Beach vacation or city break? That’s the cool thing about Barcelona, you don’t have to make a decision. A bit of culture in the morning, siesta on the beach and sipping sangria at La Rambla in the evening. What more do you want?
We landed euphorically in the Spanish metropolis, checked in and headed straight to Port Vell. Since our stomach was already growling, we looked for a nice restaurant and let the evening fade away.
After breakfast we decided to take a short tour. We strolled along La Rambla over the historic Plaça Reial to the Mercat de la Boqueria. A visit to the market hall is definitely worth it, we were completely overwhelmed by the different smells and colors.
La Rambla
Plaça Reial
Mercat de la Boqueria 
The walk continued through the old town of Barcelona to the Parc de la Ciutadella. Here we relaxed for a while away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
In the meantime it had gotten really hot and we decided to do a little bike tour … on two wheels we made much faster progress. We explored the coastal district of La Barceloneta along the beach promenade.
On our trip we discovered a couple of very nice restaurants, so we ended up in this area again in the evening.
The next day our destination was the Sagrada Familia. Along the Passeig de Gràcia we also found the Casa Batlló and Casa Milà, both houses based on a design by Antoni Gaudi.
Casa Batlló 
Casa Milà
Sagrada Familia 
Sagrada Familia
Then we went high. We took the Telefèric (cable car) to Montjuïc, Barcelona’s local mountain. Above we explored the Castell Montjuïc before starting our way back on foot via the Botanical Garden to the National Palace at the foot of Montjuïc.
We really enjoyed our last evening in Barcelona. Serrano ham, seafood and delicious waffles … after all, we had covered a few kilometers today and absolutely deserved the calories 😉 The crowning glory of our Barcelona trip was the water games at “Font Màgica”.
Our personal opinion about Barcelona:
- perfect combination of big city & beach feeling
- we love the Catalan cuisine
Best travel time:
Barcelona is worth seeing all year round. However, we prefer spring and autumn as it is not yet too hot for sightseeing and we like to avoid the holiday season if possible.
More tips & recommendations:
- Cycling on the beach promenade at Barceloneta
- Have a sangria on La Rambla and watch the goings-on
- Have lunch/dinner at the nice restaurants along the promenade in Barceloneta
- Drive up with the Telefèric (cable car) to the Montjuïc
