Barcelona: An Introduction
I’ve finally gotten to this post. Barcelona. The city to rule all cities. This is a true gem, somewhere that I am so beyond grateful for. I was lucky enough to spend four months spent eating, dancing, learning, and making memories that would last a lifetime. Barcelona has everything, so no matter who you are or what you experiences you want from traveling, Barcelona has it. This post will be a general introduction to the city, but I will have several others because just one post would NOT do Barcelona justice.
Getting in and around
Man I basically lived in the Barcelona airport. I think I can say I’ve been to the Barcelona airport more times than I have been to LAX (excluding picking up/dropping off trips). It’s a pretty solid airport generally speaking, although I really only ever flew Vueling so my range of experiences is not as varied as it could be. The airport is about a 20-30 minute drive from the city, and there really isn’t any other option aside from taxi’s. I found Ubering from the airport to be a pain so I found myself always taxiing back and ubering to the airport.
Also, the terminals are FAR apart from each other, and the only way to get between the two is on a five minute bus ride that fully drives out onto the freeway to get between the terminals. So have that in mind if you have a transfer. Freaked me out my first time.
Once you’re in the city, Barcelona has a pretty decent public transport system. The metro is somewhat confusing, as there are different companies and different types of trains. For example, I took a full on train to go on a five minute ride in the city before the train continued on to Valencia. T-10’s are the way to go in my opinion, as they give you 10 rides on any form of public transport in the city. Even for me, someone who stayed there for months, I never went ahead and got a month pass or anything other than the T-10. The bus system is also solid, and generally pretty efficient as many roads in Barcelona have designated bus lanes.
How to fit in
Barcelona is a pretty hip city for the most part. It’s diverse, lively, and more fashionable than you’d think. It’s not fashionable in a pretentious, Parisian sense, but it definitely is impressive. Spain is the home country for brands like Zara, Mango, Massimo Dutti and more after all. But Barcelona is also very fit, and because of that I almost felt like the people would fit in perfectly to LA. More so than any other city in Europe, you’ll see people wearing yoga pants and have their hair in a bun. With that said, the majority of the people are European and with that comes a certain expectation for style.
You’ll also find an interesting social dynamic here. There’s the well-broadcasted political situation between Catalonia and Spain, so you’ll definitely stumble upon a rally or two about that. But for the most part, that animosity doesn’t really translate to the people of Barcelona. What does translate more prominently than you’d think is their dislike towards tourists. And when I say tourists, I mean like the touristy tourists that stand out like a sore thumb. Barcelona faces al to of issues with overcrowding, largely as a result of tourists, so that has resulted in some tension between toursits and the locals, but as long as you are respectful, friendly and reasonable, the Catalonian people will be the best people you’ve ever met.
How to make the most of your stay
Like I said, Barcelona has everything. And with year round sun, the city is always buzzing with excitement. I would say the way to maximize your stay is to really think about yourself and what type of trip you want. If you’re a beach person, stay by the beach. If you’re a history person, stay in the Gothic Quarter. If you’re a shopping person, stay in the Eixample. Barcelona is urbanistically unique in that sense that it has very starkly different neighborhoods in relatively close proximity. So with that in mind, you can curate your experience in the city accordingly.
Neighborhoods
Gothic Quarter: This is the “European” part of the city, established by the Romans as a trading port. Here you’ll find narrow streets guiding you to enormous chapels, random courtyards boasting best-you’ve-ever-had coffee shops, and hole-in-the-wall shops that show true Catalonian culture. In general, the Gothic Quarter is somewhat small, at least in comparison to the other neighborhoods in this city, but regardless, its an incredible area.
Eixample: Just north of the Gothic Quarter, this hyper-urban-planned part of Barcelona is very, very large. Here, you’ll find a seemingly endless set of urban blocks repeated one after another. They all have the same style, with apartments and hotels lifted above the ground floor commercial stores and restaurants. You’ll find walking this area somewhat frustrating because of the chamfered edges of the buildings-meaning you have to curl around buildings then cross then curl up again in order to just go straight. The main streets, such as Diagonal, Passeig Garcia and Catalunya, have larger pedestrian streets and make walking a joy, especially in the warm weather.
Poble Sec: Located at the bottom of Montjuic, this is a hip area with great food and drink. It has several awesome streets littered with tapas bars and gin and tonic joints that will blow you away.
Gracia: North of Diagonal, Gracia has a lot of the old charm of Barcelona. It’s quite hilly, so keep that in mind, but its definitely worth the walking. Find a bar or restaurant next to one of the plazas and enjoy the laid back, local vibes of Gracia. Keep walking north and you’ll hit the world famous Park Guell as well.
Olympic Village: This area was completely revamped for the 1992 Olympics and is a modern answer to creating a dynamic, engaging beachfront. This is where you’ll find beautiful (albeit man-made) beaches, waterfront restaurants, world-famous clubs, five star hotels and tons of beautiful, in shape people. Barceloneta is a former factory-worker-housing complex that has been transformed into a cute area with tons of restaurants and bars right by the beach. I found myself here much more often than I expected, but granted, as a SoCal kid, I can’t stay away from the ocean for too long. Plus, all the best clubs and hotels were in this area, so where else am I supposed to go?!
El Raval: Sure, it smells bad and is probably the most “ghetto” of all these popular areas, but it’s popular for a reason. There are TONS of bars, and it quickly became my favorite area to pregame before going out to clubs at night.