Plaza Rei in Gothic Quarter
Barcelona was the very first city I visited in Europe. That was back in the mid-1990’s when the city was still basking from its Olympic glory. I was excited to return with Keith and combed the city to explore the old and the new. I found the city still oozed with Catalonian charm that I fondly remembered. I also found it to be more polished, more dynamic and more seductive.
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Barri Gotic or Gothic Quarter is the oldest part of Barcelona. It charmed me with its picturesque labyrinth streets, old world feel, gothic architectures and museums. Now it also seduces with its cool boutiques, trendy cafes and restaurant, and fine street artists.
An outdoor café at Plaza Rei in the Gothic Quarter.
Excellent street performance is a typical feature in the charming narrow streets of Gothic Quarter.
Gothic Quarter: Fine street performers
Gothic Quarter: People enjoying a street performance.
Gothic Quarter: A street mime.
Gothic Quarter: A street opera singer.
Gothic Quarter: Sant Jaume Square, the administrative center of Barcelona.
A girl and balloons in Plaza Catalunya.
Las Ramblas, the most famous street in Barcelona, is lined with flower shops, cafes, trinket store, boutiques and street artists. It is frequented by tourists and pickpocketers – beware!
One of the flower shops in Las Ramblas.
La Boqueria, Barcelona’s colorful and lively produce market, is another one of our favorite spot in the city.
La Boqueria: The most beautiful mangoes we have seen. The most expensive one too – that’s almost US$10 a piece!
La Boqueria: The feisty seafood vendor.
La Boqueria: Garlic and peppers for sale.
La Boqueria: Refreshing fruit shake for sale.
Tapas, paella and sangria – the perfect meal for our first night in Barcelona.
Shades and shadows at Parc Joan Miro, built in homage to Barcelona’s world famous surrealist.
The highlight of Parc Joan Miro is Dona i Ocell (Woman and Bird), one of Miro’s last sculptures.
The lovely Plaza Espana, Barcelona’s largest plaza and the intersection of many of the city’s main road.
View of Plaza Espana from the Palau Nacional (Museum of Catalan Art), situated on the foot of Montjuic Hill.
The Olympic Tower built as communication tower for the coverage of the 1992 Olympics.
The old port authority building in Port Vell, Barcelona’s old harbor which was the focus of the urban revitalization program in preparation for the 1992 Olympics.
Part of the revitalized Port Vell is Maremagnum, a huge modern shopping and entertaining complex that also houses Europe’s largest aquarium.
La Barceloneta is the city’s old fishing port. Docked in its marina are the yachts of Barcelona’s rich and famous.
La Barcelonata is known for its sandy beaches as well as its upscale seafood restaurants and bars that lined its boardwalk.
Vendors of knock-off products lined up the waterfront of La Barceloneta at night.
The beautiful and delicious baguettes at our favorite breakfast place in the neighborhood of L’eixample.
One of the many tapas bar in the city.
A contemporary and colorful entrance to the metro.
A digital billboard in the middle of the metro track.
Relaxing at Parc Guell, a colorful park designed by Barcelona famous architect Antoni Gaudi. A vist to Barcelona is not complete without seeing his famous works. For more about Gaudi and his landmark architectures, please see Barcelona Part 2: Understanding Gaudi.
Feel free to leave your comments below.
Beautiful photos of one of my favorite cities. Love the shot of the street artists and of La Boqueria (its my favorite spot, too!) Looking forward to your post about Gaudi’s work.
Hi Dani, glad you enjoyed our photos of one of your favorite cities.:)
What a beautiful capture of the city streets, people and the market place. Very enjoyable post.
Hi Carrie, thanks. It’s truly a very photogenic city. Glad you enjoyed it.
I love the shot of the street artist, especially the street mime and the opera singers. Looks like an amazing trip as always. I’d love to see your shot of Gaudi’s architectures.
Hey Jan, the street mime and the opera in singer were really incredible in person, much more than the photos. It truly was an amazing trip.
Nice images of Barcelona, one of the places I’m wanting to go to. Thanks guy, I enjoyed traveling from my armchair for now.
Hey Craig, we’re glad you had a great time armchair traveling. Hope you get to go to Barcelona for real pretty soon. You’ll love it!
I enjoyed your blog about Barcelona. I’ve been there but you captured a lot of things I didn’t pay much attention to that a lot of scenes seem new to me. Thanks for sharing your beautiful images.
HI Nikki, it’s our pleasure. Thanks for dropping by:)
Wow, your photos are really nice! I have plans of going to Spain next month (if my visa application is granted – wish me luck!) for a conference. I am really looking forward to visiting Barcelona. The pictures about the street performers made me more eager to visit Spain.
Btw, thanks for visiting my blog! More power <3
Micamyx|Senyorita recently posted..Island Hopping in El Nido: Tour B
Hi Mica, good luck!!! We hope you get the visa! We keep our fingers crossed for you. You’ll definitely love Barcelona. Keep us posted and let us know if you have any questions about Barcelona travel. Good luck!!!! Sending all our positive thoughts your way!
I only stayed 70 days in Europe when I went solo backpacking there early this year, so I decided not to go to Spain, hoping I can visit it on my next trip. I really wish I could go back. Europe is so big and sooo beautiful! In Spain, I dream of going to Madrid and Barcelona.
Aleah | SolitaryWanderer.com recently posted..Budget Trip Ideas—Wawa Dam and Avilon Zoo in Montalban, Rizal
Oh Aleah, you could have spent all of those 70 days in Spain alone and it wouldn’t be enough. You’re right, Europe is just way too big and way too beautiful. You made the right decision though because Spain really warrants a trip of its own. You’ll love it there I know for sure.
Barcelona is a good place to start visiting Europe – or the whole world. It’s there where I started my travelling career! I was six years old when I was abroad for the first time and that was in Barcelona.
Hi Samu, we’re jealous about how early you started your travel career:) Traveling in Barcelona must have left a great impression in your young mind for you to pursue traveling in all countries in the world.