HOW TO SPEND 24-HOURS IN BARCELONA – A GUIDE FOR FIRST TIMERS (PART TWO)

Welcome to my awesome guide how to spend 24-Hours in Barcelona. This is the second and concluding post in this series. In the first part, I talk about visiting Las Ramblas, wandering around the Gothic Quarter, and where we stayed, so if you haven’t read this already, I suggest reading Part-One first. You can check it out here.

If you’re planning a dream trip to Europe, it wouldn’t be complete unless you made a stop in Barcelona. Being one of Spain’s most famous cities, there is something different around every corner, from gothic architecture to medieval laneways, modern bars and stylish buildings. When my husband and I visited here on our honeymoon, we had such a fun time, checking out all of the main tourist attractions and ticking items off our bucket list.

So, if you’re ready to get going, let’s head back to the magnificent Gothic Quarter, where I continue my adventures around Barcelona.

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LEAVING THE GOTHIC QUARTER

Leaving the hectic crowds behind, we headed towards the Picasso Museum, which was around a 5-7 minute walk away. As we passed down a narrow side street by the cathedral, we decided to take a slight detour past The Old Roman Walls and Gates to see a section of the original aqueduct built around the 1-4 century BC!

We continued walking down O del Bisbe, and this is where you will come across a spot that is totally worthy of Instagram – Ponte del Bisbe (Bishops Bridge). When I first saw it on the cover of my Lonely Planet Pocket Guide for Barcelona, I instantly fell in love with it. The only problem was that I had no idea how to find it. All I knew was that it was in some place called the Gothic Quarter, so when I stumbled across it during our trip, it really made my day. The bridge is surrounded by tall stone buildings, two of which are linked together by the bridge. Its medieval design makes it look like something taken straight out of Hogwarts. The wonderful detailing around the top and bottom of the bridge almost looks like tree branches if you view it from a distance. In fact, I loved gazing upon this gorgeous little bridge, even more so than Barcelona Cathedral just around the corner from here. It’s just stunning.

ADMIRING PICASSO’S WORK

We continued on route to the Picasso Museum when we found ourselves on the Carrer de la Princesa, where we came across the skinniest building we’d ever seen, leaving us scratching our heads as to how anyone could possibly live there!

We decided to take the route down the tiny claustrophobic backstreets, as it was more interesting, before heading onto Carrer de Montcada, where we finally arrived at the Picasso Museum (Museo Picasso). I first learned about this fantastic artist more than 25-years ago during my high school art class, and I always thought his work was brilliant, so to finally see some of his work in the flesh was really exciting.

The queue to enter was ridiculously long, snaking up the entire laneway. I guess that’s what we get for choosing to go after 3 PM on a Sunday, as every man and his dog had turned up to take advantage of the free entry. It’s worth noting that the museum is closed on Mondays, just in case you’re only planning a short trip.

Picasso’s collection is housed across five large townhouses. I’ve always thought he was ahead of his time in many ways, and it’s interesting to me that I even like some of his later paintings, considering modern or contemporary art is really not my thing. Overall, I think it’s the rebel in him that speaks to me more than anything else. Despite being able to paint very well, he chose to change to a cubist style rather than conform with the masses, which allowed him to branch out and try new ideas. Some of my favourite paintings from this era include The Weeping Women (1937), Le Reve (1932), and Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907). From his earlier non-cubist work, I really like his blue period, especially The Old Guitarist (1904).

OH DEAR, SHE’S BACK AGAIN! CRINGE!

However, just as we arrived at the very popular Cubist section, fate stepped in to try and ruin my day yet again! The “same-dress-women” from Plaza de Cataluna strolled in right behind me! It blew my mind how oblivious she was. It was bad enough that I had to have her stand near me, making us both look ridiculous, but now, being in the Picasso Museum, the confined space left me with nowhere to hide. Every time I walked into a new room, “same-dress-lady” was behind me! Cringe! So, I ended up skipping several rooms ahead and doubled back after I saw her leave. Despite the embarrassment, I still found this museum a definite highlight of our trip.

Before we knew it, dusk was upon us, and the sun slowly started to set. We decided to head back towards the train station, where we took a detour through the ‘Jardins Fontsere I Mestre’ (Fontsere I Mestre’s Gardens) and spotted the fantastic Castell Des Tres Dragons (Castle of Three Dragons), which forced us to make one last stop for the day. The design looked quite different from any other castles I’d seen before. The lack of big surrounding walls made it look much more inviting, especially combined with the pops of colour, instead of the imposing gray brick typical of the English castles that I’m used to! We didn’t have time to head inside, but I did notice it had some interesting design features, such as the display of crests running around the turrets at the top.

