The Spanish Travelogue 2: Barcelona - The Palette City

The Spanish Travelogue chronicles my journey through the explored and unexplored regions of the Spanish mainland (and the unexplored corners of the explored regions).

Do not visit Barcelona with an agenda or a list of things you have to see. In other words, visit Barcelona with an open mind, to absorb the undirected and the unplanned.

To my mind, the reason behind Barcelona’s immense popularity is that it has something for every kind of traveller, be it the historian, the photographer, the night-lifer, the shopper, or the foodie. Thus, though Barcelona abounds in touristy flavours, I cannot vouch for the particular attraction in Barcelona that will become your inevitable favourite. In fact, you too shouldn't pre-judge as to what it could be. 

Exploring Barcelona in a couple of days may be slightly hectic, and it helps if you are a little generous with your holiday time. And you do not have to know Catalan in order to survive in Barcelona, though knowing a bit of Spanish always helps. And carry a sweatshirt, even in summer.

Barcelona is best seen walking. But I care for your legs and so cannot advise you to walk the length of the second largest city in Spain for purposes of better exploration. The metro and the bus are easy means of commuting. Barcelona has zones - and it is easier if you divide the attractions accordingly to cover them. 

A.    La Rambla – Since we are on the topic of walking, we start with a walk around Barcelona’s most popular avenue. Lined by trees on either side of the walk, La Rambla is bustling with crowds and cafés. On one end of La Rambla is the Plaça de Catalunya, Barcelona’s busiest square, and on the other end of it is the port, which again has a lovely walk by its side. La Rambla therefore serves as a beautiful connector between the various zones in Barcelona.

Lined with trees on either side of the walk, La Rambla is a beautiful connector between the various zones in Barcelona

Walk across the length of La Rambla to reach the Port 

The walk by the Port side is a virtual extension of La Rambla

B.     Barri Gothic – To the east of La Rambla lies the Gothic quarter of the city. The Gothic quarter was the centre of the Roman settlement, and has narrow cobbled streets opening into squares, housing some of the oldest monuments of the city. You may decide to walk to Barri Gothic from La Rambla, or take the metro to get off at Jaume I, the mouth of the quarter. Despite the history of Barcelona being rewritten several times, many of the grandiose monuments from the past have been preserved. Expect to find guitarists and painters on your way around the Gothic quarter, looking for inspiration and adding to the charm. I was told that one such painter in the old days frequenting this part of the city was Pablo Picasso. There are several walking tours taking you around the Gothic Quarter, and it isn’t a bad idea to book one for knowing more about the history of the place. Continue your walk from the Barri Gothic and El Born areas to reach the Arc de Triomf in Barcelona, a less grandiose but livelier replica of the one in Paris.   

Despite the history of Barcelona being rewritten several times, Barri Gothic and El Born have preserved many of the old buildings and monuments from the past which you come across as you walk along the winding cobbled streets  

Do not overlook random scribblings on the walls such as these in the Barri Gothic area. This one is by Pablo Picasso

The Arc de Triomf in Barcelona 

C.    Sagrada Familia – Popularly known as this, the Church of the Holy Family has a bigger name in Spanish which isn’t necessary to know. Sagrada Familia is a magnificent building, essentially because of the unique Art Nouveau style adopted in its design by Antoni Gaudí. Gaudí attempted to recreate various aspects of nature through architectural symbolism in the façades and the interior of the church. At the cost of sounding slightly blasphemous, my purpose for visiting the Sagrada Familia was more for reasons of modern art than religion. The church still remains under construction, though the same was started over a hundred years ago. Of course, what was not taken into account while deciding the amount of time required for construction of the church is that there is an afternoon siesta time in Spain for everybody.

Though its construction began well over a hundred years ago, the Sagrada Familia still remains an incomplete magnificence

D.    Parc Güell – We move on to yet another one of Gaudí’s impressive creations. Located on Carmel Hill in the Gracia district of Barcelona, Parc Güell is a public park interspersed with structures designed by Gaudi to reflect aspects of geometrical forms found in nature. This intermingling of art, nature and geometry lends a distinctive characteristic to Parc Güell. Parc Güell also provides excellent views of the district, and the sea can be seen in the horizon. You may also decide to walk around Gracia, which is the quieter part of the city. The walks lined with trees provide a break from the hustle-bustle of La Rambla and its surroundings.

The intermingling of art, nature and geometry lends a distinctive characteristic to Parc Güell. The sea can be seen in the horizon

E.     Plaça de Catalunya and Eixample – Travel from Gracia through Passeig de Gracia to Plaça de Catalunya, and for more glimpses of the contemporary sides of Barcelona, to Eixample. Plaça de Catalunya is the centre of activity in Barcelona, and has a number of streets originating from it. The plaza is thriving with restaurants and cafés, shopping malls, and monuments showcasing modernist architecture. It is also the central point for commuting to different parts of Barcelona.

Plaça de Catalunya, Barcelona's busiest square, is the focal point of the city and has a number of streets originating from it

F.     Camp Nou stadium – The first hit on Google when you type ‘Barcelona’ will probably be about the football club. That is exactly how passionate Barcelona is about the game. And the football stadium is worth a visit. Detailing the history of the famous football club, a visit to Camp Nou is an enriching experience for the sheer beauty of it. If you are lucky enough, you might just catch a game. This visit is recommended even if you are not a football fan.

A visit to Camp Nou is worth it even if you are not a football fan

G.    Barceloneta – Not just in Spain, but anywhere, a city having so many attractions AND a beach is bound to be a tourist hotspot. The long stretch of the sand and the sea is close enough to the centre of the city, and the easiest mode of communication is the metro. There are bars and restaurants lined along the way and on the Barceloneta beach, and the nightclubs are situated along the coastline. You may decide your own way and time to enjoy yourself at the beach.

The long stretch of the Barceloneta beach is conveniently located from the centre of the city

Post Script

Mornings on a tranquil beach call for beer. The men providing the same in Barceloneta, I discovered, are mostly from Punjab. However, in Barceloneta, Punjab remains undivided and borders become porous on people finding lingual similarities. Realizing that I was from India, one of the beer sellers quickly got chatting. He spoke of his home, his family and his brothers here. The brothers who shared the business and the apartment. Addressing me as ‘Dharminder paaji’ and offering me a discount, Abdur Rahim Khan told me, “When we are here in Barceloneta selling beer, we are all brothers. It doesn’t matter if you are from India or Pakistan if you speak Punjabi. We are only enemies when we reach our respective motherlands.”