A Long Weekend in BarcelonaCategory: Travel & Holidays
Article added by: Paul Collins
In recent years, Barcelona has fashioned itself a reputation as Europe’s capital of the weekend break. Every weekend thousands of people hop on vuelos Barcelona (Spanish for ‘flights to Barcelona’) to experience just a little of what the city has to offer. And rarely – if ever – are they disappointed.
What to Do in Barcelona
"What is there to do in Barcelona?” is not so much a question as a challenge. There are simply few places anywhere in the world that have such an exciting portfolio of things to see and do. Most tourists in Barcelona tend to head straight for the city’s big-name sights such as Gaudi’s spectacular La Sagrada Familia, and the Ruta de Modernismo.
As a cultural hotspot it naturally has a decent complement of museums and galleries, with the Picasso Museum and the Joan Miro Museum celebrating to dazzling effect two of Spain’s greatest artists. On the museum front, meanwhile, the Museum of the City of Barcelona offers a genuinely unmissable insight into the history of the city.
But Barcelona’s a city that’s full of life and crammed with lesser sights. And in many ways, the most rewarding thing to do is simply to wander its many beautiful quarters like Eixample, Gracia and the ancient and evocative Barrio Gotico.
Shopping in Barcelona
When it comes to shopping, the first place that most people on a weekend break in Barcelona make for is the Paseo de Gracia. Lined with fashionable boutiques, it’s the city’s showcase avenue and literally drips with glamorous fashionistas checking out the very latest from some of the world’s top fashion houses.
For something a little more atmospheric, Barcelona has a couple of excellent markets: Just off the Ramblas, La Boqueria is the city’s noisy fish market, while on weekends the flea market of Mercado del Encants is the perfect place to try to pick up a bargain.
Nightlife in Barcelona
Barcelona nightlife is legendary. From lovely scruffy old tapas bars to seriously chic DJ bars and jumping super-clubs, when the sun sets on this most stylish of cities there really is something for everyone to enjoy.
The best place to begin a night out is over a couple of light bites in a nice laidback old bar in El Raval. From there, it’s a matter of picking the pace up by increments: moving into one of the effortlessly bohemian bars from a couple of cocktails as the evening lengthens. Then it’s just a question of following the crowds, and seeing where you end up…
Chilling Out in Barcelona
After a typically energetic night out, the chances are that all but the very hardiest and most determined of travelers won’t feel like another day of hard slog around the city’s sights. A day of rest is very much in order.
Amazingly, Barcelona more than delivers in that area, too, with its surprise trump card: the beach of La Barceloneta. It may not quite be the deserted white sands of a Pacific Island, but it is nevertheless a great city beach and, therefore, extremely welcome.
Gazing out to sea as the sun comes down on a last evening in the city, it’s hard not to feel a sense of only having touched upon what it’s all about. It may be a popular weekend break city, but when it comes down to it, a couple of days are never – ever – going to be long enough!
Posted By: Paul Collins
Contact: e-mail
| About the Author: |
| Paul Collins is a UK-based travel writer who has never been able to get enough of Spain. Over the course of countless spur-of-the-moment vuelos Barcelona (or flights to Barcelona!) he’s developed an intimate knowledge of and deep love for the Catalan city. |
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