THE WONDERFUL ARCH

Our last stop of the day was the magnificent Arc de Triomf. Forget the famous arch in Paris, as the two don’t compare. (>>>>> FULL POST CLICK HERE <<<<<) Their only similarity is the name. It was originally the main entrance to The Universal Exhibition, hosted here in 1888. Built from red brick, it has yellow stone around the rim of the archway with sculptures around the top, making it appear very grand. It’s well worth a visit.

Passeig De Lluis Companies, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

WHERE ARE WE?

After a long but exciting day, we were more than ready to head back to the hotel. Conveniently for us, the train station was right next to the Arc de Triomf. Unfortunately, this turned out to be less helpful than we first expected! We boarded the train believing that we were heading back to our original stop of Fabra I Puig. However, when we got off at the next stop and headed up the stairs, we were not back where we had started. Instead, we were in a completely different neighborhood! At first, I just assumed that everything looked different because it was dark, but I soon realised that we had actually caught the train to a different stop. As it turns out, both stations had very similar names, and we’d got a little bit confused. Oh dear! I wish I could tell you the name of the other station where we got off the train, but I honestly can’t remember, sorry! Luckily, Zac said that he thought he knew where we were, so we started walking in the direction of our hotel. Except it turned out that Zac was wrong, and we just ended up walking around the streets of Barcelona for several hours, not having a clue where we were. Finally, we saw a mall in the distance, and we knew that we must be back at Heron City, located next to our hotel.

Thank the Gods! We made our way through the shopping centre, which was now closed, as it was getting quite late. We struggled to locate the foodcourt exit, which I knew was situated on the same side as our accommodation. As we continued to look around, I started to feel like we were walking in circles again. Suddenly, that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach came back again, and I realised that this wasn’t Heron City after all, but a completely different mall that looked almost identical! Stupid modern mass-produced malls! This was where the panic really started to set in because just when I thought we were getting somewhere, it turns out we were still lost!

OUR LUCK STARTED TO CHANGE…

We finally decided our only option was to get a taxi back to the hotel. So we made our way to the mystery mall taxi rank and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Just as we were finally ready to give up, a taxi arrived, but our joy was short-lived as we learned it was booked for another couple. Luckily, that couple turned out to be our guardian angels. They were a lovely Spanish twosome, who took it upon themselves to help us by asking their driver to radio his base to order us a taxi of our own. They even refused to leave with the driver until after he had done so. I could have kissed them! It looked as though our luck was finally changing!

A few seconds later, our taxi pulled up, and when I got in, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief wash over me! But again, it was short-lived because, by some bizarre twist of fate, our taxi driver had never heard of either our hotel or Heron City! After several minutes of discussion, he radioed his base and eventually worked out where we were staying. We pulled up at our hotel ten minutes later, and I could have cried with happiness! So, I guess the moral of the story is not only to make sure you get on the right train, but to always carry the address of your hotel, and maybe their phone number too, just in case you need directions. We learned a valuable lesson that day. It’s safe to say that by the time we finally made it back to our hotel room, we crawled straight into bed and were asleep before our heads even touched the pillows!

GOUDY’S FAMOUS CATHEDRAL

The next day we were left super tired from yesterday’s “adventures,” but luckily, we only had one place left that we wanted to visit – La Sagrada Familia (Basilica of the Sagrada Familia). It’s Barcelona’s number one tourist attraction, and not without reason, as it’s absolutely incredible! Although we didn’t get to venture inside due to our tight budget, I seriously didn’t care, as I was left more than happy from the fantastic views taken in from the outside. For me, this was the biggest highlight of my time in Barcelona by far.

Located in the Eixample District, the cathedral was designed by Antoni Gaudi, and building work commenced in 1880. Believe it or not, it is still under construction today, which I think adds to its beauty and intrigue. Most of the world’s beautiful cathedrals were built hundreds of years ago. We never got to see them being built, so to actually see one somewhat complete and otherwise still under construction was a pretty special experience for me.

So just what is it that makes this cathedral so spectacular? Well, to start with, the back of the church almost looks like it’s melting. This is hard to describe, but just take a look at this photo and see what you think.

