Hi friends!
Let's talk BARCELONA. I've been back for about a month (procrastinating this blog post) and I am finally ready to spill alllllll the details on my recent-ish Spain adventure.
Unsure on what to do while in Barcelona? Looking for a solid itinerary? Want to hop around to a magical island afterwards and don't know which one to pick? Curious on the best areas to travel solo?!
Got you covered.
Let's dig into it, shall we?
I'll start off by saying, if you are reading this and looking for a place to solo travel... I cannot recommend Barcelona (or Lisbon) enough. While I wasn't by myself on this particular trip (the ole sister joined me), we were still roaming around by ourselves and I can honestly say, I have never felt more safe.
Don't tell our parents, but we may have walked home from a club at 5 in the morning...
Hey, girls gotta live it up?
The people are kind, there's so many young people, the language barrier isn't bad (most speak English) and it's relatively easy to navigate and use public transportation. And the best part...
The city is truly MAGICAL.
You can simply get lost walking around, looking at the architecture and enjoying yourself.
I am putting it on my bucket list to do a solo trip to Barcelona in the future. Mark my words!
Anyhoo...
I am sure you are reading this wanting to get the scoop of what I recommend and what I did, so enough of me blabbing. Here's my EXACT itinerary and what we did each day in Barcelona, Spain! I'm going to break it down into 5 days and how to make the most of your time + experience some of my favorite spots.
(If you are interested in going to Mallorca, I will cover that in a separate blog post because OMG. It needs its' own moment).
HOW TO EXPERIENCE BARCELONA IN 5 DAYS:
Where I Stayed:
Location is EVERYTHING I am learning as I travel and I wanted to make sure we were staying in a pretty walkable/central area of Barcelona. After a ton of research, We ended up staying at K+K Hotel Picasso in the El Born area of Barcelona.
Could not recommend this place enough!
*Full disclosure: I did stay with them 3 out of the 5 nights comped as an influencer, but I honestly would come back here and spend my own money. It was awesome.
If you are a Barcelona newbie like I was, here is a little bit of info about the El Born area:
"The trendy El Born area is characterized by narrow medieval streets offering designer boutiques and cafes by day, and cocktail bars and samba at night. Ornate stained glass is on show at the Santa Maria del Mar Basilica, while the renowned Picasso Museum shows many of the artist's masterpieces. Featuring an archaeological site, the El Born Cultural and Memorial Center is an event space in an old market building."
Take my advice and just stay here.
The hotel is walking distance to so many adorable coffee shops, the Arc De Triomf, the beach, the Gothic Quarter... so much. Even better, the rooms are simple (but spacious) with gorgeous balconies and THE ROOFTOP. This is what really sold me!
Make sure to take a dip in the pool and enjoy a glass of wine during sunset. The views of the city are truly incredible.
Rooms here run around ~$130 a night and it honestly is shocking to me that a hotel this nice would be this affordable. Welcome to Barcelona, baby. The wine is cheap, the living is affordable and the men are fiiiiiiiine.
*Moves to Spain immediately*
Jk, I wish.
DAY 1:
This was a "solo" day for me while I waited for my sister to arrive the next day and this was also the day that I arrived from Los Angeles... your girl was jet lagged. But here's my pro tip: DO. NOT. SLEEP. ONCE. YOU. LAND.
Seriously.
Get a strong cup of coffee and power through your day. I've found if you nap, you mess up your whole sleep schedule and you will have a hard time falling asleep in your new time zone that night and you will be all sorts of messed up. Try your best to power through the exhaustion (and make the most of your day!) and then you will pass TF out that night. Every time I do this, my jet lag is pretty much gone the next day once I get a full nights sleep.
This was my first stop of the day and wow, talk about starting the day off on a high note. This market is A MUST!
It's walkable from the El Born area (probably a 30 minute walk) and it's located in an amazing little shopping area called La Rambla. It's a total tourist trap but you can't NOT stop by there. There's a million different fresh fruit stands and every type of food imaginable. Make sure you go hungry because you absolutely will want to try it all. Pro tip: get one of the fresh fruit juices. You won't regret it.
I advise going during the week so you can beat some of the crowds. I went on a Thursday and it was pretty mellow, but I ended up going back on the weekend and wow. A total zoo.
Teleferic de Montjuic (Barcelona Cable Car)
This was one of those tourist-y things that I read about online and was like "why not?" and honestly, it was worth the 15 euros for a roundtrip ticket.
