Barcelona City Break

As a birthday treat this summer I was taken to Barcelona for a few days. It was my first European city break and I had a wonderful time. We had pre-booked a bus transfer, which was ready and waiting for us from the airport to the city centre and took approximately 45 minutes. We were staying in the Balmoral Hotel in the Diagonal area of the city. Located approximately a 15-minute walk from the Passeig de Gracia, one of the most expensive streets in Spain! The Passeig de Gracia is a beautiful tree lined street with an abundance of designer shops, hotels and cosy tapas restaurants. From here the open top buses leave for tours around the city. There are two bus lines you can choose from; the green line, which takes you around one side of the city stopping at La Sagrada Familia and the Olympic Village. The red line takes you around the other side visiting the Nou Camp Football Stadium. The bus tickets cost 25 Euros per person and last for 24 hours.

As the sun was shining we wandered down to the Plaza Catalunya and onto Las Ramblas. Las Ramblas is a pedestrianized promenade with shops and restaurants along each side of the road. There is a fantastic indoor market tucked away down one of the side streets that is filled with fresh fruit and veg, fish, meat and lots of chocolate stalls!

A 20-minute stroll down Las Ramblas leads you to the port and beach area. Down here there is an entertainment complex with shops, a cinema, an aquarium and more restaurants! For dinner on our first night we splashed out and had a wonderful meal on the Passeig de Gracia followed by cocktails on the roof top bar of the Hotel Condes de Barcelona with spectacular views.

Day two was another sunny day so we made the most of our bus tickets and jumped back onboard. We headed for the beach and decided to get off and walked for around an hour before getting back on at the Olympic Village. The bus then headed for La Sagrada Familia. You really have to see this masterpiece to believe it. Designed by Antoni Gaudi, there is constant work taking place on it. The detail on the inside and outside of the building is so intricate. It would be worth pre-booking tickets for entry as the queue was very long. The next stop was Park Guell. This park is another of Gaudi’s designs and is full of amazing stone structures and rainbow coloured tiled buildings. It is free to get in and you can stroll right to the top of the park for views over the city.

Every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening there is a water and light display at the Magic Fountains of Montjuic. The first display took place in 1929 and it is a spectacular combination of light, music and colour. We caught the underground to the fountains. It is well worth a visit and free to view!

I would have no hesitation in recommending Barcelona. There is so much to see and I cannot wait to go back again soon.