how to spend a weekend in barcelona
where to eat, sip sangria and play cards in the city of very nice architecture
The first time I went to Barcelona, I was 25. I went with a friend and her friend and none of us really did any research. It was boiling hot. We didn’t realise we had to book the Sagrada Familia (apparently it’s popular?) and we couldn’t get in. I remember us getting very drunk and whizzing around the city in one of those light-up (and maybe pink and fluffy?) tuk-tuks. Truly, a trio of culture vultures.
I didn’t really have a burning desire to go back to the city, but my husband, suggested it as a good place for him to do (yet another) Hyrox competition, which is essentially a form of torture an indoor fitness racing competition where you run for a kilometre, then do a very difficult amount of a specific activity (like burpees, sled pulls, sled pushes, lunges, rowing etc), with another kilometre of running in between until you’ve done eight kilometres, eight workouts and have sweated through every millimetre of your clothing.
Anyway, last year we booked this weekend to Barcelona so that Jonny could do yet another Hyrox (his first was in Maastricht and his second in Nice), which he then dropped out of after a training injury. ‘Oh no!’ I said, when he confessed he thought he might not be able to do it. ‘I guess we’ll just have to wander around and drink sangria and play cards and hang out with each other instead!’ How terrible.
So that’s exactly what we did. We ate lots, walked lots, drank lots, I beat him at cards lots (embarrassing!!), we looked at old stuff, we realised Picasso absolutely sucked at drawing dogs and we even joined locals to watch Barcelona beat Real Madrid. Maybe a petition to drop out of more Hyroxes (Hyrex? Hyroxi?) is in order? Who can say.
USEFUL THINGS TO KNOW
FLIGHT TIME: 2 hours 10 min train from London Gatwick with Vueling, who are essentially Spanish EasyJet (you know, bright colours to make you feel happy about getting a cheap deal, whilst actually charging you insane amounts for bags or only letting you take on a small one. Our (return) flights cost £173.98 each.
GETTING INTO THE CITY: We Ubered to our hotel because it was a) faster b) raining. But the Metro seemed straightforward from the airport.
ACCOMMODATION: We stayed at The Hoxton, Poblenou and paid £363.46 for a double room (the cheapest and smallest) for two nights (Friday to Sunday) which worked out as £181.73 each. I booked it in November during the Black Friday deals, and we went at the end of April. This hotel was originally booked to be close to where the Hyrox was taking place. I think had I known we’d just be spending the weekend hanging out in the city, I’d have booked somewhere closer to the old town. It’s just that tiny bit further out, in bit less of a vibey area.
GETTING AROUND: We mainly walked, hired Lime Bikes or took the Metro.
WHERE WE GOT BREAKFAST
CAN DENDE
Just a short(ish) walk from our hotel, this little café has pavement tables (and inside seats, too) and serves such a lovely brunch. Think fried green tomatoes (which was delicious, but did come with sweetcorn on it: my food nemesis), eggs benedict with pulled pork and banana French toast. The coffee was really good, too.
WHERE WE GOT DINNER
CASA DELFIN
This place is in the El Born area and we pretty much just stumbled upon it on our first night. We had to queue outside, and met a couple who were eating there for their second night in a row – that’s how good it was. It’s a century-old restaurant that serves traditional Catalan tapas (and big boy mains, too) and it’s honestly immense. Get the scallops – the garlic butter was unreal.
TERRASSA MARTINEZ
This place is a little out of the city, but it has fab view of the skyline and the sea. It absolutely chucked it down while we were there, so we sat inside. But the terrace looked like a very nice place to be to watch the sun set on a clear evening. But alas, this was not our fate. We shared the paella (delicious) and I had too many sangrias. The vibe was nice, but the tiniest bit pretentious. There were four men sat next to us who talked all night about their divorces, their new era of pulling girls and how much money they earned. They did my absolute head in and Jonny and I agreed that we would’ve married and divorced them too.
WHERE WE WANDERED
EL BORN
This is probably my favourite area in Barcelona. It’s all narrow streets (with big medieval energy) that zig and zag off each other, with loads of independent shops, bars and cafés to nip in and out of. I could’ve got lost here all day. The Picasso Museum is also here, which I have much to say about and will do so later.
GOTHIC QUARTER
Again, another gorgeous area that feels all medieval and busy. More narrow streets bring more bars and cafés, which will lead you out onto the Cathedral of Barcelona and La Rambla. These areas famously have a bit of a unsavoury reputation for the amount of muggings that happen there, so just watch your bags and stay vigilant.
MERCAT DE LA BOQUERIA
Just off La Rambla, this is a famous indoor market where you’ll find all the meats, cheeses, vegetables, fruit, treats and drinks your heart could ever desire. It’s been there since 1836, and was built on a former monastery. It is very busy and it is very touristy. But it’s worth a wander and a nose.
WHERE WE DRANK AND ATE TAPAS
BODEGA DEL BORN
After yet another turn down yet another narrow street in El Born, we saw this place and just decided to pop in (sangria calls, always). It was just SO lovely. All throughout the bar were these little pieces of paper strung up like bunting, and we realised they were all hopes and dreams that people had written down. We spoke to the woman who owned the bar, and she told us she took all the wishes down every few months and burned them ‘into existence’ in her parents’ back garden. I wished for more time with my grandparents. We had tomatoes on bread and too much (aka, the perfect amount of) salt.
BAR CALDERS
This place was so vibey. We were actually on our way to another bar, Doppietta, to sit, sip and play cards before heading to Terrassa Martinez for dinner. But we walked past this place and felt the energy from a load of people laughing and having fun, so we joined them. We sat outside in the very unpretentious outdoor area and debated whether two hours before dinner was a good time to order tapas (spoiler: it was). I ordered sangria and the man told me it only came in jugs, not glasses. ‘No problem,’ I said. An hour and a half later, I was having a very good time.
WHERE WE FELT LIKE LOCALS
BAR ANDREA
Just opposite our hotel, there was a tiny little bar that had plastic chairs and a plastic outdoor cover. It was kinda tacky and crappy, but as one of the only places open until 1am, it was perfect. We came here for ‘one more drink’ on the Friday night, then again on the Saturday night so Jonny could watch the Barcelona v Real Madrid game. We joined the local Barcelona fans and became one of them. I made friends with a dog called Gloria. It was great.
WHERE WE FELT LIKE TOURISTS
PARK GUELL
This is a huge green park and garden with gorgeous mosaic-covered buildings, steps, sculptures and the world’s longest bench (why?). It has a Gaudi museum and a view of the whole city. It’s very publicised as a ‘thing to do in Barcelona’, which meant it was very busy and full of tourists (more annoying ones than us though, ok?). It cost around 26.00€ (each) to get in, but we saw people running
PICASSO MUSEUM
We nearly walked past this. While wandering the El Born area, we spotted the sign and we thought, ‘Oh! You know what, we probably should go in, as we’re here?’ It cost about £10 to get in and I would say it was completely worth it, just for the massive laugh we had looking at the ‘dogs’ he painted.
There’s so much more we did and so much more we could’ve done, but this this is what we managed to squeeze into our 48 hours in the city. If you want the link to my full Google Maps list of saved places in Barcelona (including the places I’d go next time), upgrade to a paid subscription for £5 a month (or £50 a year) and scroll down to get them.
Oh, and if you’ve got any questions or you’ve been yourself and have even more recommendations you’d like to share, pop a comment below!
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