Itinerary:
DAY 1 - flight from Prague to Barcelona, Magic Fountain of Montjuïc
DAY 2 - La Rambla, La Boqueria, Plaça de Catalunya, Cathedral of Barcelona, Playa de la Barceloneta, Ciutadella Park, Arc de Triomf, Sagrada Família
DAY 3 - Camp Nou, Parc Güell
DAY 4 - Montserrat, Sant Jeroni (1 236 metres)
DAY 1 - flight from Prague to Barcelona, Magic Fountain of Montjuïc
We wanted to use Christmas vacation for some travelling and we decided to go to Barcelona to warm ourselves up a little bit. Barcelona was on my checklist for quite a while, so I was excited to finally have the opportunity to explore this amazing city.
We arrived quite late and it was already dark, but we were not as tired, so we went to Magic Fountain of Montjuïc. It is the main feature of a complex of fountains, cascades and pools lying close to Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya and Plaça d'Espanya. It is impressive especially during night, because the fountain changes its colour to the rhythm of music.
DAY 2 - La Rambla, La Boqueria, Plaça de Catalunya, Cathedral of Barcelona, Playa de la Barceloneta, Ciutadella Park, Arc de Triomf, Sagrada Família
Our first steps in the centre of Barcelona led us to La Rambla, the main walking street of Barcelona. If you are there, don't miss hidden but charming square Plaça Reial. La Rambla can be quite crowded, because it is very popular for tourists. The whole street is lined with trees making you feel like in small town. La Rambla also hosts famous market La Boqueria. It is good to go there early in the morning, because it is swamped with tourists afterwards. We tasted their fresh smoothies and it was delicious.
La Rambla is quite a long street and the walk takes you to Plaça de Catalunya. This square is like the heart of Barcelona city centre. Main streets lead to this place and it is popular for its fountains and statues. Fountains are huge phenomenon in Barcelona, you can find them on almost every square. If you are fountain lover, Barcelona is the place to go.
The Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter) is the centre of old Barcelona. Its labyrinthine streets are perfect for getting lost and wandering with no goal. In the middle of Gothic Quarter lies monumental Cathedral of Barcelona. This gothic cathedral is also known as The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia and serves as the seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona.
We were a little bit tired from all the walking, so we headed to Playa de la Barceloneta. We were resting at the surprisingly empty beach and enjoying warm sun. The sea was too cold for swimming as it was December, but we had very nice time thanks to warm weather (around 18-20 degrees).
As nature lovers we have to visit a park in every city. We found beautiful Ciutadella Park in Barcelona. You can enjoy many things in Ciutadella Park - alleys with oranges, The Cascada - Gaudi's fountain, boat ride at the small lake, gazebos for dancing and omnipresent greenery.
From Ciutadella Park we continued to the promenade leading us to Arc de Triomf.
A must-see in Barcelona is definitely Sagrada Família - one of the most famous unfinished buildings in the world. We were a little bit dissappointed, because it wasn't as impressive as we expected, but maybe our expectations were just too high.
DAY 3 - Camp Nou, Parc Güell
I am a football fan, so being able to visit famous Camp Nou - stadium of FC Barcelona was a dream come true. It is amazing experience, because Camp Nou has unique atmosphere even for people not following football. It is huge stadium, its capacity is more than 99 000 visitors. It is quite old, but it doesn't take the spirit away.
When you take the tour to the stadium, you can visit changing rooms, museum with a huge amount of trophies or small chapel in the tunnel leading to the playground. It is also great to just sit to the stand and enjoyed the view of whole stadium.
Park Güell is a public park composed of gardens and architectonic elements of Antoni Gaudí. It was built in Catalan modernism. What got us the most and what you don't read in travel guides is that there is a number of musicians performing in the gardens of Park Güell. What is the better way to spend your time in Barcelona than listen to the Spanish guitar in the shadow of Gaudí's masterpiece? Parrots living in the palms around sometimes sing along.
We unfortunately didn't know that there is public part of the park and part where you need to buy the ticket. There is limited number of people that can get inside each hour, so you should book the ticket in advance. But it is not necessary to visit that part, because when you go around and arrive to the main entrance, you can see the architectonic buildings too. I would say that you just pay for the photo with architectonic elements of Gaudí and view of Barcelona together on one picture.
DAY 4 - Montserrat, Sant Jeroni (1 236 metres)
Santa Maria de Montserrat is a Benedictine abbey located around 2 hours by train from Barcelona. It is great choice if you want to go for one day trip outside of Barcelona.
Its location is what makes it very special, it lies right on the mountain of Montserrat and it is surrounded by multitude of rock formations. It is also known for enshrining the image of the Virgin of Montserrat. The abbey is still functional with over 70 monks.
We went to the last train station and then took cable car that brought us to the abbey.
Luckily for those interested in nature, most people just go to the abbey and they don't explore Montserrat mountain range behind. If you want to do some hiking, go to information centre, because they have small maps that offer you variety of different paths.
We took a path around the whole mountain range and it also took us to the highest summit Sant Jeroni (1 236 metres). Unlike most of the other summits in the park, Sant Jeroni is not a sharp rock pinnacle requiring rock climbing skills to attain its summit, so everyone can get to the top. The view from up there is unbeatable. You can see the whole Montserrat range and also look up to the Pyrenees over 100km away. Just enjoy the photos!
To end this story, let me introduce you some of the examples from Spanish cuisine..
