Barcelona 2024

A long Weekend in Barcelona to escape from the German autumn

  This year, I mostly planned my holidays to visit the Northern parts of Europe, like the Faroe Islands in June or the Iceland adventure in November. So it was a pleasure for me to escape from the German autumn for a long weekend via the German Unification Day to enjoy the sunshine in Barcelona.

  After a short 1,5 hours flight from Basel, I arrived at the airport of Barcelona, where I took the airport shuttle bus to the Plaça d'Espana, followed by a little walk to my AirBnB. Since I still had a full afternoon to explore some parts of the city, I decided to walk to the nearby Montjuïc, one of the local mountains of Barcelona. Montjuïc translates to "Jewish Mountain" from medieval Latin and Catalan, and remains of a medieval Jewish cemetery, which has been found there. On my way up to the Palau Nacional, a huge Italian-style building, housing the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, I also passed by the enormous Font Màgica. Unfortunately, I missed the magical spectacle of the fountain water and music show, since I didn't know, when it takes place. But even without the water fountains, I really liked the views of the surroundings with the city and the mountains in the background. Afterwards, I had a little hike through many of the beautiful gardens until I reached the summit of the mountain, 173 metres above sea level, with the 17th century Castle of Montjuïc. I decided to spend the 12 euros to enter the fortification to have access to the bastions, the parade ground, the terrace and the watchtower. I was a bit disappointed, because I hoped to get a better panoramic view of the city, and in general, the castle wasn't life changing from the inside and I could have better spent the money for taking the cable car, which I postponed for a future visit of the city. Since it was slightly starting to rain, I decided to walk back by taking a different way and coincidentally, I found the Teatre Grec, an outdoor theatre, which was constructed in 1929 for the Barcelona International Exposition in an ancient Greek style, and the Teatre Lliure, one of the most prestigious theatres in Catalonia. Close by, I found a cute tapas bar for having my dinner, before I returned back to my AirBnB. Since the sidewalk was very slippery due to the rain, I slipped on the way back, but luckily I didn't injure myself too badly, so I was able to explore Barcelona with full of energy on the next day.    

  The Thursday morning started with a breakfast at one of the lovely bakeries in the surrounding of the AirBnB. There were literally so many cute bakeries and cafés in the whole city and all the pastries looked so delicious, but well, I couldn't try all of them. After my morning pastries and a coffee, I took the metro line and still had to walk almost half an hour to reach Park Güell. On my way there, I found an amazing observation platform, where I could have the brilliant panoramic view of Barcelona, I was expecting from Montjuïc Castle the day before. Arrived at one of the side entrances of Park Güell, I started to explore the whole area with all its gardens and architectural elements. The park has been declared a World Heritage Site under "Works of Antoni Gaudí" in 1984 - along with the Sagrada Familia, Casa Milà and Casa Battló - and it shows a reflection of Gaudí's artistic talents to create his own style and works full of structural richness of forms and volumes. The park thrives on its contrasts: On the one hand, there is a magnificent natural environment with its magical gardens and mysterious paths, on the other hand, there are brilliant colourful mosaic works and architectural masterpieces created by Antoni Gaudí, inviting to another fascinating world. Park Güell is definitely one of Barcelona's most attractive and breathtaking landmarks. I was marvelling around the whole time - here some fancy mosaic works on the main terrace with the unique shape of the serpentine bench or the tiled mosaics on the ceiling, there a viaduct or columns, forming artistic masterpieces. It was a successfull start into a wonderful day in which I was able to immerse myself in the world of Antoni Gaudí and gain deep insights into the artist's history.  

  Following in the footprints of Antoni Gaudí, I booked tickets to enter the Casa Milà and Casa Battló. On the way, I also passed by the Casa Vicens, which is mentioned to be the first major significant project, Gaudí received. To be honest, it's a little hidden wonder, since it's more unknown than the other two buildings and so, I just saw it from the outside, setting it on my list for the next visit in Barcelona and I'm pretty sure, it's also very impressive like the Casa Milà, in my opinion one of the most beautiful buildings in Barcelona, especially with the rooftop and its ventilation chimneys in the shape of medieval knights. The Casa Milà was the last building, constructed by Gaudí, before he devoted himself entirely to the construction of the Sagrada Familia, which can be spotted from the rooftop of the building. Casa Milà stands out with its unique architectural design out of natural forms, colourful murals and playfully detailed interior, combined with the outstanding city views from the roof. It was one of the most impressive highlights on my sightseeing tour through Barcelona. I also visited Casa Battló and what should I say, it was another unique masterpiece by Antoni Gaudí. The organic and playful shapes make visitors feel as if they are in a light-flooded, colourful fairytale house. It's another treasure of the city of Barcelona, especially with its facade, decorated with colourful mosaics, the blue coloured light well and the very unique and precious dragon stairs and dragon rooftop. All these buildings, constructed by Gaudí, shine with a special splendour and make Barcelona a very exceptional city.

