Girls Quick Getaway to Barcelona

Sunset bike tour

A bike tour is nearly always a fantastic way to see a lot of a (mostly flat) city in a short amount of time. Our tour started in the Gothic quarter and included a Harbor tour, the old fishermen neighborhood, Olympic Village and ended in the Parc de la Ciut. Along the way, we stopped at the beach for a lovely glass of Cava. Our tour guide, Alfredo, was AMAZING — and we learned so much about beautiful Barcelona!

La Sagrada Familia

You should definitely visit La Sagrada Familia at least once in your lifetime. It’s been under construction since 1882, and celebrated Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi devoted over forty years of his life to building a cathedral that would “feel organic – as if it was a living, breathing part of earth itself.” The church remains under construction, but the interiors are breathtaking. I loved the “Easter eggs” and the symbology in the construction. We chose to do an audio tour so that we could spend as much, or as little time as we wanted. Note: I loved the views from up in the towers, but my claustrophobic friend was not a fan of the spiral staircase we had to take to the exit.

Picasso Museum

We learned a great deal about Picasso’s early and then very late work here. It’s a fabulous collection in a very cool old Gothic Quarter building. Picasso isn’t for everyone, but this was an interesting way to learn more about him.

Hand-painted fans at Antiga Pasamaneria J.Soler

This incredible store was my favorite shop in all of Spain. We were looking for a place to buy authentic hand-painted fans (not the touristy stuff), and came across this gem. It was founded in 1898, and primarily sells sewing notions — tassels, fringes, patches, trims. But they have such beautiful, special fans. (Also, they are a cool follow on Instagram!)

Churros & chocolate at Granja La Pallaresa

We had such fun speaking to the owner of the above fan store, we asked for his recommendation on where the best Churros & Chocolate were to be had. On the downlow, he told us that while he liked the chocolate at the spot across the alley from his store, his favorite churro place was Granja La Pallaresa. It’s one of the oldest Churros and Chocolate spots in Barcelona and not to be missed!

El Nacionel

With four restaurants and four bars under one roof, this was a great stop for our first night. We put our names in at each place, and lucked out when we got into La Llotja — the seafood place. We ordered the whole fish cooked in salt — and it was an incredible experience.

365

Don’t let the fact that this is a chain dissuade you. Two of the best pastries I’ve ever eaten (yes, we went twice!). They seem to be all over Barcelona, so if you see one, stop in!

Madre Lievito

Sometimes, you’re just in the mood for pizza. This was a great spot for lunch after our La Sagrada Familia tour (and then getting lost after… but that’s a story for another day). Woodfired, thin-crust pizza – yum. And the ice-cold bottle of Pepsi was a lovely and unexpected treat.

Brunch & Cake

GO HERE. And order the burger if you’d like to see the most inventive presentation of bacon in history! We loved this darling café (which started in Barcelona and is spreading around the world. Their motto is “In Grandmothers We Trust” and they mean it.

Noxe

This recommendation comes with an asterisk. The views from Noxe (at the top of the W Hotel) are unparalleled. The drinks – delicious. But the incredibly snooty bouncer and hostess in the lobby of the hotel… almost enough of a reason to skip it. If you decide the view is worth it (we did), make sure to go when you don’t have shopping bags (yup — we were initially refused entry because we had one paper shopping bag with our fans from Antiga Pasamaeria J. Soler.) Apparently, being dressed up wasn’t enough. Sheesh.

Les Gens Que J'Aime

We came upon this fun speakeasy on an after-dinner walk. It was A TIME! Vintage artwork and décor? Porn-Star Martinis? Tarot card readings? Sign me up!