was added so that the water will dance. There are a lot of types of songs. It was a pretty experience, though it’s crowded, I like more the fountains of Dubai. If you want to see the fountains show you should Know the schedule:
October – April: 19:00-20:30, only on Fridays and Saturdays
May – September: 21:00-23:00, from Thursday to Sunday
Our accommodation was five minutes walk from Placa d'Espanya which is also the gateway to Montjuic as it is located at the foot of the Montjuic Hill and is a major traffic intersection as well as a hub of entertainment venues and attractions.
The fountain situated in the middle of the square is so beautiful, I thought only Italian has great fountains, but I was wrong. The towers are tall, have a height of 47 meters reminded me of Venice, and from there you can easily walk to the Magic Fountain. Towers were designed also 1929.
Here is a picture of the Bell Tower from Venice. Do you see any resemblance?
Also if you want to see the city from above you can do that from Arenas de Barcelona which is a shopping centre and has a lot of restaurants.
On our next day, we went again on Ramblas and we visited the 19th century Royal Square, a tropical square with a lot of palms, where we enjoyed the sun and drank a frappe. What makes this square awesome is the fact that the cars aren’t allowed and you can take a break from the agitation you encounter on Ramblas, is like an oasis.
I made a new puppy friend there.
On this square you can see the lamps designed in 1879 by Gaudi, but also a beautiful fountain, that shows the Three Graces by Antoni Rovira.
We also saw the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia aka Barcelona Cathedral, a Gothic cathedral and seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona, Spain. It is stunning cathedral built several centuries ago and you must not miss it. As I mentioned above, the entrance is free.
After we finished our walk on Ramblas, we had the idea to take a city cruise on the sea, it was so relaxing. We chose the 40-minute cruise with the eco--friendly Eco Slim catamaran.
It’s a great cruise especially for those with kids. We saw the Port VellMarina, Barceloneta beach, the hotel Hotel W Barcelona 'La Vela' which looks a bit like Burj Al Arab and of course we saw the Columbus Monument from the sea.
The boat was power by alternative energy like wind and solar energy, how awesome is that?! The trip costs around 8 euro.
After that we took the tram and went shopping a shopping centre, where we saw these doggies inside of the building. I was so happy to see the puppies I find this so amazing, in Romania is forbidden to take your fur baby to the mall, hope this will change soon!
What to eat when you are in Spain:
- Paella (rice with chicken, saffron, runner beans, butter beans and more)
- Tortilla Española (Spanish omelette created from eggs, potatoes and onions)
- Pulpo a la gallega (boiled octopus dish)
- Prawns in fried garlic
What to drink when you are in Spain:
- Cerveza (beer)
- Sangria
- Cava (it’s similar to Prosecco)
If you are in a hurry and have only one day in Barcelona, you could book a tour with Hop-On Hop-Off Buses and see the main attractions, you shouldn’t miss this wonderful Mediterranean city.
I LOVE this city, has everything you need good food, beach, architecture, fun. Next time I will visit it must be in the summer and stay longer than five days, I heard the beach parties are a lot of fun. Buh-bye Barcelona, can’t wait to see you again.
Thanks for reading my post.
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Best regards,
