Hello Lovelies,

I hope you're having a great day!

Today I am back with another travel review post and for those of you who have been enjoying them, expect more to come. In May, my boyfriend Adrian and I who are in a long distance relationship met up for a break in Barcelona in May once my exams were finished. Interestingly, Barcelona is about the midway point between Ireland and Malta, so was an ideal place to meet. Today's post is going to reflect some of my thoughts on this destination as a whole and may help you if you're thinking about heading there.

Barcelona is the capital and largest city in Catalonia, Spain. It is also the second most populous city of Spain with a population of approximately 1.6 million in the city's centre. Barcelona is a beautiful city boasting of unique architecture from the famous Antonio Gaudi. Located near the coast and in close proximity to the Costa Brava, Barcelona is the ideal destination for a combination of a city break and a sun holiday.

Read on to see what else this fabulous destination has on offer.

The Positives 

Blanes and other lovely towns on the Costa Brava in close proximity - Not only is Barcelona a beauty, but it is close to other pretty towns and villages along the Costa Brava. After 3 full days exploring Barcelona, we felt that we'd seen most of the sights and decided to head to Blanes which is beautiful. At the time we were there, the beach was pretty quiet and a lot more relaxing than the bustling busy beach of Barcelona. There were also some stunning sights to be seen from the Castillo de San Joan.

Very Well connected city - I thought that Barcelona was very well connected with either buses or trains going almost anywhere you'd want to go, without too much walking. We'd recommend getting a 10 journey pass which lasted us our whole trip and allows you to travel on any of the undergrounds or buses. 

Loads of beautiful architecture - Barcelona boasts of many gorgeous architectural structures including the ongoing Sagrada Familia, the Santa Maria del Mar and the structures in Park Guell. It seriously gives Barcelona a bit of a quirk. 

Affordable supermarkets - Barcelona had a lot of affordable supermarkets where we picked up goodies for picnics etc. So it's a great alternative if you want to save on fancy meals out. 

Nice Tapas restaurants and cocktail bars - Being on a budget, we didn't eat out too much, but when we did go out, we came across a nice tapas restaurant and lots of places with superb cocktails. We definitely missed on lots of food stop potentials on our trip!








The Negatives 

Very touristy beach - Honestly, there is not much from Barcelona that I can complain about. Besides, it was my first getaway after finishing exams, I could hardly complain, could I? The one negative I have noted from Barcelona is that the main beach Playa de Barceloneta was extremely packed with tourists. Because of that fact, people were coming over to us and everyone else offering services, whether it was giving you a cocktail or a hair braid. The constant chanting of "Cerveza, Beer, Water, Aqua" definitely stays in my head everytime I think of Barcelona.

As well as this, there were jellyfish in the water so not much opportunity for swimming. I definitely wanted a bit of a swim about and a day trip out of town was definitely on the cards. 

What we didn't see 

I feel like we did a good job at seeing a lot of the main sights of Barcelona. However, we didn't manage to go to any museums. Some of the things that Barcelona has to offer which we didn't get the chance to visit include the following... 

Picasso Museum - An art museum with some of the finest pieces from Pablo Picasso. 

Erotic Museum of Barcelona - This eye-opener of a museum informs all of sex history over the years. 

Barcelona Aquarium - Close to the Playa de Barceloneta, the aquarium boasts of a variety of mediterranean sea life. 

A list of places we went to 
- Park Guell 

- A cable car ride up to Tibidabo
- An afternoon exploring in Tibidabo

- Montjuic

- An Evening at Barcelona's Beach 

-  A visit to the Arch de Triomph 

- A visit to Casa Bastillo 

- Strolls on La Ramblas 

- Chilling out at Catalonia Square 

- A visit to Santa Maria del Mar including panoramic views of Barcelona

- A visit to Park De La Ciutadella

- A visit to the Sagrada Familia 

- A day in Blanes  

Have you been to Barcelona before?
What did you think of it?