Backtrack to Barca

I had been fed some pretty intense opinions from various friends, blogs and forums about Barcelona. For instance, that the buildings were insane, but that you risked getting mugged if you spent too long looking at them; that the people, fashion and food were all ridiculously gorgeous, but that there would be a significant peppering of British hens and stags in amongst the glamour.

I was mostly interested in the fact though, that not one of these people had not fallen in love with the place and gone back time and time again. This scared me. How could anywhere be THAT good? Well blow me down, I understood within about 47 seconds of stepping off the plane. Barcelona is TO-DIE-FOR. 

The best thing about it is that whatever you’re into, you’ll find it in the city. Whether it’s the quite tremendously beautiful beach, SUPER trendy bars, classic art, crazy architecture, world-class football, cosy pubs,  mouth-wateringly good restaurants, too-cool-for-most-of-us-clubs, couture shopping, or even gross-out-pain-fetish sex shops (not exaggerating), Barcelona has what you’re after.




Gorgeous gardens of the Gaudi-designed Park Güell

Bus

Top of my tip list for Barca is to get the bus. The metro is fabulously clean and cool, but should only be used on day three or four when you know exactly where it is you want to go, and you’ve seen the all the heady sights and lights that this beautiful city has to offer.  The bus tour (I recommend the Barcelona Bus Turistic) costs 35 euros each for 2 days, and 27 euros for one day. It’s a no brainer really. It has three routes which cover the best of the best of Barca, and we used the hop on hop off service like pros (unusual for us).




Olympic park

 

Izara Plaza Catalunya boutique hotel

One thing, do not stay anywhere other than the Izara (read my tripadvisor review for more info). This place was the best thing about our stay, it’s in the perfect spot just off the top of La Rambla, is immaculate and for lovers of great tiles and boutique decs you’ll be in heaven. The couple who run it gave us an insider view on the city that I guarantee you won’t find anywhere else. They even left me chocolates after my standard little excursion to the hospital that seems to happen every time I’m daring enough to leave the UK (more on that another time…)

Beach

One of the best things about Barcelona? It’s not a beach holiday, it’s not a city break, it’s the ultimate in both. The beach with its busy bars and miles of perfect sand can rival any beach in Europe, so if like me, you find yourself hungry for a few days getting out and about rather than vegging on the sand the entire time, then Barca is for you (starting to sound like a broken record right? Are you getting the picture?)




Beach shot with W hotel in background (and a tasty fella in the foreground)

W Hotel

At the end of the beach is the monumental W hotel. If like most of us you’re not lucky enough to be able to afford to stay there, then do make sure you go for drinks one night. If you’re looking for something that is unbelievably cool but a little more chilled then you could stay all night at the lower terrace which looks out over the beach. If you want more of a dance then you’ll need to dress up (heels and proper shoes boys here) and go upstairs to the club. It’s on the millionth floor and you can see across the whole of Barcelona. Devastatingly, the boy let the side down with his insistence on short wearing (“they’re ¾ lengths it’s fine”) and we were shunned at the door, a major life low point.




The super trendy beachside terrace of the W hotel

Sagrada Familia

This modern cathedral is probably the most beautiful building I’ve ever seen. The bonus of hearing a group of singers echoing round the mammoth space inside was an experience that will be hard to top.  It’s still being built after work began on it in 1882! As a result it is a pretty psychedelic contrast of old and new. Make sure you book in advance for this, otherwise you’ll be stood in a queue for an hour. No fun. The metro station is right next to it, so you could always save it for a day when you haven’t got your bus ticket.

La Rambla

The iconic street is probably the most famous part of Barcelona. Spend lots of time wandering up and down, going down the side streets. There is a gorgeous square with lots of bars and restaurants off it that you could miss if you don’t explore a bit. We spent a few nights just going in between bars, eating our way down the street food stalls and never making it to a restaurant – some of the best times of the trip.

Drinking from this fountain is said to mean you will one day return to Barcelona



DO NOT MISS the incredible Boqueria food market

Camp Nou

You don't have to be a major football nut to LOVE Camp Nou. Football isn’t a game in Barcelona, it is like their religion, and the club’s presence in the city is felt everywhere you go.  Make sure you get your cheeky snaps drinking pints by the pitch, but don’t eat there. Only one of our meals came out, (I’m not a food sharing kinda girl) the staff were rude, took forever, and charged us a bomb. We scurried away without tipping (tantamount to stealing on the continent). Camp Nou is an absolute must in Barcelona, we came away new fans, with a fridge magnet to prove it.




Not my idea this one...



Mes que un club

DO NOT MISS

The Magic Fountain to add, well, magic to your trip, Park Güell for your art fix, the port of Barcelona for your nights out.

A little safety tip

Tell anyone you’re going to Barcelona and you’ll hear some horror story about someone’s mum’s sister’s friend who had their handbag stolen and their phone snatched from a zipped up pocket….Clearly, there is a problem with muggings in the city, but please don’t let it put you off, you just need to be a little bit more aware than you might be on a night out in the Cotswolds.

If you’re beaching for the day, get sensible simon on yourself and don't take anything with you that you can’t replace. I.e coins not your credit card, a book not your kindle, you get the idea. You don't want to end up like the poor guy we met hopping and swearing his way along the pavement of la rambla after losing EVERYTHING he owned, bar the shorts and t shirt he was wearing (yup, they took his shoes). Another suggestion would be to keep things in bags, not pockets.  I stuck all of our stuff in my Cambridge Satchel, buckled it up and wore it across my body.  No one’s getting into that baby and what better excuse to buy yourself a nice new satchel? (check them out here)

So if you’re not convinced as it is, go and explore Barcelona for yourself - you’ll wish you never had to come home.

 

CR xx