Exploring Barcelona during your Spanish course

I have been four times to Barcelona and I think I have seen a lot. Of course not everything, that’s quite impossible! Barcelona is such a big and interesting city that you perhaps don’t know where to start. But don’t worry, you will find your way easily! Let me give you a few suggestions…

I would suggest you start your sightseeing on Las Ramblas, the heart and touristic centre of Barcelona, which is just a few steps from the school. There are many pubs, restaurants and souvenir shops and you can admire the street entertainers and living statues as well. If you throw money in a box in front of them, they start moving and you can take a picture. Don’t miss to go to the Boqueria, a huge market hall where a great variety of fruits, vegetables, meat and fish, but also delicate confectionery is offered.

From Las Ramblas it’s only a stone’s throw to the Barri Gotic. You can spend the whole day in this quarter visiting the cathedral and a lot of museums including the Picasso Museum. On Plaza Real you can find very nice restaurants. It’s always a good idea to look for restaurants in the smaller streets. They are cheaper than on Las Ramblas and you can get typical Catalan food.

As Barcelona has a very good metro system, you can get easily from one end of the city to the other. There are two very nice places from where you have a great view over Barcelona – Park Guell and Montjuic.

Let’s start with Park Guell. It was planned by Antoni Gaudi and it’s a very nice place to go for a walk and to relax. Even if you’re not interested in architecture, you have to go to the Sagrada Familia. It’s definitely a must to visit this great but unfortunately still incomplete work. If you like Gaudi’s architecture then have a look at Casa Batllo and La Pedrera as well.

To reach Montjuic you can go by funicular railway. On the Montjuic you can visit the Olympic Stadium of 1992 and home of the football team Espanol. By the way, if you are a real football fan then go to the Nou Camp Stadium of the FC Barcelona. I promise you, standing near the field, you will feel as small as an ant. There is also a museum and a big memorabilia shop.

If you descend Montjuic by foot you will find the National Art Museum of Catalonia and in front of it the Fuentes Magicas. In the evenings, you can view the romantic spectacle of Fuentes Magicas accentuated by colours and music. Another way to go down is the aerial cableway which brings you to the port. This way you will also have a great view over Barcelona. When you have reached the port why not go on a boat trip to see Barcelona’s port and coast from the seaside or go shopping in the Mare Magnum or visit the Aquarium?

I’m sure, if you take a Spanish course at the school in Barcelona, you will fall in love with this great city, just like I did!

Jennifer