10 Tips to Enjoy your Barcelona Trip – Make the most out of your holiday with these tips
10 Tips to Enjoy your Barcelona Trip – Make the most out of your
holiday with these tips
Barcelona is a great tourist destination, but it can be quite overwhelming to organise a holiday that will cover all the things you want to do. Here are some suggestions to remember when planning your Barcelona trip.
1: Visit during the low season
In 2022, nearly 3 million tourists visited Barcelona between June and August. Obviously, the city is busy every month of the year, but during the Summer months, you might not have the best experience exploring the city with the large amount of people and noise.
Additionally, everything that you may book, whether it’s the accommodation, tickets for the attractions or for the journey, will be more expensive than if you’re planning on visiting during the low season.
Also, the temperature during Summer is hot and humid, which makes it great for going to the beach, but not for walking around.
A perfect time to visit would be early spring or late autumn, where the holiday season is at its lowest and the temperature is much nicer.
2: Book tickets in advance
Regardless if you end up visiting during high or low season, don’t make the mistake of not booking tickets for the biggest attractions.
You won’t be able to visit popular sites like the Sagrada Família if you don’t book tickets weeks in advance, so take that into account when planning your trip.
If you are not a fan of preparing your trips, choose a few landmarks that you want to visit, book the tickets, and then you can play it by ear for the rest of the day.
Another tip to make your visits to landmarks more pleasant is to book skip the line tickets for the most popular places, so you won’t waste hours of your trip waiting in line.
3: Plan how to get around
Barcelona has great public transport to move around, so you should definitely use the metro, which is very quick and easy to use. You can get a public transport card for up to 5 days and do as many trips as you want.
However, Barcelona is a beautiful city to walk around and discover new things, so if you can, walk from one place to another to save up money and get a more authentic experience of the city.
Also, if you are travelling by plane, and you don’t know how to get to your accommodation from the airport, check the Aerobus, which is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to move to and from the airport.
4: Stay for longer than a weekend
You could say this about almost every touristic city, but Barcelona has a lot of things to see and do, so you should stay for more than two or three days in the city.
If you stay in Barcelona for a week, you can spread out your activities so that your days are less tight, only
with a couple of big sights per day in order to enjoy the city in a more relaxed way.
Additionally, you can take a day trip to cities such as Figueres, where you can visit the Dalí museum, or Sitges, where you can have a nice beach day.
5: Pick your accommodation wisely
A key factor to have a great experience is deciding on the type of accommodation. A hotel is a great choice, but during the holiday season they tend to get overpriced, so a more affordable alternative could be to find a flat to rent in Barcelona.
Having an entire apartment gives you more freedom and privacy to come and go when you want, and you can save up money by cooking your own meals.
It’s also nice to have your own place, especially if you’re travelling with family or friends, so you can have your space but have areas to spend time together.
6: Explore the not-so touristy places
Barcelona is full of iconic landmarks such as Sagrada Família, Park Güell or La Rambla, and these are all worth visiting, but don’t forget to visit the places that are more overlooked.
Not only will there be fewer people, and you’ll have a nicer experience, but you will see another side of the city.
You can walk around the streets to discover things at your own pace. Gràcia and the Barri Gótic are two beautiful and lively quarters to explore, and you will find things to do there all the time.
Visit Casa Vicens, the library of Catalonia or the Hospital de Sant Pau to learn about modernist architecture and its history, or go to some of the less tourist-centered museums.
7: Try local cuisine
No matter what type of food you want to try, you will find a place in Barcelona to eat it, as the city offers a multitude of options of great international cuisine.
However, while in Barcelona, you should try their typical dishes, like tapas, which are typical Spanish appetisers made from a wide range of ingredients. You can go to bars and try different tapas
and even ask for the servers’ recommendations.
Other foods that you should try are paella (although it’s a Valencian dish, there’s a big tradition of cooking paellas everywhere in Spain), desserts like crema catalana and, if you visit between November and April, try calçots, a type of onion that’s eaten with romesco sauce, made of tomato, pepper and toasted almond.
8: Be aware of Spanish times
But when considering going to eat at a restaurant, you’ll have to keep in mind that Spanish’s schedule might be a little bit different from your country’s.
Often restaurants open from 1 to 3 PM for lunch and 8:30 to 11 PM for dinner. This can actually be applied to any kind of business in Spain. If you are thinking of going out, take into account that bars and clubs usually open later, though they also close later.
Some shops, museums and tourist attractions also tend to open a little bit later in the morning, but they are often open until 8 PM. Just as a general advice, check the time things open and close to make sure you will have time to go.
9: Wear appropriate clothes
Tourists usually enjoy the sunny weather in Barcelona, as it’s one of its strong points. In general, the winters are cold but not too much, the summers are very hot, and spring and autumn are in between, so pack a variety of clothes.
Just remember to check the weather forecast while packing and include an umbrella just in case. The most important thing is to wear comfortable shoes, as you will probably walk a lot every day.
10: Stay safe
Although Barcelona is not a dangerous city, places with a lot of tourists are the perfect target for pickpockets.
Make sure you don’t look too touristy and keep an eye on your belongings. Try to avoid walking around too late at night on your own, and be alert while visiting the most famous attractions and on the metro.
Travelling to a place like Barcelona, with so many activities to do and sights to visit, can be intimidating, but following these tips will help you make the most of your holiday.
