Barcelona, Spain | 3 of the City’s Highlights

We also traveled to Spain in December of 2018 to visit more of my husband’s family. Our first stop was Barcelona. Barcelona is the 2nd largest city in Spain aside from the capital. So needless to say, there is so much to do there! We had 3 days to spend in Barcelona so we were definitely able to visit some of the city’s highlights! If you’re traveling to Barcelona, you will have a lot of choices when it comes to places to see, but I would highly recommend making time for these 3 places!

1. Basílica de La Sagrada Família: You can’t visit Barcelona without visiting the Basílica de La Sagrada Família. These pictures don’t even do it justice! It’s definitely one of the most breathtaking places I’ve ever seen. As if the views aren’t enough, the history is so rich! I learned so much about Antoni Gaudí during my time in Barcelona. Actually, every place I’m writing about today involves his architecture. All of Gaudí’s works in Barcelona are grouped together as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Gaudí began working on La Sagrada Família in 1883 and worked on it up until his death. The outside depicts sculptures of various times in Jesus’ life, and the inside has displays of several large stained glass windows. We bought the basic tickets (€20 each), but you can also purchase tickets for a higher price that included a guided tour or access to the towers.

2. Park Güell: Park Güell is another one of Gaudí’s masterpieces included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is so much to see here! We first walked through the park trails to make it to the beautiful overlook of the area. You can spend hours walking through this area – it’s more than 17 hectares! It’s also free to enter this area. The monumental area of Park Guell has regulations in place to help protect Gaudí’s works. The tickets cost €10 to enter this area, but the price is worth it in my opinion! The view was incredible, and all of Gaudí’s pieces were so different and beautiful!

3. Walk Around the City: This recommendation isn’t a specific place, but more of a group of places! There is so much you can see just by spending a few hours walking around Barcelona. It’s also very easy to use public transportation to get from place to place. Before traveling to a new city, I always recommend researching the public transportation options. In Barcelona, we used the city buses. They have tram and metro systems. You can find maps, prices, and more information about the public transportation system in Barcelona HERE. A few of my favorite places were the Barcelona Port and Plaça Reial – both were beautiful! I also loved seeing La Pedrera and Casa Batlló, two other buildings designed by Antoni Gaudí. We also went to Las Ramblas and ate at Mercado de La Boqueria, a market with various local food options – so good!

If you’re planning on traveling to Spain, you can’t pass up on visiting Barcelona! It’s such a beautiful city with so many things to do. If Barcelona doesn’t peak your interest, check out some of my other travel posts linked HERE.