4 Days in Barcelona Itinerary

Barcelona is very well equipped for tourism, it’s a city that receives thousands upon thousands of northern Europeans looking for some warmth and plenty of other nationalities, looking for a party, a beach, some history or a bit of art.. or all of the above. It’s true, Barcelona is a city that has it all and can cater for all types of tourists and nomads.

Transportation is key, from and to the airport is pretty simple, get a taxi or get a bus ticket, taxi will cost anywhere between 30 and 50 euro while busses are 5.99 for a return ticket, you can get either of them once you walk out of the terminal, no complications.

Inside the city, I found the best option to be the T-10 that gives you 10 rides on both the bus and metro, it costs 10 euros and it can be used by several passengers, so if you’re a family, a couple or a group of friends, you can always share. Barcelona is a big city, relatively of course, but that means that you’ll need transportation to and from most places, but I found it very well connected with bus stops and metro stations in all the key places.

I was pretty disappointed with Barcelona’s food options; it’s very expensive for what it is... or maybe it was my mistake that I went there directly from Rome where the food was amazing! The only café we found which had ok food was Nostrum close to the Sagrada Familia. By the beach, we had tapas and sandwiches for 10 euro each, which is a scam if you ask me. Barcelona lacks variety, Paella is everywhere but with massive price and quality differences, and apart from that, sandwiches and Indian food, there is nothing much to be eaten. As for coffee it was significantly bad in most bars, if you’re into coffee and you’re going to Barcelona avoid Asian bars at all cost.

On my last visit to Barcelona I stayed at a hostel, so I was able to make use of the supermarket across the road, since the area of this particular hostel was mostly residential, prices weren’t that bad at the the supermarket.

Speaking of residential areas, on all my trips to Barcelona I was lucky to stay in the area around Sagrada Familia, which I found to be quieter and cleaner than places like Las Ramblas or Catalunia. Because Barcelona transportation is very easy, it is always the better choice for me to stay there and take the bus to the beach.

Things to do:

The beach is on top of that list, of course! Barcelona is a coastal city famous for its long stretch of open public beaches. The summer months are perfect for swimming and getting bronzed in the morning and clubbing or taking a long walk/cycle by the sea at night. The beach is served by utilities such as bathrooms and showers, you can just spread your own tapestry, or buy one from one of the people who roam on the beach selling them, get an umbrella and settle in. There are several beach shops that sell essentials such as umbrellas (you can rent them from one of the cafes as well if you don’t want to carry it back and forth), water, snacks and even towels and flip flops if you needed them.

Montjuic is a hill area connected to the city, you can cable car for the 750-metre-long trip up the hill, and see epic bird’s eye view of entire Barcelona, the cable car provides visibility to the sea, main attractions such as La Sagrada Familia and other big monuments around Barcelona. Montjuic itself is a green mountain with lots of nice attractions such the castle and gardens, with many amazing views of the city. On the foot of the hill, is the magic fountain, which sits underneath the big pillars and fountains of water rolling down towards it from the national museum, the magic fountain is a dancing colorful fountain that runs a show at sunset every day.

If you have a bit of time and want to save up on transportation, the city’s hop on hop bus is considered one of the best-curated services of its kind, two routes take you to almost all the main sightseeing attractions and gives you all the time you need to visit and hop on another bus. Just make sure to have on sun block and sunglasses if you’ll sit on the open level in the summer months.

Park Guell is one of the famous works of Antoni Gaudi; remember that name because he is behind some of the city’s most fascinating architecture. He has a unique style of building that you will see in many of the buildings around the city, including the rather huge Sagrada Familia. Just walking in the city center you can see a random building like Casa Batllo pop up between modern style buildings, they are designed by Gaudi, most of Barcelona’s historic buildings have attractions that you can visit inside.

  

Sagrada familia is... very big. Well, very beautiful to look at as well. When I first went to Barcelona I looked at it from the outside but my trip was short and not very well planned so I didn’t go inside (the queue for the tickets was insane). On the second trip I had it planned better and booked online, you have the choice to either just see the church from the inside or book another tickets for going up the towers, I just went for the church based on other travelers’ reviews. There is a lot to learn and see inside but it isn’t as grand or magnificent as the outside is. La Sagrada Familia is a working church, take that into consideration when you’re going and dress appropriately. It is also unfinished; work is still being carried, so the places you can visit inside can change. Overall, it’s a sight worth seeing.

 

No trip to Barcelona will ever be complete if it did not include a visit to Las Ramblas Street and The Gothic Quarter, although Las Ramblas is not my favorite, it has its flavor. It does however lead you to the very famous and colorful food market as well the Gothic Quarter, where you can walk down the narrow streets and shop for little souvenirs or grab a coffee.

If you’re into football, you can visit Camp Nou, the Barcelona Football team’s stadium where you can walk on the grass, explore were the teams gather in the lockers and take a look at the club’s history and all the cups and awards they received. It also includes a souvenirs shop.

There are several very satisfying shopping centers and areas around Barcelona, the Arenas is one of the most famous of them, it’s a converted Arena where they once used to fight Bulls, there is also Maremagnum which is right by the sea, on Diagonal main street, there are two big shopping centers, one close to the sea which is Diagonal Mar the second is L'illa Diagonal. If you want to do shopping but still want a taste of the city check out Portal de l'Àngel, which is one of the main streets in Barcelona which starts conveniently close to Las Ramblas and leads straight out to Piața Cataluña right in the city center, there you will also find a couple of El Corte Inglés which is a famous Spanish chain and you can find it in a lot of other places around the city, it has heaps of brands and normally offers good discounts.

If you want a good bargain however, get a special bus ticket to La Rocca village, Barcelona’s answer to outlet malls is rather big, and includes many nice worldwide brands that offer big discounts as well as last season items. Be sure to get there early enough and leave on time for the last bus, since it is quite remote and you don’t want to be stuck there or end up getting a taxi back. If you’re a massive shopaholic you can bring your suitcase, busses to La Rocca often have room for them, that way you don’t have to carry lots of bags around with you.

I’ve put together an itinerary for spending 4 days in Barcelona below:

Day 1:  Depending on when you arrive to the city you can go to Park Guell in the morning, Sagrada Familia in the afternoon and then The Magic fountain at sunset, have dinner on Las Ramblas.

Day 2: Go to the beach in the early morning and stay there till lunch, you can eat by the sea or have lunch at one of the cafes there. Visit one of Gaudi’s buildings in the city in the afternoon, you can also go to the national museum and check out the fountains in daytime, or if you’re into art book a ticket online to Picasso museum.

Day 3: Go to Montjuic and Camp Nou in the morning, walk around the city center - Gothic Quarter in the afternoon or go to the beach for a second dip. Have dinner in one of the restaurants by the sea.

Day 4: Spend the morning shopping at La Rocca Village and the evening down town in one of the shopping malls. If you don’t want to do any shopping you can use this day to go back to the beach, rent a bicycle around the city, or take one of the Barcelona City Tours hop-on hop-off buses and explore some of the beauty of Barcelona’s Nature and Architecture.