It's a bit of a hike to get up to the cable car (I took an Uber because... lazy) but once you're up there, it's super easy to find the cable car. You purchase your ticket (do it online beforehand, PS) and hop on! The cable car gives you EPIC views of the city and there's just something magical about seeing it all from above.
Once I got up to the top, I purchased a ticket to see the historical Montjuic castle which is at the summit of Montjuïc Mountain. Basically is a MASSIVE military fortress that give you 360 views of the whole entire city.
Now... I am not a history buff, nor do I have a ton of patience when it comes to museums. So I will say, this wasn't my favorite thing that I did in Barcelona. But! It's still cool to see and you can get some great photos of the city. There's also a TON of other things to see once you are at the top of Montjuic (the Olympic park, the magic fountain, botanical gardens, etc.) but your girl was fading fast after not sleeping for 24 hours... so I just walked around for an hour and decided to head back to my hotel.
I definitely wish I would have gone back to explore more when I wasn't so tired but... guess I just will have to come back!
PLEASE GO HERE.
Seriously so yummy and such a girly, cute vibe (I am all about the vibes). I was walking back to my hotel and I stumbled across a Brunch & Cake that was nestled in an alleyway, right on the outskirts of this random, beautiful square. I had no idea it was a popular place, I just was starving and noticed the Morgan-esque decor so I figured... why not stop by for a bite?
Turns out, Brunch & Cake is a super popular bunch/lunch spot in Barcelona and there's multiple locations across the city. I ended up eating here twice during my trip, so clearly I was a fan.
If you can, try and stop by this location and eat outside. (The location of this one is C/ d'Enric Granados, 19, 08007 Barcelona, Spain). You truly feel like you are in a little tucked away, European oasis. It gets crowded, so try and go early to snag a table outside!
Get the avocado toast. Thank me later.
If you search "where to get cocktails in Barcelona" - This is the top place that you will find. There's been quite a few viral TikTok's (how I found this spot) about Hotel Colon and I must say... It is worth the hype.
Because of the social media exposure, the rooftop definitely gets crowded though. I went on a week night and got there right as the sun was setting and I was lucky to even snag a seat! (Luckily I was alone... pro's to solo travel).
Unfortunately when I was there, they were doing construction on the Barcelona Cathedral (which is the main selling point for this rooftop) so my view wasn't as great as it could be... but it was still gorgeous. If you squinted and ignored the massive Samsung billboard they hung up.
Worth a stop here, even if it's for a midday glass of wine. I definitely recommend coming when it's light outside or for sunset, because once the sun goes down, it's pretty, but not nearly as spectacular.
My dear friend Gabrielle (the one who wrote a book about her Europe travels and inspired my own solo trip, yes you know her) absolutely INSISTED I go to this restaurant and said it was one of her favorites - so duh, I had to check it out.
Turns out she was CORRECT and it was delicious. It's definitely not touristy, there's no "bells and whistles" or crazy aesthetics/views... but it's cozy and authentic food. Make sure to get a reservation (the restaurant is NOT big) and try the Paella!
DAY 2:
Gosh DARN IT, there are so many amazing coffee + brunch places in Barcelona. It's truly insane to me.
This spot was a block from our hotel and once my sister made her way in, we decided to come here for a quick bit.
PHENOMENAL.
If you follow me on IG, this was also the place that my sister "smooshed" her soft boiled egg. We learned that is not how you are supposed to eat it, don't worry.
A Barcelona staple. Truly.
Honestly, I think you should make it a point to try and go see all of Gaudi's work when in Spain, but if you can only make it to a couple... Please make sure to stop by Casa Mila.
Get tickets in advance because it's super crowded, super touristy and it only has limited number of tickets per hour. Normally you can get yours the day before and be just fine!
The architecture here is truly out of this world and make sure you do the audio tour. I am NOT a tour guide girly (you may have picked up on this by now) but my sister is and she insisted we do it... and I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Go Gaudi, go!
If you have time (plus feel like buying another ticket), make your way to Gaudi's other masterpiece, Casa Batlo.
I am a little bummed we didn't go in, but we were running behind on our day and we decided we would rather go into Zara (seriously the Spain Zara is a dream) instead fo spending 40 euros on a ticket.
Even if you don't go in (I won't lie, I have some regrets), at least go check out the building. Even the outside is breathtaking? It's a Barcelona staple so you need to at least stop by and snap a pic!
YOU. MUST. GO. HERE.
This was another bar that I stumbled upon via TikTok and it lived up to all my wildest social media expectations.
