A Guide to Barcelona, Spain

We recently spent four nights in Barcelona, Spain. The following is our itinerary. I hope it will help you plan yours.

Day 1

We started out by walking down La Rambla, which is a long tree-lined pedestrian mall. We turned on Las Rambas and walked all the way to the end, stopping at a famous food market, La Boqueria, which is filled with food of all sorts.

It isn't too far to walk to the waterfront, which is a beautiful area. You'll see a very large statue of Columbus. The area is beautiful.

Day 2

We went to Park Güell, which is a garden complex that was originally supposed to be a housing development. It was designed by the brilliant architect, Antoni Gaudi whose work can be seen all over Barcelona. Park Güell is part of the Unesco World Heritage Site. To get here you will take a bus and then walk about ten minutes uphill.

We went to Tibidabo, a mountain overlooking the city. You'll get an amazing view and pictures that will look like postcards. To get to this mountain we took a funicular and found an amusement park and the Temple de Sagrat Cor, a Catholic Church.

I highly recommend that you do a hop on/hop off bus, which will take you to areas you may not get to, such as Olympic Park.

Day 3

We spent time in the Jewish quarter, which was somewhat disappointing and sad. There were a few relics in the visitor center and a short walk but the fact is there is really nothing left.

From there we went to Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família often simply called the Sagrada Família. I would suggest going here before you go to any of Gaudi's houses. This church is a massive, privately-funded Roman Catholic church that has been under construction since 1882. It isnot expected to be finished until 2026. The church is very special and unbelievably lavish and ornate because it was designed by Gaudi who worked on the project from 1883 and devoted the last fifteen years of his life entirely to the endeavor. He died at the age of 72 after being hit by a train. The attempt to build this church exactly as Gaudi wanted it is truly a labor of love. I suggest that you definitely pay for the audio guide.

Day 4

We toured one of Gaudi's houses, Casa Mila. The wait was about 35 minutes to get in and here also an audio guide is a must. A nice walk that you will find in guide books will take you by another house designed by Gaudi, the Seminary, and the University.

Walk to Plaza Espana, which is pretty at night but the best part was finding a highlight of our trip -The Dancing Waters of Barcelona. You can see this amazing dance from 7:00p.m. to 9:00p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.