Barcelona is one of those cities that has a mob of passionate advocates that would recommend you to allow at least a week to explore, because “There is just so much to see“.
Like most time-short travellers, I couldn’t afford spending a whole week here, but I dedicated 3 full days for it. Here’s my highlights of my 3 days in Barcelona.
So how many days should I allow for Barcelona?
I definitely agree that there is a lot to see. However, now that I think back, in the busy 3 days that I spent there, all I saw was Gaudi. In all honesty, as much as a genius of his time Gaudi was, spending a week to see all of his work would be a bit much for me.
If you are like me and tend to prefer natural scenery and into a bit of a variety, 3 days would be fine. Here’s my suggested 3-day itinerary:
- Day 1 (arrive in the morning): Check-in. Museu d’Historia de Barcelona. La Boqueria Market. Shopping. Paella cooking class.
- Day 2: Parc Guell + Casa Museo Gaudi. Casa Mila. Casa Batllo. Picasso Museum (free after 3pm on Sunday). The beach.
- Day 3: Sagrada Familia. Parc de la Ciutadella. Iglesia de Santa Maria del Mar.
Most importantly, spend some time sampling the great Spanish cuisine while you’re there. Click ||here|| to see my detailed report on the scrumptious meals I had in Barcelona, featuring Quimet & Quimet, El Quim, Taktika Berri, Granjala Pallaresa and the paella cooking class I joined.
Sagrada Familia
Sagrada Familia, The monstrous structure in the middle of Barcelona that is perpetually under construction. The construction of this Roman Catholic church commenced in 1882 and, some 130 years later, when I went in February 2013, they were still fitting the stained glass windows!
Its presence was very imposing and it got me really curious on what I was about to see in there.
A tip is to buy your tickets online to avoid the queue, and to make sure that there are no special events on the day that you plan to visit – sometimes the church would be closed on Sunday for special events. Tickets for both the church’s entry and the tower’s entry can be reserved from their official website: [Sagrada Familia tickets].
I was blown away by the sheer magnificence of the church the second I set foot in it. All I could say was, wow. wowwww.
The natural lighting inside of the Sagrada Familia was bright, almost glowing, and the colour tone warm and white. It was a pleasant surprise that the style of the interior was in complete contrast to the facade of the building.
My attempted panoramic shot of the interior. It’s so grand I didn’t feel the normal mode of my camera was adequate in capturing how awe-inspiring it was.
I would highly recommend you to hire an audio-guide as there were just too much details in Gaudi’s work that you need to be educated in order to see them and to truly appreciate them.
One of the highlights at the Sagrada Familia was climbing the tower. You need to select the time of your climb and which tower you would like to climb when you book. There are two towers available for climbing: one on the Nativity facade (overlooking the east of Barcelona) and the other on the Passion facade (overlooking the city centre).
We chose the Nativity facade – it’s the side with the “Christmas tree and doves” (formally known as “the portal of charity”).
The only way to go up is via the lift. You need to show up at the lift at your allocated time and wait for the staff to show you through.
On the other hand, coming down has to be by foot, which I didn’t think was too bad. However, do not attempt this if you are claustrophobic or afraid of the height – parts of the spiral stairs were very narrow and could only fit one person at a time. Once you’ve set foot to do it, you have to see it through.
These photos show how it looked like standing inside the bell tower looking down (my sister, Ju, was walking ahead of us) and looking up.
It felt amazing being so close to the spires (and inevitably, the cranes).
Fruits, vegetables, leaves and birds.
Ok, honestly, I don’t get it. But I like what Gaudi said when asked about why he would spend so much effort decorating the top of the Sagrada Familia where no one could really see, he said: “The angels will see it.” What a perfectionist.
The bird’s-eye view from the Nativity tower.
I don’t know if the angels did see these, but we did.
{Sagrada Familia}
Website: http://www.sagradafamilia.cat/sf-eng/index.php
Basilica hours: Oct-Mar 9am-6pm. Apr-Sep 9am-8pm. 25 & 26 Dec -1 to 6 Jan 9am-2pm
Tower (Passion lift): 9am to 30 minutes before closing time.
Tower (Nativity lift): 9am to 15 minutes before closing time.
Parc Guell
These guys were the “Daniel Lancs Barcelona Street Orkestra” playing at Parc Guell. I liked how they grooved and how their music lightened the mood, so I bought their CD to remember this relaxing sunny day with my sister and bestie in Barcelona.
