Despite all our European travels having lived in the UK for almost 5 years, somehow, we never got around to visiting Spain. Catalonia in particular—especially Barcelona—always had our attention, so we were excited to finally check it out. We really wanted to soak the city of Barcelona up, so while we normally would have moved around a bit more on a trip like this, we decided instead to stay the whole 2 weeks in the city to see what it would be like to live there as we explore the idea of moving back abroad.

Itinerary

14 nights in Barcelona at Be Mate Passeig de Gràcia.

Logistics

No visitor to Catalonia should step foot inside the region without knowing at least a little bit about Catalonia’s distinct culture and language. Many Catalans consider themselves Catalan first, Spanish second; some wouldn’t even consider themselves Spanish at all.
That said, at least in Barcelona, Spanish is widely spoken, and you won’t have any trouble if you speak Spanish. Fewer people will speak Spanish outside of Barcelona, but the language barrier isn’t insurmountable. Most young people and workers in the service industry speak at least a little English, but you will certainly find people that don’t or aren’t willing to speak English, so be prepared.
Many restaurants and shops close for siesta roughly between 3pm and 5pm. Plan accordingly.
We found we had to adjust our normal eating schedule to be able to catch restaurants at the right time. We ended up typically eating lunch around 2pm and dinner around 8pm. If you’re hungry sometime in between, do what the locals do: tapas!

Day 1: March 12, 2022

Flew from Boston to Barcelona via New York.

Day 2: March 13, 2022

Arrived in Barcelona.
Rented car from Avis for the whole trip.
Drove through Parc del Garraf. Started at 41.266891, 1.926335. Parked and walked part of the path at one of the many scenic stop-offs. Drove through Olivella. Drove down past Sitges and along the coastal C-31 highway back toward Barcelona.
Checked into Parking Neptú. We booked ahead and secured a favorable long-term, unlimited in-and-out rate on Parclick.
Checked into our hotel and settled in. The suite we booked was more like an apartment than a hotel room.
The suite had a full kitchen which we used over the course of our stay to cook some of our meals using fresh ingredients from local grocery stores.
Takeout dinner from Fat Veggies. It looked promising, but it wasn’t that good. We wouldn’t recommend it.

Day 3: March 14, 2022

Visited Alzueta Gallery’s main location on Carrer de Sèneca. Really cool space and really friendly people, but they were between shows, so they suggested we come back later in the week.
Drove through the Barcelonian suburbs of Gavà and Castelldefels. Drove around the hills of Castelldefels around 41.273455, 1.948042.
Visited Platja de Castelldefels. Parked here. The beach reminded us of Santa Monica, California, especially with the mountains southwest of Barcelona acting as a dramatic backdrop.
Drove through the Barcelona neighborhoods of Pedralbes and Sarrià.
Visited Casa Milà. One of Antoni Gaudí’s most striking buildings. The roof is a highlight. Highly recommended.

Day 4: March 15, 2022

Drove through all the major roads crisscrossing Parc Natural de la Serra de Collserola. Stopped off at a few of the many viewpoints. Mirador del Turó de les Corts has a nice view (when it’s not overcast and foggy like it was for us…) and access to hiking trails. The steep descent north of 41.445045, 2.050054 with the towns and mountains in the background made for a picturesque view.
Drove through the Barcelonian suburbs of Sant Cugat del Vallès and Cerdanyola del Vallès.
Back in Barcelona, we grabbed lunch at Little Fern. Vegetarian-friendly and delicious. One of the–if not the—best falafel wraps Rico has ever had.
Visited Museu Can Framis, a small but wonderful museum highlighting contemporary artwork by Catalan artists. Better yet, we literally had the whole museum to ourselves; it was an amazing experience.
Dinner at Roots & Rolls. We were really excited about this highly-rated vegan sushi spot, but unfortunately, we didn’t enjoy the food at all.

Day 5: March 16, 2022

Visited La Sagrada Família. Gaudí’s masterpiece, famously still under construction. We opted for a guided tour which brought our visit to life. Everything you hear about this place is true; it’s jaw-dropping, it’s fabulously quirky, and if anywhere in this city is worth a visit, it’s here.
Wandered through Barri Gòtic (often referred to by tourists by its English name, the Gothic Quarter). Visited Plaça del Rei, Catedral de Barcelona, Bishop’s Bridge, Plaça de Sant Felip Neri, and Plaça Reial.
Lunch at Milk Bar & Bistro. Amazing food.
Wandered through El Born.
Visited Parc de la Ciutadella, including Cascada del Parc de la Ciutadella.

