In late May 2022 we touched down in Barcelona around 9am after an overnight flight. We were exhausted from travel and not thrilled to be greeted by a very long customs line. Fortunately, our youngest, who was 11 at the time, was spotted by a customs agent and we were then able to bypass the very long queue and skip ahead to the family line. Traveling with kids does have its benefits.
Next we were welcomed to our home for the next 5 days, Gran Hotel Havana. This hotel is in a great location for exploring Barcelona, serves a delicious breakfast, and has a beautifully appointed rooftop pool and bar. We spent each memorable night winding down and enjoying the views of the city while chatting about our days.
Determined to keep everyone awake to adjust to the time change, we did a private e-bike tour of the city on our arrival day. This was our first time on e-bikes but no one had any trouble. We were pleasantly surprised by this tour, which I booked through Airbnb, it was a highlight of our time in Barcelona. Using e-bikes made it possible for my father-in-law to join in on the fun. We were able to effortlessly reach the top of Montjuic, the site of the 1929 World's Fair and the 1992 Summer Olympics. We pedaled through the Barri Gotic, or Gothic Quarter, beautiful parks and past Gaudi’s beautiful Modernisme architecture, all while our local guide shared his knowledge and love of Barcelona.We enjoyed this so much that we plan on doing an e-bike tour of London to orient ourselves on our arrival day this summer. In our opinion there’s no better way to get acquainted with a large city, stay awake and get some light exercise after a long flight!
On day 2 we took a high speed train to Girona to meet another guide for a tour of the Costa Brava and Medieval villages offered by Tours By Locals. Our train left Barcelona's Sants Station. If you plan on traveling from this station, arrive early. It is huge and very busy. We began with a short drive to Palamos from Girona for a scenic hike along the rocky blue Mediterranean coast to Cala S’Alguer. Next we visited several Medieval villages including Madremanya, Monells, Peratallada and Pals with our affable guide who felt more like an old friend than a tour guide. These were our favorite Medieval villages that we encountered in Europe based on their sheer beauty and interesting history but also because they were untouched by commercialism and high end retail shops. We enjoyed lunch in an idyllic courtyard in Monells at a small family owned restaurant.
The following day we enjoyed relaxing on Barceloneta beach and exploring the city by foot. We revisited the Gothic Quarter and strolled down Las Ramblas (a once and done kind of experience for us) before having dinner with a sweeping view of the city atop Montjuic.
Antoni Gaudi was the focus of day 4. In the morning we spent a few hours in Park Güell, which was originally designed to be a gated residential community. Today, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is a dream-like wonderland of a park that all ages can enjoy. After lunch we made a visit to the still under construction La Sagrada Familia. The groundbreaking for this masterpiece was in 1882. The interior is a breathtaking and every changing display of light and color. If you can, visit on a sunny day to enjoy the beautiful kaleidoscope of color reflected onto the interior of this basilica. Every corner of this monument has a unique perspective- leave plenty of time to wander around its otherworldly interior.
We journeyed out of Barcelona the following day to visit Montserrat Mountain and Monastery. Montserrat means serrated mountain, if you take a look at our photos, you can see why. A funicular took us to the top of the mountain. While visiting the monastery we were able to view the Black Madonna. The best part of the day on the mountain was hiking with our kids and enjoying the views. We ended our final day in Barcelona with dinner and a Flamenco show at the Tablo de Carmen located in the El Poble de Espanyol, or Spanish Village, on Montjuic. The performers were passionate and enthralling. The village was very unique and reminded me of the World Showcase in Epcot but was focused on different regions of Spain rather than different countries.
Our trip to Barcelona was a huge hit! It’s a clean and beautiful city with warm and friendly people that we can’t wait to return to.
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