Travel ¡Rumba de Barcelona!

Travel Rumba de Barcelona!

Date of Visit: February 2022

Barcelona Basics

• Currency: Euro. Credit cards are widely used. There are also many exchange bureaus where you can easily exchange your currency.
• Language: Locals are bilingual in Barcelona speaking their mother tongue Catalan and Spanish. You can also get by with English in most places.
• Restrictions: As of February 2022, there is no restriction to wear a mask outside but it is still required for indoor venues. Tourists also need to fill out a form issued by the Spanish government and present when entering the country.
• Location: Southwestern Europe, northeastern Spain. Capital of Catalunya. Mild winters and warm summers, typical Mediterranean climate.

Having a reputation as one of the most touristic places in the world, Barcelona gives its visitors a warm welcome both literally and metaphorically in terms of weather and the friendly attitude of locals. 

Being the heart of a greater region called Catalunya, Barcelona residents are proud Catalans who speak their own Catalan language and have a strong national identity. Barcelona FC is somewhat a national team to the locals and its games catch a lot of attention from the city’s residents as well as from the visiting tourists.

I visited Barcelona during winter in 2022 when Covid numbers were slowly decreasing and restrictions such as wearing a mask outdoors were lifted because of that. 

Although it was winter, the weather was pretty mild and sunny. It only rained once during my week long stay in Barcelona, I guess we can say that I got lucky :) They say there aren’t many tourists in the city during winter, but I can’t imagine how crowded it gets in summer considering the way it was in February!

How to Get to Barcelona & How to Get Around in the City

There are many direct flights to Barcelona from all around the world including the economic airlines Ryanair. My direct flight to and fra Barcelona cost me only €54 without additional luggage but that is also mostly due to early reservation. 

The main airport in Barcelona is called El Prat airport and it has direct links to the center via buses and subway. I arrived in El Prat at 2 in the morning and I was still able to find a bus without much hassle so I very much recommend it. It costs a little less than €6 which is almost the same price as the subway connection.

As I mentioned that I arrived at a somewhat inconvenient time, I had to roam around the city in order to find my Airbnb. Although it did not look very safe at night at first, I had absolutely no safety issues and was eventually able to find my Airbnb after searching for about half an hour. 

The main reason for it taking so long was that the location is a historic place, the El Raval district, and the GPS reception was not very good due to the buildings being very tall and closely located to each other. I got lost and had to retrace my steps a little to get to my Airbnb.

I would firstly like to mention that it is very easy to get around the city as the public transportation is very advanced and there are many options such as the subway, busses and taxis. It is also a pretty walkable city if you like walking and I very much recommend it since you get to see a lot just by walking!

Things to See & Do

Barcelona is a very vibrant and picturesque city where life goes on day & night. I personally plan every one of my trips  in detail but I did not need any detailed plans for this one since each street takes you somewhere different & worth seeing. For example I discovered the famous gate called the Arc de Triomf and Parc la Ciutadella while I was on my way to Park Güell and eventually had to postpone visiting my originally intended destination the next day :)

I should also mention that Barcelona is a pretty safe city in which you can walk around at any time without any issues. There are police cars patrolling frequently and the streets are always somewhat crowded. Barcelona is also a city of immigrants and expats making it a melting pot of different cultures also contributing to the food scenery as well. 

You can easily find any kind of food in the city from American fast food chains, to Turkish kebabs, Mexican tacos and the local delicacies such as paella and tapas. Contrary to the current state in other European countries, Barcelona and Spain in general has immigrants mostly coming from Southern America.

The One and Only Antoni Gaudi!

The heart of Catalunya offers many things to do and places to see. I will start by mentioning the name Gaudi and you go figure the rest. The architect Antoni Gaudi may not have touched every single street of the city but the places he touched has become what is today called Barcelona. He is a very talented artistic soul who gave the city its identity today. Therefore it is a must to visit the places that bears his mark. 

Sagrada Familia is the famous unfinished church of Gaudi’s that is a must see when visiting Barcelona. A little tip here though, it is said to be much more beautiful outside than inside so if you’re on a tight budget you might as well skip the inside tour. Then comes Park Güell where you can go inside the amazing park for a small fee.  

Lastly for Gaudi, I’d recommend visiting the spectacular Casa Mila and the other couple of "casa"s in the same row. You can in fact take one of the free Barcelona walking tours and have a tour guide telling you about it at a very fair price.

For the art lovers I would highly recommend Museu Nacional d'art de Catalunya. It is a fantastic place with invaluable pieces of art collections and you can visit it for free on some days at the end of the day! The outside of the building is just wonderful as the inside where you can watch the scenery, listen to live street music and just chill on the high stairs towards the water fountain. 

Considering its history as a bullring arena, Arenas de Barcelona is by far the most fascinating shopping mall I have ever visited! It has a lot interesting stores inside as well as food venues in addition to an amazing terrace overseeing the city. There is also a special place right in the middle on the lowest floor for the children. 

In order to experience the history, the Gothic Quarter and the Barcelona Cathedral are the places to go. The rooftop of the cathedral offers an amazing scenery over the city that one just cannot get enough of. The Gothic Quarter on the other hand consists of closely built historic architecture that was once home to the Romans. 

There is also a big mall at Port Vell which is the main harbor in Barcelona. Make sure to take walk by it and maybe try one of the boat tours. I tried one and was not impressed much but you never know :) The beach awaits you further down the road and I am sure it becomes a wonderful place in summer!

What to Eat in Barcelona

Lastly for the food scenery, I will recommend what to eat instead of where since the city has lots of amazing restaurants and I would like to leave the thrill of finding new places to you. Barcelona’s food culture consists mainly of paella, tapas and sangria. Paella is a must have when visiting Barcelona, it is a Valencia originated rice dish with either sea food, chicken or meat. There are vegetarian options as well. 

Tapas on the other hand are a variety of small food ranging from potatoes, onions, olives, chicken wings, bread and salami. They are complementary to the drinks and taste very good together. 

And lastly the sangria is the Spanish sweet red wine that is made of peaches, apples, oranges and ice but please note that every place has its own recipe so you can taste something original at each venue :) 

I would also point out that it is best to seek the “menu del dia” options at the restaurants as these daily menus have at least three dish options including a tasty dessert at a reasonable price.

Saying Goodbye to Barcelona - That is If You Can!

This was my first time in Barcelona and I cannot tell you how much I liked it, but maybe this can give you an idea: I was still taking pictures and watching the catamarans come and go at the waterfront harbor only a little more than an hour prior to my flight. 

Since it was my first time I was not aware of how big of a risk I was taking and I only realized that I got very lucky when I saw the huge line at the airport. So here is one piece of advice, no matter how much you like Barcelona, bid your farewell, kiss it goodbye and head straight to your flight if you don’t wanna miss it :) And please feel free to write my in the comments if you have any questions!