Fun fact about Barcelona: Spanish isn’t the primary language spoken there. It’s actually the capital of the region of Spain known as Catalonia, where the language is Catalan. Fortunately for us, most people spoke both Spanish and Catalan (as well as quite a bit of English), but we definitely felt the language barrier more here than in Madrid. Here’s what else we learned and did in our four days in Barcelona:
Day 1
After taking the train from Madrid (which was not as nice as the Irish trains that we’re more accustomed to – we had to change our son on the floor of the train since they didn’t have a changing table) to Barcelona Sants station, we managed to track down the elevator to the metro. Note: this isn’t on-site, despite what signage may try to tell you. We got off in Las Ramblas and walked from there to our hotel in the gothic quarter, Hotel Gótico. Our room was in an interesting shape, so we had to get creative with the crib (which came with an additional fee), but we made it work.
After settling in a bit and researching the pickpocketing bonanza that is the Mercado de La Boqueria, we opted to instead go to the Mercat de Sant Antoni. This was a large market that didn’t have us clutching our pockets, but we hit it late in the day, so a lot of the stalls had closed. We ended up walking further to Mercadona to get groceries, and this Spanish supermarket did not disappoint – they had a great selection, and we were able to stock up for our stay in the city. We even grabbed food for dinner, which we ate once we got back to the hotel for the night.
Day 2
We had to get out the door early, as we had big plans for our morning! After buying 48-hour tickets for the metro (would recommend, as it makes it very easy to get around – though a little trickier if you have a stroller or wheelchair), we made our way to La Sagrada Familia. You’ve probably heard of this because, as the largest unfinished Roman Catholic church and a great example of Gaudí’s artistic style, it’s a very famous tourist destination. We were very glad to have bought our tickets in advance, which cut down the wait astronomically, and ensured they weren’t booked up.
This is another spot that is probably better without a toddler (we were shushed), but we definitely appreciated seeing the artistic elements of the church. That being said, we got some even better views of the building at the playground across the street.
From there, we planned our own walking tour that would take us back in the direction of our hotel. The hot spots are not worth a trip on their own individually, but they definitely brightened up our trek back; these included:
- Santagloria for a tasty brunch of pastries and coffee
- Palau Macaya, a palace-turned-conference center with some cool design work
- Casa Thomas, with its decorative facade
- Palau Ramon Montaner, a modernist palace
- Casa Batlló, considered one of Gaudí’s best works
We then caught the metro back to our hotel for our siesta. After reading a ton of recommendations for Cerveciería Catalana, we figured it was a must-eat for dinner, but we found it was a little overhyped. That being said, the line gets long, so if you want to go here (it could be better with a larger group), plan to get there early or wait. We were happier with our other stops on the way home: Eurekakids, where we picked up a book for our son; Plaça de Catalunya, where we played with all the pigeons; and OGGI Gelato, where we got the perfect dessert before calling it a night.
Day 3
A quieter day with a late start – gotta love when the kid sleeps in! We walked to Baluard Barceloneta for a pastry breakfast (thanks for the recommendation, Liz!), which was just what we needed before walking along the beach at the Platja de la Barceloneta. The beach was slammed, but much like when I was in San Francisco, I wasn’t going to miss the chance to take a quick dip in the water.
We then made our way to the Parc de la Ciutadella, another large park that our son really enjoyed. The playground was pretty crowded, but he still had fun running up and down the many pathways. On our way back to the hotel for our siesta, we stopped at La Campana for ice cream. It looks like a hole in the wall, but this was 100% worth the stop – we ended up coming back later to pick up sweet treats to bring home! I had turron ice cream, which was absolutely delicious.
Post-siesta, we made our way to the train to make a trip out to Tibidabo Brewing. Tyler had picked up some of their beer at the grocery store, and while a bit off the beaten path, we thought it was a great brewery. It was also conveniently located next to a playground, so after some beers and bar food, we all got the wiggles out before taking the train back. A quick stop at the Mercadona inside the Arenas de Barcelona mall, and we were set for the night.
Day 4+
It was another early morning because we had tickets for yet another Gaudí favorite: Park Güell! Now, most of the park is free to enter, but if you want to see the bulk of Gaudí’s work, you need to buy tickets to enter that part – it also offers some amazing views. We didn’t find that the park was super stroller-friendly, but we did find several guards were willing to let us take “restricted” paths to avoid stairs. It was cool to see everything, but unless you’re super into the art and architecture, I wouldn’t call it a must-do.
That being said, we did find a must-eat! The Comida de Olla was on our way back to the metro, and it was the perfect spot for lunch. Tyler and I shared the squid ink paella, which was absolutely delicious. If you’re in the area, this is absolutely worth a stop; we had very full bellies as we metroed back to the hotel for our siesta.
Our evening was pretty low-key. We ended up going to the Barcelona History Museum (MUHBA) because the entrance was free that afternoon – and it was a one-minute walk from our hotel! The museum is built on top of some Roman ruins, which we then got to explore. It was better than expected, especially for something with free admission. We then made our way back to the Parc de la Ciutadella and picked up those gifts from La Campana before getting La Pizza Del Born for dinner and wrapping up our day.
The next morning, we grabbed some seriously tasty pastries for breakfast from Brunells (Go here!). We ate them in the park before heading to the train station and making our way back to Madrid…
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