Barcelona, a city where I didn't know much about until I decided to book a trip to Europe only just 1 month in advance. I was looking up options on cities to fly into that are around an hour away from Paris. Turns out, I enjoyed Barcelona much more than Paris. It's the people, the architecture, and above all the beautiful beaches of Barcelona that stole my heart. I will happily visit Barcelona again for vacation, and two days is barely enough.
For easier access from and to the Airport, we stayed at Praktik Vinoteca Hotel. It is just 2 blocks away from Passeige de Gracia station, which is a direct 30 min train ride from the airport. After exiting the station, you will see Casa Batlló right across the street. It's one of Antoni Gaudi's famous masterpieces. Passeige de Gracia is one of the main streets in Barcelona, kind of like the downtown shopping area. It's packed with designer brands of all kinds. If you cross the street and continue on you will get to Rambla de Catalunya. This is a street with a long strip of island in the middle that's full of outdoor restaurants where you can enjoy a nice lunch, dinner, or just drinks.
This hotel is a boutique hotel with really nice modern interior furnishings. You get a glass of red/white welcome wine upon arrival, and their entire hotel decoration surround the theme of wine. Our room even had a balcony with double doors opening to a beautiful street view of the city.
Casa Batlló
Rambla de Catalunya
Praktik Vinoteca Hotel
View from our hotel room Passeige de Gracia
After delicious Tapas at lunch, it's already afternoon and I'm off to the W Barcelona to chill at their pool. Originally I was debating whether to go to the beach or the pool. I love laying in the sand and swimming in the ocean, but considering that there's pick pockets I choose to go to the W instead. Plus, not only do I not have to worry about people stealing my things I also get served drinks! I got a cab from Passeige de Gracia and to the W it's around 11€ one way. You do not need to be a hotel guest to access the pool at the W. It's on the 2nd and 3rd floor so you can walk straight in. Pick any empty chair and cabana and order away! They have a few shakes to choose from, beer, champagne, wine, and many of their own unique cocktails. The 3rd floor has a lot of beds, and the 2nd floor is mainly consist of tables and cabanas facing the beach front. They also have a DJ playing relaxing deep house music. I cannot think of a better way of relaxing.
A lot of people have warned me about safety in Barcelona, and to avoid the metro if you can, so for the next full day we took the tour bus around town. Barcelona City Tour is a hop-on/hop-off type of city tour bus. There are 2 routes, the Green/East route and the Orange/West route. A one day ticket is 27€ and a 2 day ticket is 38€. They can be purchased at hotel front desks, newspaper stands and online. The bus runs from 9am - 8pm, and the best thing is there's WIFI on the bus, so you can look up the
The Green route covers most of the 16 famous spots like Casa Batillo, Sagrada Familia, and Park Guell. If you want to visit the inside of Sagrada Familia and Park Guell, buy a ticket online in advance will be better because often the line to get inside will be 2 hours long if you buy it at the door. (Yes I made that mistake and wasn't able to get inside any of these beautiful buildings) The Green line also goes along the whole coast line and stops by 4 different points of the beach. There is a small FB Barcelona museum and a shop across from Sagrada Familia if you don't have time to go all the way to the stadium.
The Orange route has another 19 points to visit including the FC Barcelona Stadium. To visit the stadium and museum, it's 23 € for adults and can be purchased online and at box offices.
Floating Man near Park Guell
Did you figure out his secret yet?
Park Guell
Park Guell
Sagrada Familia
Do you have any suggestions for my next (soon) visit to Barcelona?
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