4 Days In Barcelona: Our Personal Itinerary

Every now and again,  J goes abroad for conferences. The opportunist that I am, I always make sure that I tag along whenever I can -it gives me the perfect excuse to travel too.

His most recent conference was in Barcelona. Although I had been to Barcelona before, I felt like I needed to go back to explore a little more, as my last trip had been a bit of a rush. And I was right. This trip to Barcelona turned out to be a special one, not only beacuse I was there with J, but also because I had the chance to wander around some of the lesser-travelled parts of the city on my own.

When I arrived in Barcelona, J was still at his conference, so I took this opportunity to explore the immediate neighbourhood on my own. 

I started from Diagonal Mar where we were staying.  Diagonal Mar is a modern and quieter part of Barcelona, with easy access to the beaches. From there, I walked along Passeig del Taulat towards El Poblenou. 

I found this walk surprisingly quiet, although there was a strange smell lingering in some of the streets that I couldn't quite dsecribe. It wasn't too much of a bother, though, as I was distracted by this more local  side of Barcelona and simply enjoyed wandering around and taking it all in.

After lunch and coffee in El Poblenou, I walked back to the hotel and rested until J came back from his conference.

The following day, we drove to Montserrat and spent all day there. I highly recommend setting aside a full day if you really want to enjoy the Monastery, and explore more of what Montserrat has to offer without feeling rushed. 

We paid €20pp for our tickets, which included entrance to the Basilica and the Montserratt Museum.

Seeing the Black Madonna (La Moreneta) for the second time felt like a blessing and visiting the Montserrat Museum was such a privilege. Seeing works by some of the world's most famous painters such as Picasso, Dali, Miro, Monet and Degas, all in one place was truly incredible. It felt like a dream come true.

We left Montserrat in the late afternoon and drove straight to Central Barcelona for an evening walk, and eventually dinner.

Our third day in Barcelona was slightly busier. We did our own little Gaudi tour, which was a lot of fun. My memories of these places from my previous visit were a little fuzzy, but once we drove into Central Barcelona, everything started to feel more familiar.

First stop was at Casa Batllo which was very crowded. We didn't plan to go in, so after taking a few photos, we left and headed to Casa Mila for coffee instead. 

Casa Mila, also known as La Pedrera, forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed works of Antoni Gaudi and the last private residential building he designed. We only stopped there for a quick coffee, so I can't really say much about what it looks like inside. The exterior, however is fasinating. Its curved facade almost looks like waves, with hardly straight line in sight. To me, it looked like almost like a piece of abstract art.

And then it was time to head to Sagrada Familia. The first time I saw this materpiece was about 20 years ago, when it was still pretty much a construction site. I remember going inside and looking up in disbelief, wondering how it could possibly take so long to build a church. Going back now, with Sagrada Familia so much closer to completion, felt quite surreal. 

The interior was even more impressive than I remembered, with natural light streaming through the beautiful stained-glass windows. Then there were the coloumns. I later learned that Gaudi designed them to resemble tree branches, reaching upwards and spreading across the ceiling. It was incredible to see.

I was in awe the whole time, almost oblivious to the huge crowd around me. Looking up the soaring ceiling was definitely my favourite part of this visit. There was so much to take in, and after remembering what it looked like 20 years ago, seeing it this way felt even more special.

Then we headed to our last destination of the day- Park Guell.  Unfortunately, I didn'y enjoy this one as much I had hoped, mainly because it was too crowded. Completely our fault really, as we visited after lunch when the park was already packed with tourists (like ourselves, lol).

It was still lovely to see Gaudi's colourful mosaics. whimsical architecture and the famous serpentine bench overlooking Barcelona, but the crowds made it so difficult for me to fully appreciate the surroundings. That said, I could still appreciate what makes Park Guell so unique.

On our last day, we visited Barceloneta - a more relaxed and residential part of Barcelona.  I particularly enjoyed walking through the narrow streets, looking up people's balconies with their laundry hanging out to dry.  I am not much fan of the beach, but J and I couldn't resist walking towards the Mediterranean, with its long strecth of sand, palm tress and the sea. It was a beautiful morning spent simply wandering around and taking it all in. 

After lunch, we drove to the airport,  and that was it. New memories were made in Barcelona, and somehow returning after all these years made the city feel even more beautiful than I remembered. Or perhaps, this time, it was the company that made all the difference.

Tintin x