City Guide: Barcelona
Hello again! It's Gabe here, and I am back this week with a city guide to Barcelona!
This section will cover some of the less well known sights and activities that Barcelona has to offer that are definitely worth checking out! Firstly, there are some places within relatively close proximity, the Catalan parliament building, which is a very grand and has a nice park surrounding it. The Arco de Triunfo de Barcelona is also nearby; there is a long walking boulevard at the arc so you can walk towards it from various directions, and also right around it. The Barcelona Zoo is also within a close distance to these other places, the zoo, which you can check out in our previous post here, hosts a wide variety of animals and is a very nice facility that is well worth a visit! Also in Barcelona, but not quite in as close proximity to these few places is the Barcelona aquarium, which is located down by the coast, near a very nice shopping mall. The aquarium features a wide variety of marine life, including adorable penguins! Also worth a quick visit is the Gaudi 4D experience, which shows a movie that features many famous Gaudi works from all around Barcelona and the surrounding region, however, it is more than a simple movie as the movie is in 3D, plus the seats move along with the film! The Gaudi 4D experience was actually surprisingly fun, and something that my travel party talks about today as one of the highlights of our visit! I would plan on visiting the Gaudi 4D at any time of the day, and would recommend you do it at the same time as your visit to Parc Guell, as they are very near to one another.
Barcelona Background
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| A building in Barcelona, visible here is the intricate architecture and a Catalonian flag. |
Barcelona is the largest city in Spain's Catalonia region. Catalonia residents are very proud of their unique history, sporting Catalonian flags alongside Spanish flags, many directional signs and guide maps are written in both Catalan and Spanish, with English a third language in tourist areas. So be prepared to hear a mix of Catalan alongside Spanish, with some English thrown in for international tourists. Barcelona is one of the most visited cities in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean region. Barcelona has various tourist attractions that make it very popular, plus its wonderful seaside location lending itself to sandy beaches, and a thriving cruise industry.
Must-do Barcelona
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| Top: View from Parc Guell, looking out towards Barcelona Bottom Right: Architecture within Parc Guell Bottom Left: Sagrada Familia and surrounding park area |
This section will cover some of the most popular sights and places that are synonymous with Barcelona that are definitely worth a visit! Firstly, one of Barcelona's most famous landmarks is La Sagrada Familia, which is a very ornate Catholic church that is still considered to be under construction. The church was designed by famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, it is now considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I would recommend visiting Sagrada familia in the evening after most tourists and tour groups have retreated for the night, the above picture was taken in the evening time, which provides cooler temperatures and some great lighting effects during sunset.
Next up on our must-do Barcelona list is Parc Guell, which is a large public park located in the more hilly areas of Barcelona. The architecture work in the park was all assigned to Antonin Gaudi, in 1984 it was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with various other Gaudi projects. One of the most famous photos from all of Barcelona is featured above, and it within the ticketed area of the park, that is the lookout where you can see some of the park's wonderful architecture, as well as the Barcelona skyline, and in the distance the Mediterranean Sea. The picture on the bottom right is also from Parc Guell, this picture was taken in the open-access area of the park, which features walking trails, and some architecture interspersed along the paths, as opposed to the ticketed area which is more focused on the architecture pieces. Again I would recommend visiting the park in the late afternoon and early evening time. Tickets for the ticketed area go quickly, especially for the more desired (and busy) morning slots, however, we were able to get tickets same day for a late afternoon time slot, which provided the same experience, with probably less crowds as the tour groups tend to swing past in the morning hours.
More off-the radar Barcelona
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| Top: The Catalan parliament building Bottom Left: Barcelona's Arco de Triunfo Bottom Right: The entrance to Barcelona Zoo |
This section will cover some of the less well known sights and activities that Barcelona has to offer that are definitely worth checking out! Firstly, there are some places within relatively close proximity, the Catalan parliament building, which is a very grand and has a nice park surrounding it. The Arco de Triunfo de Barcelona is also nearby; there is a long walking boulevard at the arc so you can walk towards it from various directions, and also right around it. The Barcelona Zoo is also within a close distance to these other places, the zoo, which you can check out in our previous post here, hosts a wide variety of animals and is a very nice facility that is well worth a visit! Also in Barcelona, but not quite in as close proximity to these few places is the Barcelona aquarium, which is located down by the coast, near a very nice shopping mall. The aquarium features a wide variety of marine life, including adorable penguins! Also worth a quick visit is the Gaudi 4D experience, which shows a movie that features many famous Gaudi works from all around Barcelona and the surrounding region, however, it is more than a simple movie as the movie is in 3D, plus the seats move along with the film! The Gaudi 4D experience was actually surprisingly fun, and something that my travel party talks about today as one of the highlights of our visit! I would plan on visiting the Gaudi 4D at any time of the day, and would recommend you do it at the same time as your visit to Parc Guell, as they are very near to one another.
Thanks for reading along, I hope everyone enjoyed out look at Barcelona! As always, leave a comment below if you have been to Barcelona and enjoyed it as much as I did, or if you now need to visit Barcelona!
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