Perhaps you’re on a budget, or perhaps your anti-consumer nature is already tingling with the anticipation of proving the old adage of “the best things in life are free” right again. Or perhaps you’re simply on the alert for bright ideas to take for a spin in Barcelona. Here are a few suggestions to get you started. Once you’ve read them, why not get creative and discover 5 more for yourself? And yes, hanging out on the beach counts, so that’s only 4 to go.
- Wander through the Boqueria Market
You’ll find this iconic food market about half way down La Rambla. When the crowded pavement becomes an almost solid mass of people you’ll know you’ve arrived. Step through the iron gates, hold onto your bag and take a deep breath. Some stalls are piled high with seasonal fruits and vegetables, whilst others display exotic chow that reminds you it’s a big world out there.
Avoid the back if you’d rather not come face to face with long-lashed whole baby piglets, and decide for yourself which genus of fish has the most genius pout. It might be an expression you could put to use at a later date.
- Don’t miss the Magic Fountain
Barcelona. Barceloooooona! Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé’s lung-bursting anthem opened the legendary 1992 Olympic Games on Montjuïc Mountain and a few droplets of that magic remain in the cascades below. Ornamental fountains line the ample entrance and when night falls the stars of this extravagant show shoot their coloured jets up towards the sky in a carefully choreographed dance that accompanies rousing pop hits, soaring opera numbers and spine-tingling classical favourites. Sing along, catch the refreshing spray on a sultry summer evening, and tick it off your must-see list.
- Explore on foot
This one’s kind of obvious, but if you’re the type of traveller that needs a holiday after their holiday and skips along the metro from one attraction to the next museum before collapsing into bed on an adrenaline-fuelled buzz then dude, sloooow down.
Barcelona’s historic centre is an open air museum. Take a walk through the Gothic streets, notice the Roman walls, admire the Modernist architecture, and delight in getting lost in the back streets. You’ll find quirky shops, unusual cafés and countless details that make Barcelona a truly unique Mediterranean city. And if you manage to get properly lost, you can find a helpful local and practice some Catalan.
- Park Life
What’s filled with trees and flowers, perfect for a picnic, and totally free? Barcelona’s many urban parks, of course. If you’re in the centre, tip your hat to the Arc de Triomf, saunter down the magnificent Passeig Lluís Companys (where events such as the annual Earth Fair in April and Catalan Independence Demonstration in September take place), and go for a stroll through the Ciutadella Park. Highlights include a giant mammoth, a magnificent fountain, and a romantic boating lake. And if you think you just heard a lion roaring fret not, your morning cortado (short coffee with milk) isn’t giving you auditory hallucinations, there really is a zoo next door.
- Graceful digressions in Gràcia
This arty neighbourhood is renowned for its café culture and many squares with al fresco terraces. Take the metro to Fontana and explore the area. It was once an independent village separated from the walled city of Barcelona by fields which have now become the Modernist blocks of the Eixample.
If you’re in luck, you might come across the talented classical trio that busk like angels in Plaça Revolución. Or the flamenco guitarists that sing their deep laments in between swigs of house red and the occasional heated row in Plaça del Sol. Soak up Gràcia’s ambience and attitude before returning to the city centre.
Article by Francesca Hector, who has been living in Barcelona for 10 years. She currently writes for Apartment Barcelona, a leading apartment rental agency in the city, and contributes regularly to Apartment Barcelona blog.
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