Think: A tiny cocktail bar where your bartender is a "conductor" and you order by stamping your "passport" and your cocktail is delivered to you by a train?!
How freaking cool.
It definitely is a popular spot though and gets very crowded, very quickly - and no reservations. I recommend going at 6 or 6:30 in order to get a spot!
For my girls who love a good photo opp - this one is for you.
The food isn't out of this world, but the tapa's are yummy and the drinks are FABULOUS. They're all named after pop stars and there's Britney Spears references all over the restaurant (plus, live music!)
So you know... I was a fan.
My sister would not shut up about these "Barcelona shot bars" she came across when she was traveling across Europe in college. I was like... what are you talking about? Harry Potter shots? Fire? 1 euro shots? WHAT?
Well turns out we did end up finding said shot bar... and it was pretty freaking epic.
There's a menu of probably over 500 shots to choose from and they all come with a show. We opted for the Harry Potter shots and they quite literally LIGHT THE BAR ON FIRE. Super cool and also a great way to pregame for a night out because they're all literally so cheap.
DAY 3:
Another random coffee shop we stumbled upon that we absolutely loved. Have I mentioned how much I love the El Born area? If you are still not sold on where to stay... let the coffee shops speak to you. There's so many cute little cafes, shops and everything is walkable!
We ended up getting another avocado toast (truly superior in Spain) before heading out for a jam packed day. We needed ALL the fuel!
If you are trying to only pick a couple things to see or you don't have a long period of time in Barcelona to explore... THIS should be at the top of your list. Y'all know I love an old, epic church and I can honestly say that the second I stepped into this masterpiece... I was speechless.
...And that doesn't happen to me often.
Like most other touristy places, the lines were INSANE. I recommend getting tickets ahead of time so you can skip ahead of the crowd and walk right in.
If you want to get an epic photo (you will), make sure to not make the mistake of standing directly in front of the Sagrada. You'll see a little pond directly in front of the church and you will want to walk around it and head to the back of the pond. From there, you will see some spots to take all the photos your heart desires. This spot will allow you to get the whole structure in the photo, without all the people!
#DOITFORTHEGRAM
You know what I love most about Barcelona? All the epic rooftops. Seriously, there's so many. You could spend a month just hopping from bar to bar and rooftop to rooftop and you wouldn't even make a dent on them all!
We decided to check out the rooftop of the Grand Hotel Central after getting a recommendation to go there and WOWZA. Talk about views.
Even better, it wasn't crowded (a hidden gem???) like Hotel Colon and we were able to snag a seat, even on the weekend!
If you are a ceviche lover... you must come here. It's nothing fancy and very casual, but it is fresh AF. Heads up though, the restaurant is small and doesn't have many tables, so you will definitely want to make a reservation.
My tip? Get the ceviche trio and find out what flavor / style you like the most!
When in Barcelona, you have to go out at least once. Look, I don't make the rules.
Put your dancing shoes on, down an espresso and get ready to get sweaty.
No, seriously... the clubs don't open up 1 in the morning (no joke), so you definitely will need a caffeine kick to make it all night long.
We decided to go to Razzmatazz mainly because we were told there's a "pop music floor" and we wanted alllll the girly pop jams. There's a ton of different clubbing/dancing options in the city, but this seemed like a pretty solid choice.
You will not be disappointed.
This place is HUGE!
But heads up: It gets very crowded, very quickly. Sounds lame to get there right when it opens, but if you want to skip the insane line and also have some room to actually dance...
Get there at 1.
THEN GO HAVE A FREAKIN' BLAST.
DAY 4:
Walk around the Gothic Quarter
Today we were... uh... moving slow... after our night out at the club.
AKA we didn't get home until 6 a.m. Whoops!
We didn't want to jam pack any early morning activities today and we used this day to really just sleep in, walk around and get lost in the city.
The gothic quarter is another staple of Barcelona that you must check out. There's so much history, architecture and amazing shopping. Keep an eye out for the most epic vintage store... it's a total hidden gem.
This one of the OLDEST areas of Barcelona (seriously it dates back over 2,000 years!) and so incredibly beautiful. Make sure to stop by The Gothic Cathedral (the one you can see from Hotel Colon). From 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., visitation is free... woo!
If you happen to wander down to the beach in Barcelona, make sure to stop by La Cala for a quick bite. This is a great brunch/lunch option (but heads up, it closes around 2) and it yummy, affordable and honestly... a great photo opp.
Yes, it's pink.
Shocking.
