Barcelona
Your complete travel guide to this incredible city from Allison’s recent visit
Allison and her mother visited Barcelona in late June and had a fantastic trip. Allison’s mom was there for business and offered to take Allison along. Yes please!
It was the first time to Barcelona for both of them, but fortunately, Allison has good friends who have an apartment there. Their guidance on where to stay, eat and what to do was invaluable. Their recommendations, coupled with a few other friends who recently traveled to Barcelona, and Allison’s own research, made the trip a dream to plan and experience. Handing it over to Allison to take you through her Barcelona days and nights. Enjoy!
This was my first time to Barcelona and I can not recommend visiting this city more. Exploring the different neighborhoods, the architecture, art, food and lovely people felt dreamlike. It’s an easy city to navigate. Once we arrived, I would search the places in my Maps app and follow directions via walking or by car depending on our plan. We never ventured onto the subways or trains, although my friends say that is super easy and safe. We wanted to walk as much as we could and only took taxis when we needed a faster route or late at night. The taxis were reasonable (they prefer euros but will take a Visa, no Amex).
The history of the city is fascinating. I recommend reading up on as much as you can before to get acquainted. The grid design and diagonal corners vs the hard corners you see on cities like New York, create spacing that allows for nice airflow. Even on warmer days, we felt the Mediterranean breeze around us. Shade is abundant as there are trees planted everywhere and restaurants, shops and museums have good air conditioning.
When it comes to learning about the places you visit, you can book group tours and private tours ahead of your trip, online. You can also take advantage of the audio tours at the many museums and cathedrals. They are reasonable (free or 5 euros max). We opted for a combination of browsing on our own and audio tours with the exception of one day. On our last full day in the city we booked a private tapas tour with a man named Mark. He came highly recommended from one of my mother’s friends and she did not steer us wrong. Mark was extremely educated and knowledgeable (a professor) and fun with a great sense of humor. We learned so much about Barcelona, its history and specifically the Gothic and Born neighborhoods we walked through with him. He knew all of the hidden spots. We explored, ate tapas and drank fantastic wine along the way. More details below with Mark’s info.
Where we stayed
Suites Avenue came highly recommended from my friends who have a place in Barcelona. They would stay here before they purchased their apartment. It is right next to Fendi (see photo above) and located on the Passeig de Gracia which is often dubbed as the “Champs Elyse of Barcelona”. If you’re not familiar, the Champs Elyse is one of the most beautiful and famous streets in Paris. If you’re into high-end shopping, this is THE spot. Chanel, Cartier, Rolex, Ralph Lauren and many, many more. It’s a beautiful area and across the street from Gaudi’s La Pedrera-Casa Mila. More on that later, but it is a must see. We requested a room with a view to the street and thankfully, we got it. The hotel is smaller and felt very chic and European. There was always an attentive front desk, small kitchenette in our room (many bodegas around to purchase drinks and snacks), a sitting room, comfortable beds and a nice bathroom. We had a large balcony with a beautiful view. I would absolutely stay here again.