How to Spend 76 Hours in Barcelona
Do you know? Barcelona is crowned as one of the “Best Cities in the World to Visit” for visitors. Part of it is due to the stunning architecture which can be found in popular tourist attraction such as Casa Batlló, Sagrada Familia, and Park Güell. In fact, when I was there in end April, I had to find my way pass tonnes of tourists on the busy shopping streets and the airport was full to its brim.
Places to Stay:
Eixample is a good area/ district to stay in. The reason is simply is approximately 20 minutes walk to Barcelona famous shopping belt & major tourist attractions such as Casa Batllo. Hotel rates in this area are more wallet friendly, ideally located for exploring the city on foot making it close by to the Gothic Quarter.
Top sites to go:
* Camp Nou (FC Barcelona)
The first thing that comes to mind when one mention Barcelona is the Football Club. It doesn’t matter if you are not a huge football fan. The fact that one of the World Greatest Footballer, Lionel Messi had ply his trade during his prime time there, creating superb individual moments of magic with the ball still lingers up to this day when he had already left the club.
Located 5 kilometres out from the city, if one is travelling to Camp Nou from the Sagrada Familia, one can grab the metro line 5 in the direction of Cornella Centre and get off at Badal. Many of the tourist buses also make a stop-off at the stadium, where a ticket lets you hop on and off as you please throughout the day.
Do note that the actual stadium is under construction which started in June 2022 and expected to end by June 2026. Meanwhile, football matches are played in another location. However, the objective of visiting Camp Nou is to step into the football museum to witness and feel the electrifying football atmosphere that one can expect during match days. The football museum can easily takes up to 2 hours for touring. Do note one is required and encourage to purchase the museum tickets before hand with the allocated time slot. I had made my trip down to the ticketing counter of the museum. Instead of purchasing the tickets on the spot, I had booked and paid online via the official FC Barcelona website; https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/tickets/camp-nou-experience . By doing so, it allow me to save up to Euro 9 per pax.
*La Sagrada Familia
In my opinion, this is the highlight of Barcelona. Welcome to the Sagrada Família, a church under construction in the Eixample district. It is the largest unfinished Roman Catholic church in the world. Be warn there will be a lot of tourists vying to take pictures. A tip is to be there early in the morning before the bus load full of tourists arrives. I was there in the afternoon and had to jostle with the crowd to take a picture of it.
*Park Guell
The next highlight is Park Güell , that has been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Known for its iconic Gaudí structures, vibrant mosaics and scenic views, this make it a must go spot. In order to guarantee access to Park Güell, I would strongly recommend to do an advance reservation through purchase of tickets. The number of tickets sold daily are controlled (limited to 1400 visitors per hour) in order to preserve this iconic space.
*La Rivera
A trendy part of the old town, join the many guided tours to take a walk around the Ribera neighbourhood in Barcelona. Known to be the area for artisans, merchants and nowadays, one can find many charming shops.
*La Rambla
A famous shopping street, be careful for the one of the world most unsafe street for tourists. Notorious for many pick pocketers targetting tourists, it is wise to keep your wallet in check on all times. Do enjoy the street shopping scene esspecially that of street performers including human statues.
*Mercat de la Boqueria
La Boqueria is the most famous central market in Barcelona worldwide. Just nearby to La Boqueria, it is sometimes referred to as the “Las Ramblas Market”. There were fresh oysters, seafood and many food sold in the indoor market.
*Casa Batllo
Known to as one of the strangest residential building, the building is open for tourists visits. Designed by Antoni Gaudí who has considered this building to be one of his masterpieces. One can take free shots at the outside of this busy shopping street.
*Casa La Pedrera
Not far away from Casa Batllo, lies another Gaudí masterpiece in Barcelona, known as Casa La Pedrera, or otherwise also known as Casa Milà. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The visit to the indoor area allows one to learn about the architect’s entire body of work and his inspiration to creating it.
*La Catedral
A Gothic church , known as Barcelona Cathedral, is the seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. It is free admission if one enters the church before 1pm in the afternoon.
Day excursions out of Barcelona
In my opinion, I feel visiting Barcelona alone as a city , 48 hours is good enough. Perhaps, you would like to venture outskirt of this cosmopolitan city, if you only have 1 free day to spare. There are many beautiful towns that surrounds the outskirt of Barcelona. I recommend visit Girona city in the morning and Montserrat in the afternoon.
*6 hours day tour of Girona
Visit the city of Girona, where many of the sites here were used in the film, Game of Thrones. Recommend to visit in the morning. Girona is located 100 kilometres away from Barcelona. The 2 cities are connected by high speed train. One just need 38 minutes and you could start your tour in Girona. The Jewish Quarter in Girona is one of the best preserved in the world. These narrow streets are a joy to explore. A walk on the medieval walls is a must-do activity while in Girona. It allows one to stand on top and admire the great views of the city and its surroundings.
The Onyar River runs through the heart of Girona. Capture this unique scene from one of the several other bridges that span the river. The other highlight is the Girona Cathedral. Do note this is often a popular gathering point for visitors in the city.
*4 hours day tour of Montserrat
A trick to stay away from the crowd is to visit Montserrat in the afternoon from 4pm onwards. In additional, one can witness the choir boys singing in the church, another highlight as well. The boys choir are ranked one of the top among the community behind Venetian. If you love nature, then Montserrat is the place to go!
Have another full day to spare? Make a full day trip to Andorra, a landlock independent country sandwiched between France and Spain. Andorra is the world’s 16th-smallest country by land and has a population size of around 80,000 people. Read more on travel tips to Andorra, found on this link.
Categories: Europe Region
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