Day 6: March 17, 2022

Spent the morning on Montjuïc, a massive hill in the southwest of the city.
Visited the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion. Very cool architecturally, but it was difficult to enjoy with the crowds.
Visited Fundació Joan Miró. Great museum with great views. Unfortunately, the outdoors sections were closed during our visit.
Back at sea level, we walked around the seaside neighborhood of La Barceloneta, including a visit to Platja de la Barceloneta.
Lunch at The Green Spot. Highly recommended.
Walked through La Vila de Gràcia.
Dinner at Mo the Veggie Lab. The dishes were hit or miss; some were really good, and some were really bad.

Day 7: March 18, 2022

Drove to Sitges.
Drove through the residential area around 41.230219, 1.791794.
Walked around the old town and on Platja de Sant Sebastià. Very picturesque.
Lunch at Santa Tapa Sitges. Tasty.
Drove back to Barcelona.
Dessert at Paral·lelo. Great gelato.

Day 8: March 19, 2022

We met up with some friends that by happenstance were visiting Barcelona from London at the same time as our visit. Everything we did on this day was with them.
Did the El Raval street art walking tour with Barcelona Street Style. We covered a ton of ground, but two of the more memorable spots were Àgora Juan Andrés Benítez and Jardins de les Tres Xemeneies. We highly recommend it, notwithstanding the guide’s out-of-place pro-police rant toward the beginning of the tour (which stood in stark contrast to the heartbreaking story of Juan Andrés Benítez, who died senselessly at the hands of police). What was especially cool was that for the rest of the trip, we kept noticing certain street artists’ works and tags; it breathed life into the seemingly chaotic cacophony of graffiti throughout the city.
Lunch at Bar Central Raval. Good food in a great setting. Browsed the attached bookstore afterward.
Wandered around the Gothic Quarter some more.
Visited both Base Elements locations to build on our newly-acquired street art knowledge. We had the pleasure of running into and talking at length with artist and owner Robert Burt, who gave us some insider context and invited us to check out the visiting artists’ studio spaces. It was a very special experience.
Grabbed some snacks from Pastisseria La Colmena and enjoyed them in Plaça Nova by the cathedral.
Dinner at Cafè Godot.
Dessert number one from Kakigori.
Dessert number two from Paral·lelo.

Day 9: March 20, 2022

Our original plans in Esplugues de Llobregat did not work out (see more below in the “if we ever went back” section), but we stuck around for a bit and walked a loop from Carrer de l'Església to Jardins de ca n'Hospital to Església de Santa Magdalena.
Drove the coastal N-2 highway from Barcelona toward Mataró, then back to Barcelona.
Lunch at Sol Soler. Chill, local tapas spot right on Plaça del Sol.
Treats from Boulangerie Mayer.

Day 10: March 21, 2022

Went back to Alzueta Gallery’s main location on Carrer de Sèneca now that their new show (Albert Pinya’s “Little Chiribiquete”) was set up.
Walked through Eixample to the Gothic Quarter, walking through Plaça de Catalunya.
Wandered some more through El Born. Visited Mercat de Santa Caterina. Sat down for a packed lunch from Boulangerie Mayer in Plaça de Sant Cugat.
Visited Park Güell. The crowds were intense, but the park and its architecture are so worth it. We got some relief in a quiet section of the park and sat down on a bench to soak it all up.
Walked down from the park through the northern end of La Vila de Gràcia, including Plaça de la Virreina and Plaça de la Revolució.
Enjoyed some Gelato from Anita Gelato.
Visited Casa Batlló, another one of Gaudí’s most striking buildings. Highlights: the large windows in the living rooms, the hand-molded tiles and door handles, the glass in the stairwell that made it look like you were underwater, and the chain-link art installation / sensory experience in the final stairwell. If we had known what we were getting ourselves into, we would have skipped the panoramic light show at the very end of the visit; we felt it was very out of step with the rest of the experience.
Takeout dinner from Gina Balmesina Pizza Bar. Delicious authentic Neapolitan pizza.