  After an exciting journey through the world of Antoní Gaudi, it was time to discover the historic centre of Barcelona. In the Gothic quarter Barri Gòtic, I got lost in a complete different kind of world, in a kind of labyrinth full of historical landmarks including the remains of the city's Roman wall, several medieval buildings or the medieval Jewish quarter El Call. The cityscape is characterized by many narrow and winding streets leading to some of the vivid squares of the district. Most of the monuments date from the 14th and 15th centuries, like the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, completed in 1448 and redesigned with a neo-Gothic facade in the 19th century, or the Pont de Bisbe, connecting the Catalan government building Palau de la Generalitat and Casa dels Canonges. Barri Gòtic is a vivid cultural centre with a unique atmosphere full of historical heritage and lively street life, inviting to explore Barcelona from a different side.

  After the fantastic adventure of exploring Barri Gòtic, it was time to immerse in the world of Antoni Gaudí again, because you can't visit Barcelona without seeing the famous Sagrada Familia, the main work of Gaudí, which was started in 1882 and is still a construction site nowadays. Unfortunately, the tickets to enter the glamorous basilica were sold out weeks before I planned to visit Barcelona, so I could only see the masterpiece from the outside, but it was so impressive, so I decided to see it during the daytime and during the night. For a future trip to Barcelona, it'll be definitely on my list to get the ticket, since everyone, who was inside, was telling me how marvellous it really is. Afterwards, I was strolling around La Rambla in the direction of the harbour Port Vell with the Christopher Columbus Monument. In between, I was taking a little coffee and white wine break to treat myself well in a vacation mode. Moreover, I was doing a little side trip to the Mercat de la Boqueria, a foodie paradise with delicious Catalan cuisine to invite you to stay longer. I also couldn't resist to eat some churros and some of the typical Catalan pastries. There were so many cute bakeries all around the city, so I had to try some sweat cakes too. I also tried many different tapas and my favourite restaurant was "Jardinet d'Aribau", not only because of the delicious food, but also beacuse of the colourful and flowery decorations. The last place, I've visited in Barcelona, was the Camp Nou stadium of the FC Barcelona, just 15 minutes away from my AirBnB. Since there was also a huge construction area around the stadium, I skipped the stadium tour and just went around for a short time, before I came back to my AirBnB.

  To learn more about the history of Catalonia and admire the beauty of the landscapes outside of Barcelona, I decided to join a guided tour to the Montserrat National Park with its impressive Benedictine monastery Santa Maria de Montserrat about 45 km northwest of the city. After taking the bus and the cog railway, where it was already possible to enjoy the magnificent view of the hinterland of Catalonia, we reached the touristic area in front of the basilica. We got 45 minutes to explore the area by our own, before our guide took us inside the basilica to see the famous Black Madonna. Since I wanted to see some more panoramic views, I went for a short hike around the spiritual cross path. Unfortunately, the time wasn't enough for a longer hiking route, so whenever I'm coming back to Barcelona, I would also come back to Montserrat by a rented car to have more time for hiking and climbing up the mountains for more fantastic views, but for the first impression of the surrounding nature, I was super satisfied. Nestled between the steeply into the sky rising peaks, one of the oldest pilgrimage sites in Catalonia can be found - the Santa Maria de Montserrat. Finally, we went inside the basilica and every single room was stunning with many colourful frescos and mural paintings or golden embellishments. But the main highlight was the statue of the Black Madonna, the patron saint of Catalonia. The figure was carved from wood in the late 12th century and its dark appearance is attributed to the choice of wood and the aging process. The statue is often adorned with a golden crown and cloak. It was definitely worth it to visit the basilica and afterwards, we still had some minutes left to see the mountain range with the upcoming sunset, creating the perfect closure for my short trip to Barcelona.