I think this is one of my FAVORITE things that my sister and I did during our stay in Barcelona. Grab a bottle of wine, pack a picnic in your backpack, put on your walking shoes and make sure you make it to the top before sunset.
This is a hike to one of the most epic lookouts of the whole entire city. Keep in mind, it is a bit on an uphill hike (I was sweating), but it was worth every single step. After walking for about 25 minutes, we got to the top and there were so many young people hanging out, lounging, setting up shop and waiting for the sun to set over the magical city. It's truly so cool (if you are okay with crowds).
Make sure to get there before sunset and stay after the sun goes down and it gets completely dark. We went on a day that was more overcast, and even without an epic sunset... it was still breathtaking.
There's different ways to get there, but honestly... Just take a taxi and ask them to drop you off as close as you can get. They will know what you're talking about and you will see a bunch of people walking uphill. Just follow them and know that at the top of your trek, you will be rewarded with your wine (don't forget that part!)
We quickly changed after our sweaty hike and realized we were starving... so instead of trying to go to a touristy, popular spot - We said, let's walk and wing it!
Luckily, our hotel is in walking distance to so many restaurants and we settled on this little place called Bastaix.
Won't lie... I didn't really get the whole "tapa" obsession Barcelona has.. until I ate here. SO GOOD. We ended up ordering about 5 to split and each one was so unique and flavorful. If you are a squid person... get the squid.
(Sorry, Squidward).
DAY 5:
Remember when the Cheetah Girls went to Spain and strutted down the steps?
"You gotta strut like you mean it... FREEEE YOUR MIND"
Yes, you know what I am talking about.
Well, that's at Park Güell!
Another masterpiece by Gaudi and worth spending a half day at. Pro tip: You absolutely need to buy your tickets ahead of time and try and do it 2-3 days BEFORE you plan on going. We tried to do it the day before and they were sold out so we had to postpone this until our last day!
If you want to beat the crowds and get all your IG content (hehe), try and go as early as you can. It's worth getting up early, I promise.
My favorite place I ate in all of Barcelona. Enough said.
I still dream about this place.
Basilica of Santa Maria Del Mar
This day was another "wander the city and see what happens" day and we stumbled upon the Basilica of Santa Maria Del Mar. I will never say no to a beautiful church!
I think it costs 5-6 euros to go in and it's truly beautiful. I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to see it, but if you happen to walk by - definitely pop in.
Paradiso Bar (#1 Cocktail Bar in the WORLD!)
Another darn TikTok find... but hello, you can't pass up going to the NUMBER ONE rated bar?! We decided this was a must and we were determined to wait in line, no matter how long it took. We had to try the cocktails and see what all the hype was about.
Well... we ended up waiting close to 2 hours.
Yikes, I know.
We got there before it even opened (around 5) and there was already a line. What on earth?! But once I set my mind on something... I am doing it.
So I made us wait.
They only let in a small group of people at a time and the kicker is... once you are in, you can stay as long as you want! So it's kind of a pro and a con. Plan on rewarding yourself with at least two cocktails.
Finally, around 7 p.m. we approached the infamous velvet rope (DRUM ROLL, PLEASE) and were let in by the bouncer. You go through a secret little door and you're immediately greeted by the most cheerful bartenders I have ever witnessed. Like, wtf.
The bar is dark, vibe-y and honestly pretty small. No wonder the line takes so long to get through!
Now, I know what you're thinking... Was it really worth the wait?
I honestly think so.
It's a place you should see once but then you don't really need to go back to. Mainly because the cocktails are SO COOL and there's a presentation with each one. Whether it's smoke, bubbles, fire, VR goggles (seriously my drink came in an oyster and you had to put on VR goggles as part of the experience), it's unlike anything else. The drinks are wildly unique and unheard of - kind of pricey, heads up - and it's fun to say that you went to the TOP cocktail bar in the world.
After that long wait, all I wanted was to sit down and chow down on... carbs.
If you are a pizza person, Don Kilo is the spot for you. The most delightful pizza, pasta, wine... all the good stuff. Even better, we got to meet the owner and he was truly an awesome dude (straight from Italy so you KNOW the pizza is legit).
An affordable and yummy dinner option that you won't regret.
Whew....
THAT IS ALL FOLKS.
Hopefully this helped you out with your future trip to Barcelona! The city Is truly magical and so beautiful... I'm already counting down the days until I can go back.
If you are like me and want to island hop after your trip to Barcelona, make sure to check out my other blog post on Mallorca, Spain... my favorite place I have EVER been. You'll just have to read to find out why ;)
Until next time...
Xo,
Morgan
