Bars, beaches and amazing architecture Barcelona has something for every one and I highly recommend everyone visit's at some point in there life! I only had a short 4 days in this buzzy city but from thriving markets to lazy beach days this city went above and beyond my expectations.
Arriving early in the morning on the flixbus I went straight to my hostel to check in my bags and start exploring. Even on a Sunday this city is certainly alive and going so it was no issue finding things to do! Being a solo traveler I often worry about getting bored or lonely but in a place like Barcelona loneliness is very easily overcome. With minimal effort you can make amazing new friends, whether this be by just talking to other tourist when visiting popular sights or the best way is staying in a hostel. Hostels are the best and easiest way to meet people and make friends that will often can make your experience so much better. However choosing the right one can be hard! On this trip I had the pleasure of staying at the Blackswan hostel where I spent three nights and had the most amazing experiences. The team at Blackswan go above and beyond to make your time at the hostel and in Barcelona great. They host different events every day and pub crawls every night and I would highly recommend this hostel. If you are interested in hearing all about my experience at Blackswan Barcelona check out my other post, 'Where to stay in Barcelona // Blackswan Hostel'.
After fully checking into my room I instantly made a friend and we ventured down to the explore the main beach Barceloneta. Barcelona is such a big city and a lot of things are quite spread out so I would highly recommend getting 'T-Ten' public transport card, that is ten euros for ten trips and will save you a lot of money. Trust me, in the heat you don't want to be walking absolutely everywhere! So we caught the bus to the beach and were instantly hit with the infectious lively atmosphere of the local come tourist vacationers tanning, swimming, drinking and playing beach sports! The main beach Barceloneta is the hub of beach life in Barcelona and really lives up to all you could imagine, however if you are looking for a quieter spot to really relax and swim I would recommend heading out to some of the other beaches that are not so central and crowded.
Just along from the beautiful Barceloneta beach you can also find the port area, where there are some great restaurants and lunch spots where you can sit, eat and watch the boats come in.
If you travelling on a budget and don't want to spend too much on a meal at the water front, another great option is to grab a bite at one of the local markets and taking it down to a nice spot by the port or on the beach! When I was there there was a lovely market going on near both the port and the beach and had some amazing local for super affordable prices! Finding a market in Barcelona is not hard and I would definitely recommend researching whats on when you are there (its always changing!).
Apart from pop up markets there are also some great weekly or even daily markets that draw in the crowds with there amazing food and boutique gifts/jewelry. My favorite market was la boqueria Barcelona, it is a food market and it does not disappoint! This undercover market has a wide range of food from snacks to full meals and surely has something for everyone. This market is very popular and can be very busy so I would recommend not going in peak hours to avoid busy crowds, but 100% worth a visit!
Another amazing thing about Barcelona is of course Antoni Gaudí and his amazing architecture. The locals of Barcelona are extremely proud of the Gaudí's works that are scattered around the city and you must visit some of them! Pro-tip; If you plan to go into the buildings/park I advise you to book tickets ahead of time online as this will save you waiting in long cues and maybe even save you a few dollars. However for those travelling on a budgetand don't want to fork out money on these kinds of activities, but still want to learn and experience some for the culture/history, a great thing to do is a free walking tour (work on tips). Through the Blackswan hostel they organize walking tours everyday morning and afternoon, both in the Gothic quarters and an Antoni Gaudí tour. The Gaudí tour takes you through his main buildings excluding Park Guell. The quides are friendly and knowledgeable and know all there is to know about the history of Gaudí and his story. They lead a great tour and are more than happy to answer all questions! I really enjoyed my tour and learnt so much!
Although you see the majority of Gaudí's most famous works in the free tour what is not included is Park Guell. All for good reason though, the park is located a bus ride out of the central city and if you are going to head out there I suggest that you plan for it. It is not very far away but if you don't want to pay to see and enter the sculptures you can actually see then for free! If you arrive at the park before 8am when the restricted entry begins then you are free to just explore the park with no fee!
Barcelona during the day is beautiful and there is so much culture and life that surrounds and engages the city. But as the night falls somehow it manages to become even more alive, pub crawls and salsa classes are what filled up most most of nights in this lively city. Being a solo traveler it can sometimes be hard to enjoy the nightlife in cities by yourself, purely due to safety reasons. But on this trip that was certainly not the case! Thanks to the making Blackswan hostel that hostels pub crawls and salsa class during the evenings/nights this meant I was able to make new friends and enjoy the night life stress free! See more about the events with Blackswan in this post!
Barcelona is an amazing city with so much to see and do, I absolutely loved my time there are can not wait for they day when I get to come back and experience it all over again!