Brilliant Barcelona
Do not expect to get anywhere quickly by road in Barcelona due to the number of traffic lights! It felt like there was a set every 20 metres.
As newbies to Barcelona we took an open top bus on our first day. There are 3 routes and central points where you can swap over. The full day bus trip costs about 23 EUROS per adult and 14 EURO per child. We used the bus to travel north of the city and got off at the Nou Camp Barcelona. My husband loved the tour and was in awe of the pitch. He was particularly pleased to catch a glimpse of the youth team training. The Nou Camp Experience costs about 25 EUROS each not including under 5’s. I’d suggest getting there as early in the morning as possible as coach loads of tourists arrive a little later and it gets incredibly busy.
Barcelona has more than 160km of bike lanes and the main roads all have a separate cycle path. You can easily hire a bike for a few hours or a few days. It’s a great way to see the city. There are also companies who organise half and full day bike tours so if time is short you could see most of Barcelona and keep fit at the same time.
Our accommodation was a 15 minute walk to the Cathedral Familia. Unfortunately we decided not to queue and look inside as it wasn’t feasible with a toddler as it was a very long wait even though we got there at 11am. Even from the outside you can get a very good idea of the building which is simply magnificent and very worth the visit. It is amazing to think they still haven’t finished it, although construction started more than 100 years ago.
Around this area you can find your usual Mac Donalds, Starbucks and chain eateries. If you are travelling with children there is a playground opposite to keep the little ones entertained while you capture the splendour of the building.
From the Familia, depending on how much exercise you want, it is possible to wander up to Las Ramblas and all the way down to the Marina. It took us between 45 minutes and an hour.
The Marina is where the cruises depart and there is a shopping mall, IMEX theatre, a huge number of eateries and lots of yachts and boats to look at. We found it very busy down here and beware if you need to use the toilet you need to pay 1 EURO!
In general Barcelona is very clean and green. There are countless parks and children’s play areas. We found it very easy to walk everywhere as we could break up the journey by stopping for an ice-cream.
We chose to spend one of our days at the beach and got there via the metro which cost only 2 EURO each. It’s about five stops down to Barceloneta and took us 10 minutes.
We arrived early at 10am and found a sunbed and parasol easy enough, which was 15 EUROS. The beach at Barceloneta is very rocky. The beach gets VERY busy, and every inch of sand was taken up by lunch time. There are plenty of cafes and supermarkets opposite where you can get water and snacks.
We only ate out at lunch time and found the cost to be reasonable and certainly not extortionate for typical Spanish tapas and healthy salads. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from all over the city and a typical 3 plate tapas meal will cost approx. 10 EUROS pp. The city has very easy transport routes so if you would rather save your pennies for shopping and sightseeing I would recommend a hotel further away from the centre. The metro was very easy and there are buses and walkways everywhere.
We will certainly be returning to Barcelona (maybe without the little one!)