Welcome to Barcelona! “Hm. But what’s the point? I thought.” I didn’t know what to write about this whole of Barcelona. Everything has already been written. I feel like the last person to visit Barcelona because everyone has already been here. And yet I wrote. And this is one of the most extensive texts in recent times …
It was a unique trip, completely different than ever before. With MY children and my husband, the whole family. I’ve always wanted to take my children somewhere cultural, and because they dreamed of Barcelona, it was the most natural choice. When the fall break at the school occurred, we have our minds already set for Spain. Especially, since quite inexpensive connections can be found from Skopje (Macedonia) with Wizzair to Barcelona. From Tirana to Skopje we drove in our car. It’s 4,5 h drive if you count 2 borders (one in Kosovo, the other in Macedonia) and 1 quick stop to the toilet.
I always have a problem, what to write about, how to present my blog visits from such popular places. How to show these amazing and interesting places, but in a slightly different way as in fashion.
However, I decided that I would not make an effort. Because everything has already been written, and it’s hard to get some original, unique materials within 7 days of your stay.
This does not mean, however, that it will be uninteresting. On the contrary!
What places should you visit in Barcelona?
What did we like the most? Barcelona can be tiring, even after the summer season, but I tried, especially in the morning, when everyone was still asleep, to look for some peace. The sun is just rising, the silence, people running around the parks, dogs chasing sticks and screeching parrots that vigorously demolish palms by picking up juicy fruits.
Barcelona with children. Which attractions choose?
- Science Museum – CosmoCaixa
At CosmoCaixa there is much to do, even if you are not a child, and I strongly recommend visiting if you have more time to explore Barcelona.
Scientific showcases, various exhibitions explaining physics to children, the general operation of the world, numerous aquariums, a large room imitating the Amazonian forests and many other really interesting exhibitions. The price is very encouraging because it is only 4 Euro and the coolest – exhibitions are very intuitive and you do not need to know Spanish or English to understand most of the exhibitions. Highly recommended!
- Barcelona Aquarium – a very interesting place for children.
The Aquarium is in my opinion, a good place if you are looking for something for children, i.e. located on the very shore, in the center of Barcelona– it’s called L’Aquarium Barcelona. Maybe not as big and not as interesting as the above CosmoCaix the museum, but it’s also worth it.
The only “problem” is, unfortunately, a much higher price. Tickets to the Barcelona aquarium cost: 18 Euro adults, children 5-10 years: 13 Euro, and children 3-4 years: 6.5 Euro. Why such a price divide between the oceanarium and (larger and more interesting in my opinion) CosmoCaixa, which also has an exhibition devoted to aquatic organisms? I think, however, that location is of great importance here, because to CosmoCaix you need to bother a bit on the outskirts of the city, while the oceanarium is in the very center of Barcelona.
- Park Güell! Is it worth visiting?
I wonder if it’s worth bothering at Park Güell, especially if someone comes to Barcelona for 1-2 days. I would have doubts about whether I would prefer to choose another place to see or in the nearby gardens or bunkers.
Park Güell is another project next to the Sagrada Familia that Gaudi has not completed. I think he could use some training in people and time management. The project was to cover 60 plots and was supposed to be a housing estate for the then bourgeoisie, while only five buildings were built. For more details and curiosities, I strongly recommend visiting Wikipedia.
Is it worth it? Yes! Park Güell is interesting, but again the cosmic number of people who visit it slightly discourages it and receives a lot of joy from sightseeing. Ticket prices, however, are not so terrible and I think in the end it’s worth coming up for a quick tour. For adults, it costs: 7 Euro, for children aged 7-12 and also people +65 years: 4.9 Euro. Of course, the option with a guide is more expensive.
- Her Majesty the Sagrada Familia – the pearl of Barcelona.
One of the best known and most visited places in Barcelona is Sagrada Familia. We were quite skeptical, and the desire to explore the more passed us when we saw the queue to the ticket office. However, we decided to persevere, visit the church from the inside and … Sagrada Familia knocks you down! The play of lights, colors, all this architecture makes an amazing impression. I highly recommend it, it’s worth it.