Day 11: March 22, 2022

Spent the day on the Costa Brava.
Drove to Llafranc. Walked around the town and Platja de Llafranc. Walked up the steps from the marina to Passeig de Carles Vilà, stopping often to admire the views. We really liked the vibe here.
Drove to Tamariu. Walked Platja de Tamariu. Appreciated the views from the back patio of Hotel Hostalillo.
Drove to Fornells to visit the more secluded Platja Fonda. We parked here. Beware of falling rocks.
Drove to Sa Tuna. Walked around the town and Platja Sa Tuna. Sa Tuna was the most perfectly picturesque of the towns, but it’s pretty sleepy. Walked a section of the Camí de Ronda from the north side of the town toward Cala Aiguafreda. Killer views of the shimmering Mediterranean.
Lunch at Hostal Sa Tuna.
Drove to Peratallada. Walked around town. Very charming little “hill town”.
Drove back to Barcelona.
Dinner at Gallo Santo.

Day 12: March 23, 2022

Drove to Montserrat.
We had planned on taking the Sant Joan funicular up into the mountains and then walking back down to the abbey, but the funicular was out of commission.
Instead, we walked out to Creu de Sant Miquel. It was a cloudy day, but fortunately, it was pretty clear and we could still enjoy all the views.
Back down, we didn’t visit the abbey itself, but we walked around the area.
Earlier that morning back in Barcelona, we picked up some snacks from SlowMov to have for lunch while we were at Montserrat. The fougasse aux olives and cinnamon bun were insanely delicious.
Drove back to Barcelona.
Takeout dinner from Maramaia. The pizza was pretty good, but the star of the show was the tiramisù.

Day 13: March 24, 2022

Walked through La Vila de Gràcia to Casa Vicens. This was our favorite Gaudí house of all. The architectural elements are so interesting, the Eastern influence is clear and so well done, the whole house is accessible (unlike Milà and Batlló), the self-guided audio tour is really informative (bring your own headphones!), and there’s a 10-minute video that provides some more context about houses like this one and Barcelona’s expansion.
Walked through Sant Gervasi to Parc del Turó.
Visited Alzueta Gallery’s other location, right on the park. The people were just as friendly and the gallery was just as great, if not better. We caught Hugo Alonso’s show “AUDIO”.
Walked back through Sant Gervasi to Gràcia.
Churros from Xurreria Trebol.
Dinner at Gatblau. Great food, with a focus on sustainable Catalan cuisine.

Day 14: March 25, 2022

Walked through Eixample to El Raval.
Visited Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA for short). We caught “In Real Time – Rafael Tous Collection of Conceptual Art” in addition to their regular collection.
Enjoyed another delicious packed lunch from SlowMov.
Walked from Platja de la Mar Bella and Mar Bella Skatepark down to La Barceloneta.
Enjoyed a snack from Forn de pa Fortino.
Dinner at L'Arrosseria Xàtiva in Gràcia. Tasty vegetarian paella.

Day 15: March 26, 2022

We drove up to Mirador del Turó de les Corts for a second time, hoping for a better view. It didn’t work out.
Visited Monestir de Pedralbes. Beautiful, peaceful cloister. Enjoyed the “Lotus Moon” exhibition highlighting the work of Japanese Buddhist nun and artist Ōtagaki Rengetsu.
Yet another snack from SlowMov. We couldn’t help ourselves.
Another lunch at Sol Soler.
And another takeout dinner from Gina Balmesina Pizza Bar.

Day 16: March 27, 2022

COVID tests at Hospital Quirónsalud for re-entry into the US.
Returned our car.
Flew from Barcelona to Boston via Philadelphia.

If We Ever Went Back

We deliberately visited Catalonia out of season. Visiting any popular destination out of season has its pros and cons. But we’d love to see the area in June or September.
We deliberately stayed in Barcelona the whole time, but next time we’d love to spend at least a few nights on the Costa Brava. Of the towns we visited, we’d probably be most likely to stay in Llafranc because it’s a quaint beach town without being too sleepy.
We had tried to visit Xavier Corberó’s house, but the informally-arranged tour fell apart when the tour guides forgot to meet up with us and we could not find a day to reschedule to. We were super disappointed. Next time!

Itinerary

Logistics

Day 1: March 12, 2022

Day 2: March 13, 2022

Day 3: March 14, 2022

Day 4: March 15, 2022

Day 5: March 16, 2022

Day 6: March 17, 2022

Day 7: March 18, 2022

Day 8: March 19, 2022

Day 9: March 20, 2022

Day 10: March 21, 2022

Day 11: March 22, 2022

Day 12: March 23, 2022

Day 13: March 24, 2022

Day 14: March 25, 2022

Day 15: March 26, 2022

Day 16: March 27, 2022

If We Ever Went Back

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