Weekend getaway Barcelona, Spain

My first trip in 2017 took me to a city in a country I had never been before. I booked – very spontaneously – a weekend getaway from Friday morning until Sunday night to Barcelona. Months, maybe years before, I had been told about the coolness of Barcelona, but I wasn’t sure how much I would really like the city. But if I had not been curious, I wouldn’t have booked this trip, right?! This weekend getaway was absolutely worth it. From the moment I stepped out of the airport, I felt a little bit at home in Barcelona. The city is clean, beautiful and has around 300 sunny days a year. If that’s not a reason to go, I don’t know what would is.

What I did

I felt, I got the most out of the three days in Barcelona. My highlights were the Antoni Gaudi monuments Casa Batlló and Park Guell, Barceloneta Beach, Parc de la Ciutadella and the Gothic quarter. I took a guided tour through the Gothic quarter with Joan from Photo Shoot Tours. He is a photographer and offers guided walking tours for 90 to 120 minutes, where you learn something about the quarter. In addition, Juan takes photos of you while wandering around. Three days later you get 45 photos of yourself. This was very special, I love the photos and I’m planning to write another post just about the tour.

Where I stayed

My hotel was a very new hotel. The Corner Hotel opened in November 2016 in the new part of Barcelona, in the neighborhood of the Eixample Izquierda. It has a very hip and modern style and a bar where I ate a burger. Everything was absolutely lovely, the staff, the food and my room. I had no reasons to complain.

What I ate

Barcelona has good food, thats for sure. Joan from Photo Shoot Tours recommended to me a special sandwich which he refuses to call ‘sandwich’. And he is right. It’s not a real sandwich, because it’s warm and the bread is delicious. You can chose between different ingredients and different breads. Oh, and the name of the restaurant is Conesa Entrepans.

Who I met

I already mentioned the Photo Shoot Tour, where I met Joan. Same day but later, I talked to a man from The Netherlands who was sitting next to me in a Tapas restaurant. He was a language teacher and spoke  Spanish fluently. It was his – maybe – 5th visit to Barcelona. We talked about traveling and he told me not only to go to Amsterdam when I go to The Netherlands. He said that Rotterdam would be very beautiful too, but more ‘real’. I’ve never been to The Netherlands and it’s on my list this year.

Overall

Barcelona is very international. Everyone speaks English and you can met a lot of people from everywhere in the world. It’s very beautiful but maybe not as beautiful as Paris. But it’s somehow cooler. I liked Barcelona a lot and want to go back someday. Three days are not enough.

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3 comments

  1. Barcelona ist so wunderschön 😊 ich will dieses Jahr auch unbedingt hin!Dann muss ich mal das leckere Sandwich probieren..

    1. Ja, das musst du unbedingt machen!! Es hat mir auch so gut gefallen, dass ich bestimmt bald wieder hinfliege 🙂

  2. Hi Claudi,
    wow, was für schicke Fotos!! Ich wohne seit 7 Jahren in BCN und liebe es über die Stadt zu lesen. Du hast mit deinen Fotos wirklich den Kern getroffen, das ist wunderbar!Warst du auch in Poble Nou oder Clot unterwegs? Neben Gracia sind das meine Lieblingsecken, mit coolen Cafés und street art. Hier ist auch deutlich weniger Tourismus, was ganz erfrischend sein kann 🙂
    Ich habe übrigens auch ein paar Sachen über Barcelona geschrieben, wie zum Beispiel eine Reihe von Day Trips from Barcelona und Spas und sowas in die Richtung. Die kannst du hier finden: http://one-week-in.com/day-trips-from-barcelona/Ich hoffe, du magst es :))Sag Bescheid, wenn du wieder da bist. Treffe mich immer gerne mit Blogger-Kollegen, zb i Espau Joliu, mein Lieblings-Café =)Alles Gute, Matt