5 Reasons I Love Barcelona

Seven years ago, for our honeymoon, we went on a Mediterranean cruise which sailed out of Barcelona. We flew into Barcelona a few days prior to explore the city, which neither of us had ever been to before. We were both surprised how much we fell in love with the city & have been hoping to return in the seven years since. Here are 5 reasons why I love Barcelona & can’t wait to get back…

1. The architecture is droolworthy

I mean look at the photo above: it’s old school Spanish style, bathed in beautiful golden evening light. You just don’t see buildings like this in the United States. I fell in love with photographing Barcelona’s balconies, stone work, & archways. The architecture is unique & even the modern buildings, such as the Torre Agbar (which was right next to our hotel, all done up in FC Barcelona colors…), are graceful & beautiful.

2. Gaudi

Park Güell is a public park which was designed by famed Catalonian architect Antoni Gaudi. The park embodies everything that Gaudi is all about: wavy designs, colorful mosaics everywhere, & lots of design that kind of makes you scratch you head a bit. The park is perched up on Carmelo Hill (accessible by a series of public escalators!), providing sweeping views of the city out to the Mediterranean Sea. We could have spent the entire day there, admiring the amazing art, but even in the off season, the park was really busy. One of the most touristy sites on this list, Park Güell is still well worth a visit.

3. Outstanding public markets

Like in so many European cities, Barcelona’s public markets are a colorful circus of candy, produce, spices, meat & oddities (like the sheeps heads below!). We really enjoyed exploring the public markets with all the locals who do their daily & weekly shopping there. It takes grocery shopping to a whole new level & makes me hate the boring aisles of overly processed products I have to choose from when I shop in the U.S. La Boqueria is right off of Las Ramblas, but one of the most easily assessable – & largest – markets in the city.

4. Tiny details that you just don’t see in America

For number 5, I asked my digital nomad friend Kit, of Seek New Travel, to contribute her favorite thing about Barcelona, since she just finished up a few months there. 

5. The food: tapas, churros & cava!

I totally agree with Kit on this one: food in Barcelona rocks. One of the reasons I want to go back there so badly is because the food is awesome & yet we didn’t really get to experience a true tapas bar. She recommends El Born as the best tapas anywhere in the world, but says that any bar in the Born neighborhood will have great tapas, along with local wine & lots of cava.

One of the things I greatly enjoyed while we were there was buying churros right off of a street truck. Think fried sticks of dough, kind of like a funnel cake, covered in cinnamon sugar with a  side of chocolate sauce to dip. Heavenly, right?

Have you been to Barcelona? What was your favorite part of the city?