Kristen’s Favorites: Barcelona, Spain
Hello friend, welcome back! Today I thought I would like to talk to you about some of my favorite places from my time working on cruise ships. Perhaps my experience visiting these places will help you decide your own travel bucket list. Today’s spotlight goes to a wonderful embarkation port that I am always delighted to visit: Barcelona.
I feel that Barcelona sometimes doesn’t get the attention it deserves from American society as a fantastic tourist destination (depending on who you ask, of course) But until I found out I was going there for the first time, I realized I knew very little about it. (Which in my humble opinion is a failing of the education system I grew up in.)
My first impressions of Barcelona were that it was a big city where the old is appreciated without hindering the new and there was a focus on the unique art style that blossomed from the influence of Antoni Gaudi. The city has so much life and hospitality in it’s energy that I was immediately joyful just being there. I arrived in Barcelona a few days before I was to board my next cruise ship because I wanted to give myself a little bit of time to explore the city and thank goodness that I did because there is a ton to explore. This post won't touch on everything there is to do by any means but I do hope I wet your palate enough for you to want to learn more about this place.
La Sagrada Famiglia
So, this place is one of those places where no matter how many photos you see of it, it will never in a million years do the place justice. Ever. La Sagrada Famiglia is technically a catholic church and its been under construction for well over 100 years. (Construction began in 1882) It’s basically the crown jewel of Barcelona for many people, and the best way for me to describe it is if you smashed together a gothic catholic church and Lord of the Rings art nouveau styles. The outside is a lot to look at with details in every nook and cranny, so much so that much of it does begin to blend a lot and its there that you do get a lot of the gothic vibes, but inside is all curving lines and stained glass that casts the most amazing kinds of light that makes you feel like you wandered into middle earth. This place is an absolute MUST visit if you find yourself in Barcelona one day. Please keep in mind, tickets must be purchased online in advance. You cannot walk up to the ticket booth and expect to be able to purchase a ticket and just walk right in. The demand is too high. Tickets are also timed. If you want your choice of time slots, purchase your tickets well in advance. There are also additional Gaudi locations and exhibits to see throughout the city and are all well worth a visit.
The Gothic Quarter
This area is so unique. If you want to feel like you’ve transported back in time to a major medieval city, the Gothic Quarter will do just that for you. The streets are all cobblestone with small shops littered throughout and the buildings are at least four or five stories tall making it feel slightly claustrophobic. It's extremely easy to get lost in this section of the city. I found it extra challenging because my phone struggled to pick up a decent signal due to the tall buildings and narrow streets of the area. All the streets seem to lead to the gothic church in the middle which is also worth a visit. And have good walking shoes because you’ll definitely get your steps in walking around there. Also, I found a random duck store in there too?
La Rambla Street
This is a major tourist street however it’s really fun regardless of that fact. Most cruise ships tend to shuttle their guests to this area of the city because it’s the closest major shopping street near the port, but it does require a car to go between the port and the city. The drive is about 5 minutes. La Rambla is this extra wide street with this huge walking path down the center. Much like the rest of the city, it is very pedestrian-focused with cars being secondary. All of the major shopping and chain stores can be found on this street with side streets to the north-east giving access to the Gothic Quarter. At the southern end of the street there is a huge statue of Columbus looking out to the ocean, and on the north end of the street you will find a huge plaza called Plaça de Catalunya. There you will find art and tourist information and hop on and off buses to take you on tours around the city.
Tapas
Eat. The food is divine. Everything I ate in the city tasted wonderful. You really can’t go wrong.
This is just scratching the surface of what Barcelona has to offer. When I was there on my mini pre-ship adventure I spent most of my time visiting all of the Gaudi locations and exhibits and that took the majority of my time. Daniel went last year on a work trip and initially, he was on the fence about going because he also didn’t know much about the city whereas I was practically shaking him screaming “Take me with you!” and when he came back he said to me “I didn’t want to leave! It was so much fun!”
The outside of the art museum!
This is a great place to start off your cruise that from here will likely go around the Mediterranean and visit ports in France and Italy. So make sure you budget a little extra for a few days in Barcelona too! It is one of my favorite places!
Until next week, friend! Please take care!
-Kristen
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