10 Things To Do In Barcelona

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10 Things To Do In Barcelona – 2 Day Itinerary

Is it possible to see much when you travel to Barcelona and only have a day and a half to explore? Trust me, IT IS!  I am still in shock at how much we were able to explore and see.  Let me break down exactly what we did within our short timeframe and the must-sees…

Travel Barcelona – Day 1:

When you only have a short period to see things, I would recommend using Day 1 to explore and get your bearings.  This always helps the second day go a little smoother.  Our first day consisted of exploring the following:

La Boqueria on The Rambla

This place is an absolute must-see!  The Rambla is such a beautiful strip.  It is packed with European flair and tourists.  The only problem is that due to the number of people, you have to be careful of the pickpocketing.  I will say that we never had a problem with this once but stay tuned in this article for a few tips to protect yourself again pickpocketing.  Anyway, back to The Rambla, it is gorgeous however it is a little expensive to eat and drink there.

That is where La Boqueria comes into play.  This place is such a blast.  The vibe is fantastic and the food and drinks are even better.  There is a massive variety of food and everything is so inexpensive compared to most other places in Barcelona.  I wish honestly that we had more days just so that we could have gone back and visited La Boqueria again!

Walk along the Barceloneta

We only got to see one beach in Barcelona with the timeframe we had, and that was Playa De La Barceloneta.  The walk around the port of Barceloneta is so beautiful.  The Yachts and the sunsets with the palm trees and the European flair… It is worth seeing and leisurely walking through.

Make time to grab a bottle of wine and enjoy the beach

We grabbed the cheapest bottle of wine we could find, and the best seat in the house we could grab right on the Barceloneta beach!  It was the first time we had ever stuck our feet in the Mediterranean sea and the night just felt perfect to sit and observe the setting we were in!  If you’re used to super white sandy beaches, the Barceloneta beach is a little rockier than that, but trust me when I say the setting is beautiful.

Eat Tapas/Drink Sangria

After all, what do you come to Barcelona to specifically try out anyway?  Your first night or even half-day there is the perfect time to find a tapas place where they offer their famous sangria or cava to go along with it. We didn’t even get to try this until our second day because we ended up meeting a local who highly suggested a phenomenal place that was still pretty unknown. It was called the Kriminal.  It has a 5/5 on google for a reason, trust me!!

The chef once cooked alongside Gordon Ramsay.  As a group of five, he served us a round of beers, and two orders of nachos, one with beef and one vegetarian.  He then served us the most delicious quesadillas, again a vegetarian and beef option.  This was then followed by two MASSIVE burritos.  Our entire bill came to 65 Euro but let me just say, it was the best food we’ve honestly ever tasted AND worth every penny.

One of my biggest suggestions would be to try and talk to some of the locals about where their favourite places are, which aren’t such “tourist traps.”

Visit the Montjuïc Fountain

I can’t even explain how amazing this fountain is!  We squeezed it in on our first night there and were SO impressed!  It doesn’t play every night, so make sure to check the fountain show schedule if you want to be sure to see this amazing sight! Click here to check. 

Day 2 – Travel Barcelona

Day 2 was already our last day in Barcelona!  So what do you do on your second and very last day?  Keep reading…

Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour

This was the best thing we could have done!  It easily took us to all the sights we wanted to see! And by the end of our night, we were able to use it just as a means of transportation to get around.  We purchased our tickets ahead of time here and it was only 30 Euro per person.  This is a great price when you take into consideration how BIG Barcelona is and how expensive it is to taxi around there.

The bus has three different lines.  The Red, Green, and Blue!  You can follow the map and get on all of them depending on what you want to see.  While riding the bus, you get to plug in and learn about all the fun and amazing facts of Barcelona.  When you take into consideration ALL the lines, these are just some of the things you can see…

• Plaça Catalunya
• MACBA,
• Passeig de Gràcia,
• La Sagrada Familia,
• Gràcia,
• Park Güell,
• Tibidabo,
• Pedralbes and the FC Barcelona football ground.
• Parc de la Ciutadella
• Diagonal,
• Estació de Sants,
• Montjuïc
• Port Vell
• Port Olímpic
• Poblenou
• the Fòrum area taking in the best views of the city’s beaches.

You also need to keep in mind that there are numerous different museums to see if you’re into that type of history.  Some of our crew took off and did the Museum of Picasso! They loved it and highly recommended it to anyone who is a history buff or loves museums.

Arc De Triomphe

While the rest of our crew did the museum, my husband and I wanted to explore different neighbourhoods, food, and coffees.  As we were exploring we thankfully walked right into the square where the Arc De Triomphe is!  I am so glad we did!  This is such a beautiful part of Barcelona and one of the coolest sights.

Gaudi’s Building’s

You just have to honestly take in everything Barcelona has to offer when it comes to the architecture as a good portion of it is Gaudi’s work.  It’s hard to fathom when you’re standing in front of his building’s what you’re looking at.  From the Segrada Familia to Park Güell, to Casa Mila… And the list goes on.

Park Güell

We bought tickets ahead of time for Park Güell which turned out to be a really good idea as it gets really busy!  We bought our tickets online here.  This place is an absolute MUST SEE when in Barcelona and as you’ve probably already read, you can get to it from the Hop on Hop Off tour.  I will warn there is a little uphill walking involved as the bus drops you off down the hill, but it is worth it.  There is so much to learn about Gaudi’s work and life while you are there.  The architecture again is just incredible and does not disappoint.  Be cautious of restoration times.  When we were there, unfortunately, there was a good chunk under restoration, but we still made the best of it.

Eat and Explore

As mentioned already, there is no shortage of different little neighbourhoods to go and explore from the Gothic Quarter to El Raval to Las Ramblas, etc… Don’t leave without eating and trying some new places.  On our last night in Barcelona, we wanted to try something cheap, but good reviews.  We happened to do some searching and found a place called The Bollocks.

Don’t judge a book by the cover, it looks a little grungy but it was a phenomenal burger and inexpensive.  The burger with fries was only 8 Euros!  They also have a happy hour so you can go and get even cheaper eats and drinks!  You’re welcome!

That is my final roundup of what our day and a half itinerary looked like.  I would have loved more time to explore because I feel like we only scratched the surface of what Barcelona has to offer.  Just try everything you can and enjoy yourself!

Before we go!  Here are a few tips to protect against pickpocketing

Now as mentioned above, I am going to share a few tips to protect yourself from pickpocketing.  These are a few things we did, and a few things we were told to do when we arrived in Barcelona:

1. If you can, DO NOT wear a backpack of any kind or purse.  The pickpocketers are QUICK and SLICK.

2. If you must carry something, bring a very small bag, hold onto it with one hand at all times or have it in front of you.  Particularly when you get into a very crowded touristy spot.

3. Don’t carry anything personal with you.  Leave it locked up back in your room.  This includes things like your passport.

4. Get a money belt to put inside your pants.  This is what one of our friends did and it worked great.

5. Bring a wallet phone case or tuck just a card or two and a small amount of cash behind your phone case.  Don’t put it in your back pocket, hold onto it!  This is what I did and it was perfect.  The phone was always in my hand to take photos anyway.

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Xo, Asia