Explore Barcelona on your own

Barcelona is our absolute favorite metropolis by the sea. We have often spent a weekend here, or even just a day as a cruise destination. This time we had two days to discover the city and were inspired by the tips of our Instagram followers. The result is this walk through the beautiful city in Catalonia, which takes about six hours and is around 7 km long. The starting point was our hotel on the Moll de Barcelona. As the shipping companies’ shuttle buses and the public transfer bus to the cruise terminal also stop here, you can easily follow this tour and of course shorten it as you wish:

1. Walk along La Rambla to Plaça de Catalunya

Many people love to stroll along the main street, La Rambla. It runs from the Mirador de Colom by the sea to Plaça de Catalunya. In the middle of the street is a beautiful promenade with cafés, bars and small market stalls that invites you to take a stroll. Walking up and down here is also a must from our point of view. Many small streets lead off to the left and right, allowing you to delve deeper into the city. One of our favorite detours here, next to the market hall (Mercat de Boqueria), is Chök in Carrer del Carme 3. We simply never get past this chocolate café and this time we stopped here for a delicious cronut. We tried an Oreo kronurt and a lemon kronut. After this refreshment, we continued on to Plaça de Catalunya. The walk from the Moll de Barcelona, including a stop at Chök, to Plaça de Catalunya took just under 40 minutes and was about 2 km long.

2. From Plaça de Catalunya to Casa Batlló

Plaça de Catalunya is in the heart of Barcelona. There is always a lot to see here. Families and children playing, lots of pigeons, balloon sellers and of course tourists taking photos of themselves and the surroundings. The square is also surrounded by beautiful buildings and the fountain and sculptures on the square invite you to linger.

When we arrived here in the most beautiful sunshine on this Sunday, children and tourists were feeding the pigeons to take photos of themselves and the flocks of pigeons. Sunday life raged with joy on the pitch. Of course, we also took a few photos and then walked along Passeig de Gràcia towards Casa Milà. There is a lot to see on this route. For us, Passeig de Gràcia is one of the most beautiful streets in the city.

From Plaça de Catalunya, we discovered the neo-Gothic-style Cases Antoni Rocamora. A beautiful sight. Then we strolled along the Passeig de Gràcia towards Casa Batlló through the Eixemple district.

3. The Casa Batlló

Casa Batlló was built by Antoni Gaudí in the heart of the city as a residence and can also be visited from the inside. We were already enchanted by the colorful, imaginative façade with balconies reminiscent of masks. Directly to the left of Casa Batlló is Casa Amatller, which was built by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch and can also be visited.

These two masterpieces can be viewed particularly well from one of the stone benches, which are also genuine works of art from the 1970s. The benches were designed by the Art Nouveau architect Pere Falqués i Urpí and form a single unit with the corresponding lamps. In Catalan, these benches with lamps are called bancs-fanals. After this photo stop, we made our way to Gaudí’s next masterpiece, Casa Milà, also known as La Pedrera.

The walk from Plaça de Catalunya via Passeig de Gràcia to Casa Milà is about 1.3 km long and took us about 30 minutes, strolling slowly with photo stops.

4. La Pedrera

We spontaneously bought tickets online for La Pedrera, also known as “the quarry house” (adults: 22 euros per person). This is cheaper than at the ticket counter (where each ticket costs 3 euros extra). We were lucky and were able to buy two tickets for the next admission time at 2:30 pm. At the entrance, we were each given an audio guide (lasting about 20 minutes) and our cell phone tickets were scanned. Then we went inside the architectural masterpiece.

Our goal was the roof. The way to the top is via an elevator and we were excited to see the sculptures and the view. Once we reached the top, we were absolutely thrilled. The chimneys and ventilation shafts really do look like knights’ helmets, the winding paths and stone staircases cast a spell over us and when Gaudí’s Sagrada Família was visible from one point, we would have loved to stay up here forever.

But the way down through two residential floors of the Casa Milà is also interesting and we also wanted to visit the next tips. So we continued on to the Barri Gótic district. To do this, we first had to walk back to Plaça de Catalunya and then turn left into the Barri Gòtic district.

5. Fascinating buildings in the Barri Gótic district

To get to the Barric Gòtic district, we went straight ahead at Plaça de Catalunya onto Avinguda del Portal de l’Àngel and then turned left onto Carrer Comtal. We chose this slightly longer route so that we could also pass the Hotel Ohla Barcelona. The façade of this hotel is decorated with around 1000 ceramic eyes. This artwork is by the artist Frederic Amat.

After a photo stop, we continued across the intersection into Carrer de Ramon Mas to the Palau de la Música concert hall. This concert hall also houses a café and was built by Catalan architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. As we found the building really impressive from the outside, we will plan a concert visit or a guided tour next time. The walk from Casa Mila to the Palau de la Música is about 1.7 km long and takes about 30 minutes.

6. Cathedral and tapas in the Bilbao Berria Bar

After so much walking, photographing and marveling, we were hungry and our feet were slightly sore. So it was time for some refreshments. We made our way from the Palau de la Música to the cathedral, which is only 5 minutes or about 400 meters away. The view of Barcelona Cathedral is always impressive and once again there was a lot going on. There was also a tapas bar right next to the cathedral that we wanted to try out.

It was the Bar Bilbao Berria. Here the tapas are offered on the counter as pinchos. Each pincho cost 1.95 euros (except for special pinchos) and as guests we could choose and take the pinchos ourselves with a plate. To pay, the sticks in the tapas (pinchos) are counted at the end. We each chose a pincho and ordered a sangria and a water to go with it. Freshly fortified, we were then able to continue exploring Barcelona.

7. An Aperol Spritz in a Spritz

Our last stop took us to the Aperol Spritz Bar “Spritz” in Carrer de la Tapineria 4, just 2 minutes away. This very small, inconspicuous bar consists of a mini counter with 5 stools and a small seating area against the opposite wall. The funny thing about the concept is that they serve Aperol Spritz and cocktails to go. This is a real insider tip, especially on a warm summer evening, as you can stroll through the alleyways of the old town with your drink. We decided to take a seat at the small counter and got to know Emma, who designs avatars. We finished our tour of Barcelona with these impressions and walked the 30 minutes (about 1.7 km) through the now evening old town of the Barri Gòtic district back to the Mol de Barcelona.

If you want to try out this tour, or even just parts of it, we hope you enjoy it. We really enjoyed this journey of discovery to the favorite places of other travelers and we really enjoyed the sunny hours in Barcelona[:].