Some of the interesting structures that you could expect to see at this whimsical park.
Don’t these look like giant dinosaur fossils?
Parc Guell has an extension of 17.18 ha and is situated on the hill of El Carmel in Barcelona’s Cracia district. Oh, did I mention it’s also designed by Gaudi? (surprise, surprise)
We started our Parc Guell walk from the top of the hill by getting off at the Line 24 bus stop. As the park is one of the largest architectural works in south Europe, it helped to walk downhill than to walk uphill. Check out their official website on how to get there: http://www.parkguell.cat/en/how-to-get-here/
As we walked further downhill, we finally saw the famous fairy-tale houses at the main entrance of the park.
And these mosaic on the main terrace.
This is the main entrance of the park. From here, a giant salamander welcomes you into the fanciful festival of Gaudi’s imagination.
Aww he’s so cute! He must be one of the most photographed salamander, ever. (Oh, it’s not a lizard?)
{Parc Guell}
Website: http://www.parkguell.cat/en/
Tickets: http://www.parkguell.cat/en/buy-tickets/individual-purchase/?info=
Casa Mila
Casa Mila is also known as the La Pedrera. It was commissioned by Pere Mila i Camps and his wife (hence the name) and was designed by Antoni Gaudi.
The courtyard of the Casa Mila actually seemed quite normal. Although by then I had probably seen too much of Gaudi’s work and had lost my sense of what “normal” is.
What i really liked was the roof and adorable chimneys. They looked like a bunch of ethnic giants guarding their national treasure.
They are actually known as espanta bruixes, meaning “witch scarers”. How cute.
The earthy colour on the roof also made me feel like I was in a desert.
From here, you could see the Sagrada Familia standing tall even from a distance. It really is all about Gaudi in Barcelona.
{Casa Mila/La Pedrera}
Website: http://www.lapedrera.com/en/home
Hours: 3 Mar-2 Nov (Mon-Sun) 9am-8pm. 3 Nov-2 Mar (Mon-Sun) 9am-6:30pm.
Closed: Check website http://www.lapedrera.com/en/visitor-information
Casa Batllo
Casa Batllo was another house designed by Gaudi on Passeig de Gracia, the same street as Casa Mila.
Interestingly, it’s locally known as the Casa dels ossos, House of Bones, inspired by its skeletal facade.
The staircase at the entrance.
The interior of the Noble Floor, from here, you get a good view of the Passeig de Gracia.
Inside of the Casa Batllo, the theme switched from “skeleton” to “underwater”.
I can’t say I like Gaudi’s work as they are too over-the-top for me. I honestly wouldn’t want to live in a building like this. However, I respect how he had the ambition to think outside of the box and to create the art that he believed in with his in-depth architectural knowledge his well thought-out choice of materials.
The design of the atrium led in plenty of daylight.
This was the loft. You probably wouldn’t have guessed if I didn’t tell you this was also part of Casa Batllo. The style was really different than the other features of this building.
Finally, ta-da, the famous dragon-inspired roof. Use your imagination, doesn’t this look like the back of a dragon? Very colourful, very cute.
{Casa Batllo}
Website: http://www.casabatllo.es/en/
Hours: 365 days a year, Mon-Sun 9am-9pm.
La Boqueria
One of the biggest non-Gaudi attraction in Barcelona city is the St Josep La Boqueria. What’s this? It’s an open market that sells a wide range of goods and food in the heart of the city, La Rambla.
Our cooking class chef took us here to gather the ingredient for the yummy seafood paella that he made us. Fresh and right from the market. Click ||here|| to see my review on the Spanish cooking class that we joined.
Of course, you would find lots of jamon (ham) hanging here waiting to be picked up.
Fresh fruits? Checked.
Eggs? Why not.
Lollies and chocolates on the go? Of course!
These were my favourites: fresh fruit juice! The deeper you go inside the market, the cheaper the juice gets – these yummy mixed flavoured fruit juice were only 1€ each.
You can also find take-away food as well as sit-down eateries in the market.
Within the markets, we had an utterly satisfying seafood feast at El Quim, the eatery recommended by Anthony Bourdain. Click ||here|| to see my detailed report and some of the food photos that I took on the day.
HER{curio}MAJESTY. I was here. February 2013.
【Travel】Queenstown, New Zealand .::The Food::.
【Magical Iceland】Unicorns! I mean, Icelandic horses!
【Travel】Athens 2014 .::The Food.::
