1. Walk around the Mercat la Boqueria. Get some €1 fruit juice, and maybe some jamón in a cone. Other than that, don’t waste your stomach space on the little snacks they sell like the fried stuff or the empanadas. They’re very sub-par. Instead, try El Quim de la Boqueria, one of the restaurants Phil Rosenthal dined at on his show

   

   

   

   

   

   

2. Admire the unfinished work of Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia. Make sure you buy tickets ahead of time. There are different ticket types you can buy, depending on if you want to climb to the top. My research showed me that the views weren’t that great from up there, so we skipped it. We bought the discounted basic ticket for the 4 PM entry time

   

   

3. Take a stroll in Parc Güell, and admire some more of Gaudí’s work. Make sure you buy tickets ahead of time. We bought the 11 AM time slot (you have 59 minutes to enter after 11) and it was already PACKED by the time we got there. That being said, if you can get up early, I would recommend getting the 8 AM time slot for when the park opens. There will definitely be fewer crowds and it also won’t be as hot then. It was February when we went but with the sun, it felt like 80 degrees

   

   

4. Check out the Barcelona Cathedral. Though not as grand as the Sagrada Familia, it’s still a sight to see
5. Stop by the the Arc de Triomf. This was built to serve as the main access gate for the 1888 Barcelona World Fair

   

6. Go rummaging at the Mercat Fira de Bellcaire Els Encants. This is Barcelona’s largest flea market and it’s definitely the largest flea market I’ve ever been to. Even if you’re not looking to buy anything, it’s still fun to check out all of the unique items they sell

   

7. Shop for fresh fruits and veggies at the Mercat de la Concepció. Located in the L’Eixample neighborhood, they’ve also got fresh seafood and meats – so it’s a great place to shop at if you’re staying at a place that has a kitchen

   

8. Catch the view from the top of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar. Entrance to the church is free, and there are hour-long guided tours to the top for €10. We made it to the top in time for golden hour, so we captured some pretty nice shots. Just make sure you check the tour schedule beforehand
   

   Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar

   

   Top of the church (PC: Ben Song)
9. Take in the city sights at Plaça de Catalunya. It’s right in the city centre. There’s also an Il Corte Inglés there, which is the biggest department store group in Europe, and Spain’s only department store chain. Make sure you check out their food court on the top floor after you do some shopping

   

    

10. Snap some pictures outside the Casa Milà and Casa Batlló. If you’re like me and you’re not SUPER into architecture, and you don’t want to pay the €25 entrance fee, the outside is just as nice to look at. And it’s FREE! Unfortunately, Casa Batlló was under construction, so we didn’t get to see much

    

    

    This is what Casa Batlló looked like when we visited

    

    Keurig shop in the area

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to check out the beach at La Barceloneta, since we were strapped for time – plus, it was too cold to lay on the beach. But I’ll make sure to come back to Barcelona when it’s warmer!

• Barcelona
• Europe
• Spain