At a glance, it can be difficult to pick out all the finer details contained within the many spires. Yet, when you look closely, they are made up of detailed sculptures of people, mosaics, leaves, and foliage carved out of stone. It really is incredible. The back of the basilica is by far my favourite part of this construction.

At the front of the cathedral, some sections of stonework look relatively new, which you will see have a pale stone colour. They contrast nicely against the older sections, which have discoloured and weathered over time. There is a figure of poor Jesus with his arms stretched out like he was supposed to be on the cross, but the cross still wasn’t there, and the stone figures here lacked the same finished, well-carved look that had been bestowed upon the back section. Although the detail is somewhat lacking, it still looks amazing, and you could easily use your imagination to see what the finished piece would look like. The church has twelve spires in total, which are said to represent the apostles.

To get a cracking view of all of them, as well as the basilica itself, you can head to Placa de Gaudi, a small but lovely park across the road from the cathedral. Aside from the best views, it will also award you a break from the crowds. The only downside was the abundance of cranes and scaffolding insight. Don’t be surprised if they’re still around during your visit too. With it still not being finished, it remains somewhat of a construction site.

Next time I visit Barcelona, I will definitely go back, as I can’t wait to see the progress! Of course, I’m very keen to see the interior, but I just can’t see it as magical as the exterior. However, I would love to be proved wrong.

On another note, being low on cash also meant we didn’t get to see Parc Guell, which is another one of Gaudi’s masterpieces. Declared a UNESCO site in 1984, imagine crazy-looking walls and benches made from multicoloured mosaics and tiles. Throw in lots of curved lines, throw out the straight lines, and you’re halfway there.

So, there you have it! That was my wonderful trip to Barcelona. If you are visiting Europe, please make sure to add this wonderful city to your bucket list. It’s incredible. With such an exciting and fun vibe, I’m sure you will have a great time, and just like me, you will find yourself wishing you could have stayed longer. Despite getting lost for hours at night, ripped off at dinner, and having the unbearable trauma bestowed upon me by the “same-dress-lady,” I still had the time of my life.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

WHERE SHOULD YOU STAY IN BARCELONA?

I highly recommend staying in the city centre, due to what happened to Zac and I during our trip with the whole getting lost incident. If we had been centrally located, we would have just walked back to our hotel that night instead of wasting money on expensive taxi fees. It’s always best to stay close to the action, spending that little bit more, which will save you time and money in the long run. You can book your hotel here through Trip.com.

IS BARCELONA SAFE FOR TOURISTS?

Generally, we felt safe in Barcelona, except when we got lost, as it felt as though we’d wandered into a bit of a dodgy area. I felt safe in the city center. However, I didn’t know how bad the pickpockets were until we arrived back home and spoke to some friends about it. Just keep your wits about you, don’t flash your valuables around, and above all, don’t put your wallet in your back pocket.

WHEN WILL LA SAGRADA FAMILIA CATHEDRAL BE FINISHED?

Before the pandemic hit, there was talk that the city of Barcelona was trying to get La Sagrada Familia finished by the year 2026, as it would mark 100 years since Gaudi’s death. Still, I don’t think that’s very likely, considering that now it’s 2022, and we’ve endured two years of living with coronavirus. Plus, if you’re working around “Spanish time,” who knows when it’ll be finished.

IS BARCELONA EXPENSIVE?

In my opinion, yes, it is. We found that we really struggled to find anywhere decent to eat with our limited budget. We also avoided going into some attractions due to the price. Next time, I’ll look at booking a food tour to avoid being ripped off like we did on Las Ramblas.

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO VISIT BARCELONA?

We visited Barcelona in the off-season, towards the end of October, and yes, there were still heavy crowds. However, we found that it wasn’t as busy as we thought it would be. I know people who’ve been in the middle of summer, and they’ve often told me how horrendously busy it was, with long queues and wait times to get in good restaurants. So bear this in mind when booking your trip.

 

Thanks so much for reading my post today on how to see Barcelona in just 24 hours (Part Two). If you’re planning a trip here but only have a short amount of time, my itinerary is the perfect way to fit in all the top sites and explore everything this city offers. Feel free to swap out a few places you are not interested in visiting for something more to your taste. As our first day didn’t start until late morning, why not get up early and experience the city before it really gets going. This will also make for some great photos as they’ll be less annoying photobombers.

I hope this guide has helped you put together your own awesome Barcelona itinerary to have the best time while you’re here. Are you planning on visiting Barcelona soon? Where are you looking to visit? If you have any questions about this great city, then feel free to ask me in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer them for you.

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