TRAVEL DIARIES
BARCELONA, SPAIN
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller
I’m back in Manchester after spending four lovely days in Barcelona! I’ve always wanted to visit this city, and I finally got the chance to do it. Four days definitely didn’t feel like enough to see everything, but we made our schedule so full that we managed to explore all the main highlights.
On our first day, we checked into the hotel and went straight out to the city. We wandered through the beautiful alleys of Barcelona and ended up in Ciutadella Park — absolutely stunning! Later, we had tapas in a quiet little square surrounded by cosy restaurants. After dinner, we went for a drink at a rooftop bar and watched the sunset.
The second day was quite intense. We started with Park Güell, and what an amazing place it was! I was completely mesmerised by Gaudí’s work. We wanted to visit the famous terrace, but the tickets were sold out, so we bought them for the next day instead. In the afternoon, we took a train up the hill to visit the church and park at the summit of Tibidabo. The view of the entire city was breathtaking. Afterwards, we rushed to make it to our Sagrada Família tour.
That was probably my favourite moment of the trip. The details, the colours, the atmosphere — everything about this building is truly magnificent. I highly recommend taking the audio tour; without it, it’s impossible to notice all the small details Gaudí designed.
To finish off the day, we had dinner at a cute little restaurant near our hotel and shared a cheese platter with sangria. The next day, we returned to Park Güell, and I loved it even more the second time.
Afterwards, we visited Casa Milà, then took a bus to the castle on the hill to catch the sunset. Unfortunately, the castle closed half an hour before sunset, so we only managed a quick visit before heading to the fountain show. Later that evening, we had dinner at Grupo Abrassame, a restaurant located above a shopping mall with stunning 360-degree views of the city. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped for a beer in the Gothic Square.
Our last day in Barcelona was all about slowing down and enjoying the sunshine after three busy days. We spent the morning at the beach, walked along the coast to see Hotel W, stopped for burgers, ice cream, and, of course, more sangria. It was the perfect way to end such a beautiful trip.
