A picturesque weekend in Barcelona
That time of the year comes again, and choosing a present for a loved one is often very difficult but on this occasion, I decided to surprise my beloved brother with a spontaneous trip to Barcelona for his 21st birthday. A city of mind-blowing architecture with an endless amount of fascinating buildings and unexpected treasures, not to mention the incredible climate and lively beach culture makes you want to live your life in the sun.
So I started my search to find the best deal for flights because he is born at the end of January I managed to find affordable flights for a weekend at the beginning of February that costs no more than £50 per person.
The accommodation wasn’t so cheap, but I have managed to find a nice hotel, ApartHotel Atenea Barcelona, in the heart of the city with breakfast included. From what I have experienced so far, having breakfast included is a must for me. I am not a morning person, so it gets too complicated to find a beautiful place to please everyone for breakfast. A mega plus for having a buffet.
Having all the above booked, we have started planning the daily itinerary. From my experience, I have learnt that I rather have a lot more planned for the day than don’t know what to do and where to go, especially if you are there only for a weekend break.
Aaaaand here we are, good morning beautiful sunny Saturday morning. This city is an example of an open-minded and vibrant Mediterranean city laced with history and with Gaudí pulsing through its veins; it is a city of beauty, no matter what season you visit and one that will remain with you for decades. The two most important styles of Barcelona architecture are Catalan Gothic, a medieval style, and Modernisme, a turn of the 20th-century movement led by Antoni Gaudí.
We started the day by strolling the city on our way to Casa Batlló or “La Casa dels Ossos,” the House of Bones, a marvellous building in the heart of Barcelona designed by the famous Antoni Gaudí also considered one of its masterpieces. The tickets were around €29 per person, and they give you an interactive audio gadget guide which tells you the entire story of the house.
Antoni Gaudí was an architect with a legendary view out of this world. His creations have a variety of characteristics: curved rather than straight lines; organic forms and elements derived from nature, experimentation with ironwork, stained glass and stone and lots of colours. He used modern technology for construction. Developing a story behind each creation with a highly functional design using Catalan Gothic and Romanesque influences.
By the moment I stepped into the house I could see the skeletal organic quality with parabolic arches and oval windows decorated with a mosaic which starts in shades of golden orange melting into greenish blues. He created a house that has an organic structure where every single room is a subliminal diving inside the centre of the earth and the seas. However, the roof is the highlight of the house created in the shape of a curved dragon-back design and decorated with phantasmagoric mosaic pieces.
Vibrant, colourful surfaces and nature-based organic style would be a definition of his unconventional designs. Every little street of the city adopted inventive, daring, and flamboyant Catalan Modernisme designs making the artist’s presence alive. He is lives through his art!
La Sagrada Familia is a representation of Gothic architecture since the Middle Ages unfinished (still going and due to be finished in 2026) Roman Catholic church in Barcelona also designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí. For this one, we have booked the tickets online, and they were around €27 per person. This time we had an actual guide, and despite the fact we choose English guide speaker, the group was a mix of Spanish-English tourists, so she talking more in Spanish :(. If you are an architecture enthusiast, this is a super-duper must!
My eyes couldn’t believe that such an astonishing place exists on planet earth, with decoration and sculptures themed to tell you the stories from three chapters in the life of Jesus Christ. It is angelic in every meaning possible. Once inside you can feel the angels dancing on the suggestive harmony of colour and light passing through the stained-glass of the basilica. The unique Gaudí design is shown in the columns which rise towards the sky, forming the intersection of various geometric forms full of curvaceous elaboration.
After such a fascinating half-day with captivating information, we decided to have a late lunch at the La Boqueria Market, one of the worldwide famous markets. And Oh My God! It has a wide variety of goodies like fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, sweets as well as meat, fish, cheese and dairy, you name it. Honestly, I didn’t know what to try first! We found a very nice tapas place inside the market, hence we had a little bit of everything sharing between us! Keep in mind that for some of the goodies there you will need cash as they do not accept card payments.
The first day in Barcelona and he had part of such a beautiful sunset. Oh, I think Spain has some of the most beautiful sunsets in Europe! Sea, breathtaking sunset and a fabulous company, what can I ask for more than that??
So after all the planning we still managed to have some free time so we decided to go and visit the Aquarium in Barcelona as it came as a recommendation to me that is a nice one and it can’t be missed. To be honest, I wasn’t so impressed by it, so it is not something I recommend checking out.
The day is almost over… I have to mention that due to this fantastic Sygic app we didn’t use any points of transport and we walked from one spot to another.
I use Sygic Travel for planning day by day itinerary, which I highly recommend. The app is available for Android and Apple and gives you the most visited places on the map. It so smart so u can plan daily activities and once you add them to your trip, it creates an itinerary and gives you the best route for walking or driving.
It was around 10 pm, and we decided to do a quick research and find a nice restaurant for dining. Unfortunately, most of them were booked, so we were lucky enough to find a place at the Arume restaurant. We ordered 2 paellas and Sangria, of course! I have to say that the prices were very affordable and the food tasted simply amazing!
Good morning sunshine and last day in Barcelona! I have to say that we felt exhausted by the previous day and of course I kinda overplanned this day too :D. FACT — perks of staying at a hotel is that you can leave your luggage for free with them for the entire day and collect them later on.
The first stop of the day was Park Güell, which is a public park composed of gardens and architectonic elements located on Carmel Hill, in Barcelona, Catalonia. It also has another masterpiece of Gaudi so to see that you have to buy a ticket that costs only €8.
In order to get back to the city, we took a bus which cost us €2. We took the bus as we were in doubt if we still had the energy to visit Park de la Ciutadella or go for lunch-dinner. In the end, we decided to go and have a nice dinner at the famous seafood restaurant, Salamanca, very close to the beach. Salamanca restaurant does the best Paella in town and it is huge! At the end of the dinner, they serve a delicious coffee rachi.
After such an amazing feast, we decided to go to the beach and savour the February-Sun entertained by the sound of the waves. I have to admit that every part of this picturesque city is obscurely calling Gaudi’s name.
When the time came to go home we booked a taxi through the My Taxi app, collected the luggage from the hotel and went towards the airport.
“Fun” fact!
Before going somewhere, unless we rent a car I always research public transport. Unfortunately, Uber does not operate in Barcelona, so I found 2 other apps that work there MyTaxy and Cabify. I have to say that once there Cabify took a long time to find a ride, so we mostly used MyTaxy which have very affordable prices. Also, a bus ticket is around €2 but f you plan to use the bus more than 4 times a day I recommend you buying a daily ticket which is about €8.