Arriving early on Thursday morning we decided to set out on foot to start exploring this beautiful city. We stayed at the Le Meridien located on Las Ramblas, so we were right in the center of many sights, making it easy to see much within walking distance. La Boqueria, or the official name Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, was our first stop. This was a perfect way to start our trip. I had heard about the amazing markets in Spain but wow. If I lived in this area, I would frequent this market often. Meats, fruits, nuts, candies, veggies, spices and so much more creating a visual overload of goodness.

After visiting La Boqueria, we stopped to grab a bite to eat at a restaurant near the market. Casa Guinart was our first meal in Barcelona. We sat in a bar style area outdoors and were introduced to the food of the city quite nicely. This appetizer was so simple yet so delicious!

Recovering from a red eye flight and no sleep, we took it easy for the remainder of the day by exploring Las Ramblas and the surrounding areas.

Kicking off day 2, one of the top sites on our list was La Sagrada Familia and it is a must see. The photos of this cathedral do not do justice to the unbelievable architecture that you see in person. The work on the cathedral began in 1882 and is still not complete. The design is based on the original designs created by Antoni Guadi. He worked on the cathedral until his death in 1926 and architects since then have continued the work based on his original ideas. If we would not have seen anything else during our visit, seeing this cathedral would have been worth the trip to Barcelona alone.

After visiting La Sagrada Familia, we ventured through the Gothic Quarter. This neighborhood has such a medieval feel to it and we wandered around for hours.

Visiting Spain dictated that we must see a Flamenco show. I had read about Palau de la Música Catalana prior to our trip and had hoped we would be able to see the inside of this theatre. When looking for a Flamenco show to see for the night, we got lucky that there happened to be an true Flamenco experience showing in the theatre that night. The dancers were extremely talented and we were not disappointed. If ever buying tickets for a show at Palau de La Musica, opt for the floor seating or top of the balcony for the best views. The lower balcony seating was not ideal. We got one of the first few rows in the balcony but could not see the dancers on stage due to how the seats were set. It turned out that we could see much better at the very top row of the balcony. 

Our last day we decided to walk down to the water to check out the beach and Port Vell. This was an excellent decision and a great way to spend our final day in Barcelona. It’s amazing what a different feel this part of Barcelona has in comparison to that of the center of the city near Las Ramblas and other areas. We could not have asked for better weather. We visited the port area, walked through some local markets, strolled down the beach and enjoyed a delicious lunch by the ocean. I’m officially in love with the Mediterranean and counting the days until I can get back. 

Our final adventure in Barcelona included seeing FC Barcelona play at Camp Nou. This was a major bucket list item and we were stoked to have the opportunity to watch them play during our brief stay.

Barcelona was an amazing trip. Three days was plenty of time to get a taste of such an incredible city and see much of what it has to offer. There were a few high points we were unable to squeeze into our trip but that just gives us more reason to visit again soon. Finding out I am fully capable of traveling to and from Europe in just 5 days is probably not the best for my bank account. I plan to hit Spain and Europe again in the very near future.