Ok, so there are a lot of people and it is very crowded but we loved Barcelona. It is now one of my favourite cities. There is just so much to see and do in this city. We stayed in the El Born district which was great, fairly central and had a real character feel to it. September, I think, is a great time to go as the weather is still very warm and sunny but not too hot, although having said that I do remember struggling to stand in a queue for ages on a hot day!
One of the aspects we loved was the quantity and quality of street performers. They were really all amazing – acrobats, flamenco dancers, marionettes, violinist, singers and so on.
The Food
Also of course we loved the food and wine, the many different types of cafes/restaurants and bars. Both tapas and pintxos were available. Tapas, which are a typical Catalan (this area of Spain) food are really small snack-like sharing plates I would say. So it might be some fried squid, olives or croquettes etc.
We also saw a fair bit of Pintxos bars. These are really from the area around San Sebastian on the other side of Spain. Pintxos are typically eaten in bars, standing up or on a stool and is usually, but not always, on a piece of bread with a cocktail stick through it. And you usually just take what you want and you count up all your cocktail sticks when you pay. Sometimes they will put them on a plate so they know what you have and you can pay for it then. Other times though we just felt like a normal sit down meal – like paella or something.
And don’t worry about how much you will be eating; you walk off all your calories in Barcelona, so you can relax about how much you’re eating and drinking!
A mugging!
A downside of course is the crime. Women wear their handbag straps across their body and it doesn’t hurt to hold onto the bag as you walk. And there are the muggings, as John found out! Heading out early one morning before sunrise to take photos with an expensive looking camera down some dark alleys – probably not a good idea. So he managed to save his camera but lost his phone and got dragged and stomped on. He was sore and sorry for a while but luckily it didn’t have much impact on our holiday apart from the time wasted waiting in the police station (which was full of other tourists with similar stories)! So the risk is real folks, just be sensible!
We pretty much stayed away from La Rambla (the tree-lined pedestrian walkway) because there’s too many people, and we’re not shoppers and of course it’s a prime area for muggers. And really, there’s so many other nicer areas.
Barcelona Tourist Attractions
The tourist attractions we visited were all wonderful and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on any of them. And there are many more than the ones we visited. Enough for another holiday one day! See below for a rundown on the attractions in order starting from my favourite – Montserrat.
Montserrat 
Sagrada Familia 
Park Guell 
Casa Mila 
Palau de la Musica 
Barcelona Cathedral
Montserrat
This for me was the number one highlight of our visit to Barcelona. Montserrat is a mountain range. About an hour’s train ride from Barcelona. I would advise leaving early. Follow this link to get all the best information for your train trip. The earlier you get to Montserrat the less of a queue waiting for the cable car when you get there to take you to the top.
The scenery there is absolutely stunning and on a hot sunny day it really showed it off to its best. Once you get up to the top you have the Montserrat Monastery and church and surrounding buildings to explore as well. Our interest mainly though was to go walking up in the mountains.
Near the monastery is a funicular which takes you up high where all the walks start. You can do all levels of walks or just go for a stroll and take in the magnificent views. The trails are good and well signposted.
Sagrada Familia
The most well-known landmark in Barcelona. Not just stunning from the outside but truly jaw-dropping from the inside. You’ll never see anything else like it – very different from a ‘normal’ cathedral! Designed by the renowned Antoni Gaudi, it started in the 1880s and is still being completed (although it’s almost there)! I would get tickets in advance to this attraction as it would be heart-breaking to miss out.
Park Guell
Park Guell is a big parklands area with beautiful gardens and more amazing Gaudi designed structures. It was originally designed to be an estate for the wealthy – but it’s like no other residential estate I have ever seen. Lots of mosaic covered buildings, stairs, balconies, etc. Plus you have beautiful views over Barcelona. And, apparently, if you go before 8am you can enter for free. There were some sections being renovated when we were there and I believe that is still the case at the time of writing.
Some of the best parts to visit are the entrance and the porter’s lodge pavilions, the Dragon Stairway which leads up to the Hypostyle room. Above that is the Nature Square. The Laundry Room Portico is much better than is sounds. And there are lots of beautiful gardens and paths.
Case Mila and Casa Batllo
Both of these buildings are Gaudi designed apartment buildings and are unique, crazy, beautiful masterpieces! Both amazing and quite different. Hard to pick which one I prefer but you should at least see one of them.
Palau de la Musica
This concert hall was a real pleasant surprise and I think should be higher on people’s must see list. Designed, not by Gaudi, but by someone else in the Modernist era with a similar style called Lluis Domenech I Montaner. It was built early in the 20th century. Like much of Barcelona you spend a lot of time with your mouth open or uttering the word ‘wow’! Truly it’s the most beautiful and unusual concert hall I’ve ever seen. Known for its very ornate façade and interior and the stain glass dome in the concert hall.
You can only visit this attraction as part of a tour and then you get to hear a concert pianist at the end of the performance for about 20 mins, I think it was. Just fantastic!
Barcelona Cathedral
This cathedral is in the Gothic quarter and although it’s no Sagrada Familia it is a stunning gothic cathedral. And unlike Sagrada Familia it is free to enter. Just to the side of the cathedral there are some cloisters with fountains and geese too!
Barcelona Waterfront
The Waterfront has a more modern city look and has a lot of tempting restaurants and bars, a beautiful palm lined promenade, marina, and nearby beaches. A bit more relaxing that some of the other parts of Barcelona.
Mercado de La Boqueria
The bustling Barcelona Markets. It really is a visual feast and you’ll want to buy and eat everything! Lots of places there where you can eat at counters surrounding the food stalls. We were quite lucky that there was a parade passing just at the time we were there so that was an added bonus. Open from 8am to 8pm every day except Sundays.
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