Our epic trip through Spain in 2023 spanned a whopping 17-days. We spent months watching YouTube videos, reading blogs, and scrolling instagram to put together the best trip possible.

Now, I’m giving all my knowledge to you! We started in Barcelona, then went to Seville, Granada, Cordoba, and Madrid (where we day tripped to Toledo and Segovia). Let’s start with the details from Barcelona!

• Day 1 – 2: Travel to Barcelona, La Rambla, and Casa Batlló 
• Day 3: Gothic Quarter Cathedral Rooftop Tour, Park Güell, and Sagrada Familia
• Day 4: La Barceloneta and Montjuic
• Day 5: Montserrat

Day 1-2: Travel, La Rambla, and Casa Batlló 

Our flight left from Austin to JFK around 2pm and we flew from JFK to Barcelona direct overnight. Our Delta flight was super comfortable – no complaints!

We set up transportation from the airport in Barcelona through our hotel ahead of time, but there was a taxi strike and our ride was cancelled! Luckily, the strike was over by the time we landed (but our ride was still cancelled). Instead, we just walked outside and easily got a taxi from the taxi stand.

We stayed at Oriente Atiram. We opted to prioritize location over everything when choosing a hotel and I have to say – all of our hotels were epic. I’d recommend all of them! BUT, you might prioritize different things over us, so here are some pros and cons.

Pros of Oriente Atiram: Location was incredible – on La Rambla and steps from the Liceu metro stop. The hotel was beautiful and the staff was super kind.

Cons: It was a little loud at night. The halls were pretty echo-y and I feel like I heard a lot of people coming and going from their rooms at night. Ear plugs were an easy solution to the noise and we both slept like babies each night because we were exhausted by the end of each day. In our opinion, the location was worth a bit of noise. And honestly, in Barcelona, I’m sure everywhere is noisy!

We arrived on Day 2 around 11:45am Barcelona time and couldn’t check into our room yet, so we dropped our bags and explored La Rambla. La Rambla is a large central walkway down the center of Barcelona. It’s only about 3/4ths of a mile long, but is lined with tons of shops, eateries, and the Gothic Quarter on one side.

We got drinks and tapas at Dora, then headed in to Casa Batlló. I was a little unsure about booking a tour on our FIRST day (since at this point, we’d been awake for over 24 hours…) but it was worth it. It was too early to go to bed, so I’m glad we pushed it. It helped set our internal clocks and we didn’t suffer from jet lag at all the whole trip.

We wanted to make sure we explored Gaudí and Casa Batlló was a great start! We had tickets for 3:30pm. The tour is self guided and has a beautiful rooftop where you can sit, get a drink, and hang out. We got the regular admission, the basic ticket that just came with the audio tour, and it was plenty for us! I’d give yourself about an hour to walk through the house.

After that, we went back to the hotel, washed up, and went to bed!

Day 3: Park Güell, Cathedral Rooftop Tour, and Sagrada Familia

We started our day by walking across La Rambla into the Gothic Quarter and eating breakfast at Dulcinea. Breakfast in Spain seems to be pretty light! Some pastries and coffee and you’re off. I’m a pretty big breakfast eater at home, so this was a bit of an adjustment for me. But hey – it just meant that we had to take our first tapas break a few hours later. I’ll never complain about making more food stops!

At Dulcinea, we ordered churros and dipping chocolate, along with two cafes con leche. Dulcinea has been around since 1930 and the interior is small and quaint! Highly recommended.

After breakfast, we walked to explore the Gothic Cathedral of Barcelona. You have to purchase tickets to enter, but the tickets come with rooftop access! We quickly learned this would be our favorite part of every cathedral. Every cathedral we went to from then on, we opted to do whatever “tower tour” they offered.

Next, we took the metro to Park Güell, going from Liceu to Vallcarca. We then walked from Vallcarca to Park Güell, entering the park from the west side. Next time we visit, we are going to try and enter from a different way, maybe using a different metro. Or we might just take a cab to the front. The reason for this is because the walk from the Vallcarca metro to the Park Güell entrance is grueling. The altitude gain is huge and the number of stairs was almost too much for us. We were exhausted by the time we got to the park. But also… the views were really nice!

