View from Tibidabo Mountain in Barcelona, Spain

8 Things you should know when visiting Barcelona, Spain

When taking a Cruise to the Mediterranean, which for sure should be on everyone’s “Bucket List”, 🙂 there’s a good chance you’ll end up in Barcelona, Spain as it’s one of the major Cruise Ports over there.

And when we did our 1st ever Med Cruise a couple of years ago, we were no exception as we ended up starting & ending our Cruise in Beautiful Barcelona!  (If you want to see our pics from there, check out our Barcelona & Mediterranean Cruise photo & video gallery.)

So today, we wanted to share our thoughts about this famous Spanish city in hopes it’ll help you get the most out of your stay in Barcelona before, during or after your Mediterranean Cruise!

Barcelona is a pretty city, easy to get around, and is filled with century old buildings and lots of sites to take in.

Some people find looking at churches boring, but in Barcelona, you’ll find them fascinating! One in particular is called “La Sagrada Familia”, by Antoni Gaudi, a famous Spanish architect…  the line ups are sometimes long to get inside but a must see

…no surprise when you consider it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it’s been 100 years+ in the making!! 🙂

La Sagrada Familia Church by Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona, Spain

Some other things you should know when traveling to Barcelona are…

1. If you’re a foodie, this area is known for and you’ll want to try Tapas and the Paella (a scrumptious rice dish) of this region.

2. Las Ramblas is the street “to be” on in Barcelona (and also the best spot to find a hotel).  It’s very unique because it has shopping vendors of all kinds, a Market (La Boqueria) with the biggest selections of fresh fish, candy and fruits and vegetables, artists ready to draw your picture, martial arts demonstrations, mimes, people displaying themselves as creative statues (that you can have your picture taken with for a donation) and so much more.

La Boqueria Market in Barcelona, Spain

3. A must do in Barcelona is to pick a restaurant and sit outside. Why? Because they turn the chairs toward the street where you can people watch and sip on Cava… a Spanish sparkling wine that’s delicious and perfect for this type of activity… Las Ramblas was definitely our favorite place to do this! 🙂

4.  You will need a converter for your hotel stays for electronics and such.  Be prepared. You don’t want to waste your vacation time in Barcelona trying to track one of those down.

5. Did you know that an amusement park sits at the top of Tibidabo Mountain in Barcelona?  To get there you take a short trolley and then a steep tram ride straight up the mountain (the journey up is a highlight all of it’s own) and wait till you get to the top and overlook the city of Barcelona… yes, the park has so many fun activities to take part in but also, it has the best views of the city!

View from Tibidabo Mountain in Barcelona, Spain

6. Speaking of parks, another great theme park to visit in Barcelona is “Park Guell”… what a unique place… again, another of Antoni Gaudi’s creations and we’re sure inspiration for “The Smurfs” creation came from here. 🙂

7. As we’ve talked about many times, one of the best parts of traveling is seeing how cultures can be very different around the world. One thing noticeable was the fact that people eat really late in Barcelona, so we would recommend going outside your normal eating schedule and eat late one evening. It’s no problem to find a place to chow down at 11:30 pm… fun! 🙂

8. Bring your swim suits… beaches are super popular, abundant and well kept in Barcelona… and with the beautiful weather (and people) most of the year it’s the “Hot” place to be. 🙂

A Beautiful Beach in Barcelona, Spain

As you can tell…

there are many great things to do and see in Barcelona…

…the highlights are best seen by taking a hop on/hop off bus as many of the sites are widely spread out, especially if you have limited time to visit.

One of our favorite cities to visit… we highly recommend Barcelona for your Mediterranean Cruise as a starting/ending point!

We appreciate You!

Nancy & Shawn
Your Trusted Cruise Experts!

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