From practical information, it is worth to buy a ticket online ahead of time (even days before because it is a very popular destination and you might not find the time you want to see it). Also, from the online ticket, you will be explained where is the entrance and the exact time to enter. Basic ticket price: 15 Euro. Option with ascent to the tower 29 Euro.
You will also read about places like La Rambla, several architectural pearls of Gaudi (including Casa Mila, Casa Batllo), the best beaches, parks, gardens in Barcelona, ??Born Cultural Center, Barcelona neighborhoods rich in street art and many other interesting places.
There are some free attractions in Barcelona:
- The most popular street in the city – La Rambla
Not the street, but the promenade, which is one of the most visited places in Barcelona, both tourists and residents. It leads from Plaza de Catalunya to the statue of Christopher Columbus. This promenade is crowded, dozens, hundreds of cafes, restaurants and other souvenir shops stretch along its entire length, as well as countless street artists, painters, drawers, mimes, jugglers and pickpockets. As a creature, itself it is an interesting thing, but to be honest, after 10 minutes of walking, we wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. - BIG FUN MUSEUM is a museum of illusions and entertainment in Barcelona, located to the La Rambla street. It’s fun and enjoyable museum to spend some crazy moments with the small once sand take billions of pictures.Here you can walk through the amazing upside down House, visit the fabulous world of sweets, feel very small in the Giant’s house, discover the most fascinating and wonders records in the Guinness museum, or dive into the fun ball pool and many more! Pretty much for Instagram lovers and Bloggers, picture addicted kind of people.
- Gaudi architecture and more
Most of the interesting places that Gaudi created can be viewed from the outside, you don’t have to go inside. Of course, it’s worth some, but if you can’t afford to spend a lot of money each time, you can also see these places from the outside and in my opinion, they are equally impressive. - It is worth coming to the beautiful Casa Batlló residential building on the UNESCO list or the Casa Milà building, made for a certain entrepreneur, and also on the UNESCO list.
- It is also worth seeing the private (no access to the inside) Casa Lleó Morera or another modernist pearl of Casa Amatller.
- Botanical Garden and Palace area – Palau Nacional
The place is located on the Montjuïc hill. It’s worth going – one of the most interesting places in Barcelona. Starting from the fountain we go up towards the building of the Museum of Art of Catalonia. Apart from the fact that the museum is only for connoisseurs of sculptures and paintings, the whole area is worth attention. Behind the museum building are also the noteworthy park and the Botanical Garden. A very interesting attraction. - The nearby Olympic village together with the Olympic torch towering over the area can also be an interesting variation, prolongation of the walk from around the Palace.
- Montjuïc Castle
The last day of our stay in Barcelona we visited Montjuïc Castle that is an old a military fortress, with roots dating back from 1640, built on top of Montjuïc hill in Barcelona. Montjuïc Castle commands stunning views of the city. Now a peaceable place, the memory of this fortress endures in Barcelona as a symbol of repression but also of the city’s struggles during different periods in its history. The top of Montjuïc is the ideal place for a bastion of defense, with 360º views of the city below and we enjoyed it for this characteristic. The castle can be accessed by the Montjuïc cable car, a gondola lift that has its upper station near the castle entrance and connects, via the Montjuïc funicular, with the Barcelona Metro at Paral·lel station.
When is the best time to go to Barcelona?
If you prefer calm sightseeing and shorter tourists than sunbathing and short sleeves, be sure to go in the months from November to March, maximum April. Later the temperatures rise, people start thinking about vacation and half the continent goes to Barcelona for sightseeing. Well, unless you like a shoulder fight in public space …;)
We were visiting Barcelona in the middle of October, and temperatures during the day were about 22 degree Celsius and the night around 18 .
We spend fantastic time in Barcelona and kids stay at the rhythm of the city *even in frenetic sometimes. At times
when they were tired of visiting and annoyed because there are tons of interesting sites to see we always stopped, eat delicious churros, or bread with tomatoes and paella and just enjoyed ourselves.
Ole!