Park Güell is where you see, what I consider, postcard Barcelona sights. Gaudí’s incredible architecture is on full display and it is not to be missed!

Make sure you purchase tickets in advance. Park Güell is a super popular destination and tickets will sell out for the day if you go during a touristy time! You can enter up to 30 minutes after your timed ticket, but you can stay as long as you want. I was nervous about the crowd (I had visions of tourists trying to get photos at Trevi Fountain) but honestly, it was not that bad. Yes, it was crowded, but we pretty easily made it up to the front of the balconies and got all the photos we wanted.

After the park, we walked back down to the metro and headed to the Gothic Quarter for a few hours. We explored the Picasso Museum for a bit, and then searched the alley ways until we found the Temple D’August (restored columns of an ancient Roman temple from the 1st century BCE). What’s insane to me is that the people of Barcelona just live around all these incredibly old, historic ruins. While we were at the Temple D’August, we could hear a kid watching a Disney movie through an open window.

There are no tickets to the temple – if you can find it, you can view it! It’s at Calle del Paradís #10. Best of luck!

A great spot to grab some tapas for lunch is Bar Del Pi. It’s a super small spot in the Gothic Quarter.

In the evening, we had tickets to Sagrada Familia (yeah, this was a BIG day!). Quick note: pretty much every cathedral we went into required women to cover their shoulders. I brought a cardigan with me every day, just in case, even though it was 90 degrees. No cathedrals enforced that rule (when I was there, at least) except for Sagrada Familia. I saw security directing women with uncovered shoulders to the gift shop where they could buy a little shall.

We were there on a super busy June day, but the crowd was managed really well. We had timed tickets again, so we just got in line at our time and basically walked right in!

There’s not much to say about Sagrada Familia, because you truly have to witness it with your own eyes. It’s unlike anything I had ever seen in my life. Construction has been ongoing for over 100 years, but it’s set to be finished in 2026 (we’ll see!). Gaudí took over as architect of Sagrada Família when he was just 31 years old and he spent the last 12 years of his life committed to no other projects. Sagrada Familia is by far the most unique cathedral we saw on our whole trip.

We bought tickets for entrance and a tower. The tour is not for the faint of heart… the views are beautiful, but the stairwell (while very narrow) has no railing. I definitely got some vertigo looking around while walking!

We ended the night at Bar Marsella, a two-centuries old bar in Barcelona’s El Raval neighborhood. It’s most famous for being associated with Hemingway, perhaps the bar’s most famous patron, but it was also visited by other artists such as Dalí, Picasso, and Gaudí. The drink of Bar Marsella is absinthe, so of course, we did as the locals do and drank absinthe! Others online will say it’s “undrinkable” but honestly, we both really liked it! They prepare it with a sugar cube and bottle of water. The bartenders poke a hole in the water bottle and spray the water over the sugar cube. Then you can dilute your drink as much as you’d like! It tastes like black licorice, in my opinion.

Day 4: Barceloneta and Montjuïc

We started our 4th day with a bit of a walk. From our hotel on La Rambla, we walked up to the Arc de Triomf, then down through Ciutadella Park and on to La Barceloneta. In total, it was about 2.25 miles.

From the park, we did a quick pitstop for food at Can Paixano. This spot is highly recommended. They have incredible tapas and excellent (incredibly inexpensive) cava. It’s often very crowded and you just have to hover around for a spot to stand and eat. This also makes ordering a bit intimidating. I was overwhelmed and wanted to go somewhere else, but luckily Brian took charge and did his best ordering for us. We ended up having a great time! Sometimes it’s good to step outside your comfort zone.

