Barcelona

12:29 PM Unknown 0 Comments

Hey! So this is the beginning of my travel posts and I'm kicking things off in Barcelona where I spent the beginning of my Easter break. I've always wanted to visit Barcelona and Spring is the perfect time to go when the weather is warm and the tourists haven't yet arrived!

Where to stay:

We stayed in the Bed and Bike hostel which I couldn't recommend enough.

Double room and private bathroom- £20 pppn

12 Bed dorm and shared bathroom- £16 pn

http://www.barcelonabedandbike.com/

Not only do you get kitchen facilities to save on eating out you also get a bike that you can take out all day at no extra cost. Barcelona is filled with bicycle lanes, making this hostel a 20 minute walk away from the beach into a 5 minute cycle. Sagrada Familia is also two streets away making the worldwide landmark a regular site on your cycle. It's also only a 10 minute walk from the top of La Rambla, the main tourist area.

If you're looking for more atmosphere and quirkiness, may I direct you to the Generator Hostel Barcelona. Some may have heard of Generator as it is a chain in a few European cities that offers a unique take on each city within its décor.

Double rooms starting from- £40 pppn

6 bed mixed dorms- £19 pn

http://generatorhostels.com/en/destinations/barcelona/

Here's a few snaps from the hostel I stayed in:

The street of the hostel

The bikes

The lounge

Where to eat:

Always, always avoid the tourist areas, in Barcelona's case La Rambla. You'll end up paying 20 Euros for two pints. When walking through you'll see lots of tapas and paella deals for around 8 euros but there are lots of add ons that aren't advertised and you end up paying around 25 euros a head. Instead head to the St Antoni area where the locals go for 1 euro tapas. Les Rambles (I know that sounds like La Rambla but it's not haha) is better if you need food late, still touristy but not so much as La Rambla.

Where to drink:

Les Rambles is centred around the old city centre where the grid system disappears. This leads to loads of side streets which is a haven for cheap quirky bars. For atmosphere head to First Bar where post it notes cover the walls. Enjoy one of their many cocktails and leave a message for future travellers, you can expect to pay around 5 euros for a drink. If you have more cash to spend go to CDLC on the beach front, large lounge areas allow you to sit either outside or in with blankets and pillows under an array of fairy lights. Though the cheapest bottle of wine was 24 euros it's good stuff and I was merry to say the least on half a bottle.

This is CDLC at night:

What to do:

It's a given that if you're going to Barcelona you are going to see Sagrada Familia and elements of Gaudi in the architecture. So my main recommendation would be to go up Mountjuic and see the Olympic Stadium and the amazing views of the whole city. To walk to the stadium takes around 40 minutes, although you can get a cable car to different points of the mountain, I'd recommend it if you're heading right to the top!

These views are only from a 20 minute walk up!

Where to partayyyy:

Barcelona has an array of clubs on the beach front like Opium and Shoko Lounge that are a guaranteed good night out but for many you have to arrive before 1 o'clock for free entry. Seems fair but the prices of the drinks inside make up for that, expect to be spending 15 euros for drinks! Instead head to Universidad where the students go and enjoy Apolo which has a mix of Spanish house/techno and English pop. If you want to go more conventional then the only place to head is Pacha where you know what you're getting, good music, expensive drinks.

So I hope this guide was somewhat useful, please be nice it was my first attempt haha. I shall leave you with some more snaps from my holiday and let the city do the talking for itself.

(You really must go!)

Tilly xx