Barcelona in Fall: Travel Guide

I know I know, it’s been a month since I got back from Barcelona and there’s really no excuse for such a late post! But foreal though, this moving to LA thing has taken over the last few weeks and things are finally starting to slow down. Also, binge watching Stranger Things hasn’t helped my productivity these days. Do you watch the show?! It’s seriously so addicting but gives me nightmares so I don’t know why I keep it up!

Since it’s been a while, let me give you just a little refresher! My friends and  I went on a two-week adventure to Portugal and Spain in mid-September and it was by far one of the best experiences of my life!! If you missed it, here’s my Lisbon travel guide and Madrid travel guide. Fast forward a few weeks later, I’m writing my Barcelona one! Going into the trip, I was convinced Barcelona would be my favorite out of all the spots but there’s something charming Madrid that stole my heart. Barcelona came in a close second though!

HOW WE GOT TO BARCELONA

We took a train from Madrid to Barcelona and it was absolutely stunning. It was a gorgeous, scenic train ride and super quick too! I would heavily consider it over a plane ride even though a flight may be a bit cheaper.

WHAT TO DO

We were in Barcelona for 4 days/3 nights and as soon as we got off the train early on Thursday morning, we did all the things! We dropped off our bags at our Airbnb and then took a taxi to Park Güell, The Sagrada Familia, and Gothic Quarter. Before I dive deeper into each, you guys should know that Barcelona does NOT have Uber or Lyft. So… get some Euros because you’re going to need to pay for taxis and honestly quite a few other things there in Euros!! Here are a few must-see things in Barcelona (we did a lot of these on day 1 and day 3):

Park Güell: This is one of Gaudi’s major works and what people go to Barcelona to see! Expect to spend 1-1.5 hours here and be sure to buy tickets online first in advance (at least 2-3 days). We didn’t do the audio or guided tour although that probably would have been helpful.

[full_width]The Sagrada Familia: You can’t come to Barcelona and miss out on this amazing [currently unfinished] church. Expect to spend at least an hour here if you’re doing the audio tour and more if you want to take some intricate pictures and be mesmerized by the architecture and detail. There’s so much history too and even if you’re not into it, you’ll still be amazed at how gorgeous it is inside and out.[/full_width]

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Gothic Quarter: This is one of those places that is on the main touristy things to do and you should definitely go! Maybe spend an hour or two going down the narrow streets, checking out the restaurants and bars. Such a pretty place to stroll through!

Las Ramblas: You can easily spend a 4-5 hours on this street! There are amazing restaurants and cute little boutique (and regular) shops on this street so definitely come here if you want to shop!

Bunker Del Carmel: If you’re with your significant other, I was told you should stop by here during sunset! You can panoramic views of Barcelona and you can bring your own wine and enjoy the nice, quiet view. We ended up missing out but next time for sure!

Parc de la Ciutadella: It’s basically the Central Park of Barcelona. Absolutely gorgeous here!

Barceloneta Beach: We made sure to get some beach time in Barcelona and spent a good 3 hours here. Barceloneta beach is nice but a bit crowded for me. This is definitely a touristy beach– and topless for that matter! If you’re looking for something more quiet and family-oriented, try out Nova Icaria Beach!

Barcelona Mercado: Great market with tons of food stalls and restaurants!

THE BEST PART OF OUR TRIP

On our second day in Barcelona, we actually left town a bit and did the most AMAZING 11-hour tour visiting the Torres winery, Montserrat (gorgeous mountain range!), and a small village called Sitges. At the Torres winery, we saw the fermentation process of red and white wine and learned so so much! We also got to see the grapes in full harvest and we even got to see all the barrels inside! It was actually quite romantic if you ask me. We got to taste delicious wine and definitely bought some bottles for us to take home too! After the winery, the bus took us to Montserrat and my heavens this was the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to by far! I kind of wish I wasn’t on a guided tour on this part– our tour guide wasn’t providing us with a lot of fun facts and seemed too stressed out, lol. She finally told us we can go off on our own and we ran as fast as we could. There is SO MUCH to see y’all. If you’re doing the tour, try and separate ASAP if you want to have time to see all the beautiful locations on this mountain range! Every inch of Montserrat was breathtaking so if you’re ever in Barcelona, plan to do a bus tour to Montserrat I promise you won’t regret it!! After a couple of hours here, we went back on the bus to an old town called Sitges. I can quite honestly say I was bored the whole time here. It was WAY too much history and not all that fun for me. The takeaway I got was that Sitges has great beaches and nightlife. If I were you, I’d skip out on the Sitges part of the tour and find a way back to Barcelona![/full_width]

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We were supposed to visit the Magic Mountain in Barcelona after we got back from the bus tour but needless to say we were EXHAUSTED and failed to do so. But if you’re able to squeeze it in, you should check out– it’s supposed to be a really cool fountain!

DELICIOUS RESTAURANTS

Not a single restaurant in Barcelona failed us. Not one. Food in this city is too hard to beat y’all. Here are a few of my favorites/you must eat there and tell me about it:

La Alcoba Azul: SO GOOD. EVERYTHING IS SO GOOD. DO NOT visit Barcelona without coming to this restaurant you will regret it!! As for food, you can get anything but my favorite was stuffed peppers!
Brunch & Cake (Travel & Cake): There’s a bunch of these restaurants nearby, you gotta stop by for brunch one morning!
Balthazar: Also very delicious! I actually got the chicken tikka masala here, hah! I was craving Indian food and they had an Indian dish so yay!

I hope you enjoyed this travel guide, chat soon!

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