We continued our walk south to La Barceloneta. We knew we wanted to see the Mediterranean Ocean and boy was it worth it. The beach is made of small pebbles. This was perfect, because it allowed us to lounge around in the sun by the water in our regular clothes. We didn’t have towels or anything, so we just laid right in the little pebbles. They molded to your body and it was actually very comfortable. And there was no annoying fine sand to brush off!

We walked along the boardwalk and ate at La Deliciosa. It’s a great little beachfront restaurant. We enjoyed sangria and tapas here (along with an incredibly delicious Cesar salad) and lived our best lives. I highly recommend planning time in your vacation for La Barceloneta and beachfront dining.

At the end of the boardwalk, you’ll find the Teleferic del Port, which is the port station for the cable car that takes you to Montjuic. Honestly, even if you didn’t want to explore Montjuic, I would recommend taking the cable car. The views are amazing! At the top where you get dropped off, there’s a restaurant. We (again) stopped for wine and dessert. The views from the restaurant’s deck are unmatched.

You can continue up even higher by jumping on another cable car. The second cable car drops you off at Montjuic Castle, an old military fortress that dates back to 1640. Again, views from Montjuic Castle are incredible. We also found this spot to be nearly empty, which was a welcome change.

We had planned to end our evening by walking from Montjuic Castle to the Magic Fountain, but sadly, the fountain wasn’t running. Learn from us: check the Magic Fountain schedule before you walk all the way there!

Day 5: Montserrat

For our last day in Barcelona, we decided to take a day trip to Montserrat. It’s super hard to see in the photos from the ground, but WAY up in the mountains is the Monastery of Monserrat. It dates back to the 9th century.

Getting to the remote monastery in the mountains is half the fun! At Plaza Espana, follow signs to the FGC Station where you’ll take the R5 train. There’s a small Montserrat ticket booth inside the FGC Station where you can buy your tickets (or pick up your TransMontserrat card if you purchased them online). You MUST exchange your online voucher for a TransMontserrat card. The line can be super slow, so make sure you plan to arrive early. We arrived 30 minutes before the info station opened and we were second in line – perfect!

The R5 train will only depart towards Montserrat, so you don’t have to worry about going in the wrong direction. Sit on the left side of the train if you can – it will offer the best views of Montserrat as you approach! The train ride is about an hour.

There are two ways to get up the mountain from the train station to Montserrat – by cable car or by cog railway. We opted for the cable car and it was so cool! To reach the cable car, get off at the Aeri de Montserrat train station. The ride is only about 5 minutes and the views are incredible.

From the main level of Montserrat, you can visit the Basilica, view the venerated “La Moreneta,” one of the black madonnas of Europe. You can also find a few restaurants and vendors lining the street. We got mel i mato as a quick snack. It’s a delicious, classic Catalan dessert made of cheese curds and honey. We also opted to just eat at their cafeteria, but they do have fancier restaurants available if you have more time!

From the main level, you can take the San Joan Funicular up to the peak. The funicular makes a steep climb up the side of the mountain to the Mirador de San Joan, where you can get the BEST views. From there, you can take several different hikes, or, you can just take some great photos and then head back down to the monastery.

Ticket suggestion: Based on the incredible video recommendation from Road Trip Spain and Portugal, we purchased the “Transmontserrat” combined ticket. It included tickets for every piece of transportation we needed, including the Sant Joan Funicular and the Aeri de Montserrat. The ticket also seemed to get us in immediately to the Basilica, even though there was a long line with (what seemed to be) timed tickets. We walked up and showed, confused, that our tickets didn’t have a time? When could we enter? Oh, you may go now, go ahead. And they just told us to walk right up. We walked past some tour groups and others waiting in line, but they just kept waving us on! At every little checkpoint, they looked at our tickets and just said, thanks, please move ahead. It was amazing and felt like a VIP experience.

If you have some time to kill at the train stop at Montserrat before your departure, there’s a little bar just a few steps away! I’d highly recommend snagging a beer or quick glass of wine from this local hangout.

On to the next…

That’s a wrap on our days in Barcelona! After Barcelona, we took the high speed train to Seville.