Barcelona Visit

Barcelona is a fantastic place to visit if you want to experience European architecture and culture. Best time to visit the city is from December to Feb. After Feb, it gets warmer. Summers are really hot. I visited Barcelona in January and it was very pleasant between 10-20 degree Celsius.

Note: To visit Spain, you will need Schengen visa for Spain. Follow the visa process to apply for a travel visa. From my experience, it was a very laborious process with lots of documents to submit including 6 months bank statements and last 3 years income tax returns filed receipts.

Casa Battlo

Casa Battlo - This is museum located in the heart of the city that was built by Antoni Gaudi. It is recommended to buy tickets online and plan your visit.

Hop-on Hop-off Bus

Bicycle rentals

Fira Metro Station

Park Guell

This is a beautiful park designed by Antoni Gaudi between 1912 and 1926. Location is slightly away from the center of the city. But, you can take Metro and reach the place with ease. Best time to visit is in the evening. I visited in the morning and didn't get the good lighting set-up to take pictures of these 2 unique buildings. This building area is in paid area that should cost 10-15 EUR. There is a bigger garden behind this place that is free to visit.

Sagrada Familia

This is an ancient church that is still under construction. Started construction in 1882 and is planned to be completed in 2026 to mark 100th year anniversary of Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926). The structure is HUGE and is the tallest structure in the center of Barcelona. Tall ceilings are mind blowing. You can take the elevator in one of the towers. To visit this place, book your tickets online in their official website ONLY. 

Montserrat Monastery

Montserrat Monastery is located 1-hr North of Barcelona city. You can reach there by train by changing our at one place OR, you can take a guided tour in a cab/bus from the city.

Boys in the age group of 10-12 singing choir

View from the top

After hiking for 30 minutes from monastery, this is the view we get

Tips to visit Barcelona:

1. Visit during winter (December to Feb). During Summer, I heard that crowd will be huge from all around the world.

2. Local Transportation: Cabs take credit card. You can buy Metro using CC. Buy T-10 card that is valid for 10 trips. Note: There is no UBER in Spain. There are other app-based cab services. But, you will need Spain mobile number to activate your account in that app.

3. Keep your belongings safe, especially, backpack and items inside it.

4. Buy tickets to all tourist attractions ONLINE in official websites ONLY. Don't buy in partner websites - 1. it might cost you more in partner websites 2. Some venues don't accept tickets from partner sites.

5. Language is not a barrier - English works. Keep Google translator app on your phone in case you need something to refer to.

6. Food is not a problem at all. There are restaurants everywhere - both street food and fine dine. Note: I didn't see any Pizza Hut or Domino's Pizza anywhere.

7. To cover the city as a tourist, 4-5 days is enough.

8. Monday is a holiday in many tourist attractions. Please check the schedule before booking your tickets. For Sagrada Familia, Monday is NOT a holiday. It is good to visit this place on Monday and NOT during weekends. Weekend rush is huge and avoid it.