Barcelona is always on the top of my favorite destinations. No matter how many times you hang around before, the city empowers visitors and you’ll always explore something different.
Why Barcelona?
Barcelona is a cultural city with diversity of historical spots, art galleries, handcraft shops. Some of the museums in Barcelona have free entry on Sunday. You can skip sightseeing at any time and take a walk through the narrow streets with small restaurants where you can sit and enjoy the cosy climate or try one of the most delicious cuisines in the world! (I say it although I’m the biggest fan of Asian food). 🙂 For the first time I went traveling across Spain ten years ago.
Most of the restaurants at that time served a jug of house wine in addition to every meal ordered. There is several reason for this – local customs and amazing Spanish hospitality. Obviously it has quickly changed because of the economic reasons.
A good idea is to order tapas (starters) to taste different kinds of specialities. Tapas are quite cheap (average price in Barcelona 4 euro) and sometimes the dish is enough for half of the day. The accommodation in Barcelona is quite cheap as for Europe. You can book in advance if you want to stay close to the La Rambla street. Hanging around Barcelona is interesting and worthwhile experience.
Top places to see in Barcelona
- One of the most famous spots is in Barcelona Plaza Espana. A short walk from there is Castell de Montjuic with magnificent fountain and round Magic Fountain. Take the steps to get to the top of the Montjuic hill to see amazing panoramic view of Barcelona.
- Works of brilliant architect Antoni Gaudi, who marked the city in particular style. Most famous is Casa Batllo. The architectural details were created by Gaudi as he was hired by the owner of the building (businessman) to renovate it. Gaudi was already known for several ongoing projects in Barcelona (like Sagrada Familia). The outside facade is covered by mosaics made from ceramic tile shards (the style originally coming from France), made from odd-shapes of pieces of broken colorful cups and plates.
- Sagrada Familia is Gaudi’s piece of influence. There are unbelievable number of tourist at any time of the year, gathering around the building, which has been under construction for over 100 years. The structure follows the tradition of magnificent Gothic cathedrals.
- Casa Mila – for sure worth seeing but at the time I was there the building was fully covered because of renovation (Lucky me! 🙂 ).
- Have coffee in hidden Plaza Reial located in the center of Barcelona!
- La Rambla – famous boulevard in Barcelona, which takes you to the harbor and a great beach.
- Picasso museum – meeting with real art.
- Now it’s time to chill and visit St Josep Mercat – the most famous market located in the center of Barcelona. This colorful place is fulfilled with aromatic local specialities, sweets and spices. You can taste freshly made exotic sea food and Mediterranean fruits.
- Barcelona Cathedral or Santa Maria del Mar – a piece of great architecture.
The history of the market La Boqueria
The city market activity was set up in 13th century. On the beginning it was a commercial market. But the location which was in the middle of Ramplas (main street in Barcelona), very close to the seaside made it a perfect trading center. The current covered market was established in 19th century.
