Sometimes you visit a city and you can’t wait for an excuse to go back. For me, Barcelona was that place..
When we went on a cruise in 2015, Barcelona was one of the ports so my family and I spent the day exploring and I FELL IN LOVE. It has everything, from beautiful beaches, to shops, to restaurants, to bars to stunning architecture, and the list goes on and on. So when I joked with my nan about an offer on Wowcher for 3 nights in Barcelona and she told me to go for it, I booked it ASAP!
We visited in July, and the weather was ideal for sightseeing as it wasn’t too hot to walk around in, but was hot enough that you had that ‘holiday feeling’. The hotel we stayed in was called ‘Hotel Senator Barcelona Spa’ which was located close to the Nou Camp stadium (perfect for my football mad Nan and brother, as this was the reason they asked to come along). For the price we paid, the hotel was lovely. Although being rather small, it had a rooftop pool which you could lounge by, and the breakfast in the morning was hands down the best breakfast I’ve ever had at a hotel, with the bacon being cooked to your preference etc! I would definitely stay here again, with the only problem being that because we weren’t in the centre, it was quite a walk to find places to eat and drink in at night.
We had a mid-day flight as there was restrictions due to booking through Wowcher, so on the first night we just grabbed some food, had a few quiet drinks in the hotel bar (well, the waiter knew my order by the 2nd night, so perhaps it was more than just a few)… and headed to bed.
On our first full day, since it was the whole reason they’d came to Barca with us, we visited the Nou Camp stadium and did the tour. Jake (my brother, who despite being about 3ft taller than me is actually 2 years younger) and I had done it before on school trips, but my Nan was so excited to go! Even if you aren’t the biggest football fan in the world, the stadium is so impressive and definitely a must visit while you’re there. In fact, on our last day we went back just to sit in the café area and have some food, because the view is so incredible. It does involve a LOT of stairs though so it’s perhaps not for those who struggle walking far, my poor 89 year old Nan went straight for a nap once we were finished!
The next day, we decided we wanted to see all Barcelona had to offer. Since my Nan is obviously a little too old to walk around such a gigantic city, the best option for us was to take a sightseeing bus, which conveniently for us had a stop at the Nou Camp, so it was easy enough for us to jump on. For the price you pay, you really do get to see most of Barcelona. We saw beaches…
some VERY important and gorgeous architectural builds… (which you’re probably better ignoring the quality of the photos for, as I never thought I’d end up publishing them online!)
and of course, visited one of their shopping centres for a quick look around. My favourite thing about the shops we went to is that they have a Dunkin’ Donuts stand, and I’d been having withdrawals from them since I tried them in Florida! I would definitely recommend a bus tour if you aren’t staying in Barcelona for very long, as it allowed us to see all the major sights within our short stay.
It was a holiday I will never forget, and I hope to return one day because I feel as though there is still so much to see!
Have any of you ever been to Barcelona? What do you recommend?
Fairy lights and aeroplanes ♥ 