Barcelona - with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Travel
Written By Marc Buchser

10min read

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With average temperatures between 15 and 21 celsius, Barcelona is the ideal holiday destination year round. The winters are usually mild with temperatures not below 8 celsius, whereas the summers can be quite hot with up to 29 celsius. If you prefer temperatures that are not too hot, we can recommend a visit in the spring (March/April) or fall (Sept/Oct).

When we visited Barcelona, we literally stepped on two of the greatest tennis players of all time, but more on that later, let’s first see what makes Barcelona worth visiting.


The history of Barcelona dates back to 5000 BC with tombs and dwellings found. Rumours mentioned Hercules and the father of Hannibal being somehow involved in its founding, but it was not until the Romans arrived around 15 BC where the first proven records as a colony appeared.

Barcelona witnessed the great plague (1650-1654) which halved the city’s population, the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the 1992 Summer Olympics just to name a few historic events. You can still see the history today when you walk through the centre of the old city of Barcelona. The mixture of ancient history and modern architecture is one of the reasons why walks through the streets of Barcelona are so unique.


The 1.2km long tree lined pedestrian street La Rambla is one of the main attractions of the city. Here you can find street artists, human statues, live performances and lots of restaurants and shops. La Rambla connects the Placa Catalunya with the Christopher Columbus monument at Port Vell. Since it is usually heavily travelled by pedestrians, especially in the summer, it also attracts a lot of pickpockets and scam artists.

There are 3 stops of the Barcelona Metro (Line L3) along the La Rambla in case you get tired or want to explore other areas of the city. If you know all your visits in Barcelona ahead of time we can recommend the Metro, since it is the fastest and easiest means of transport. Another great way to explore the city are the Hop on Hop off open top sightseeing buses. With the two lines (red and blue) you can hop on and off as you please and explore all the main attractions of the city.

https://city-sightseeing.com/en/17/barcelona

The old gothic quarter (Barri Gotic), with narrow streets and plazas from the medieval times, are perfect for a walk, admiring the interesting buildings or sitting down to have a coffee.


Barcelona is the city of Antonio Gaudi. It is almost impossible not to see one of his many impressive buildings - the Sagrada Familia, the Park Gueli, Casa Mila, Casa Batillo just to name a few. For the Sagrada Familia we recommend you get there early and prepare for 1-2 hour lineups. With 3 million visitors every year, the Sagrada Familia is the most visited tourist attraction in Barcelona, although still due to be under construction for another 20 years. You can go inside and see the parts that are currently accessible to the public. We can recommend the Casa Batillo (https://www.casabatllo.es/en/). It is not quite as busy as the Sagrada Familia, but almost as spectacular.


In the evening you can admire the music and light show from the magic fountain, just a couple hundred meters from the Placa Espanya.

https://www.barcelona.cat/en/what-to-do-in-bcn/magic-fountain

Our hotel recommendation for Barcelona, the Hotel B, is also just a stones throw away from the Placa Espanya. With a modern design, an infinity pool on the rooftop and a great view over the Placa Espanya, it has everything to make your stay in Barcelona unique.

https://www.b-hotel.com/en/

Barcelona - Hotel B rootop infinity pool (check out our shop for full resolution pictures and canvas prints)

From the Hotel B you can walk in 3 minutes to the Arenas de Barcelona for a shopping extravaganza. Another 5 minute walk from there and you are at the magic fountain, and if you go another 13 minutes you will be at the Estadi Olimpic (the Olympic Stadium), where you will find the footprints of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and other athletes who competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Don’t forget to bring along your sneakers to see how you fit in any of the iconic footprints.

When you walk in between the treelines of La Rambla we highly recommend two stops along the way:

  • The best market in the world (according to their website): La Boqueria http://www.boqueria.barcelona/ Here you find everything from seafood to fruits and vegetables.

  • Placa Reial, a romantic place with palm trees and a fountain in an inner courtyard surrounded by historic buildings with bars, restaurants and bakeries.
    https://lareial.com/ And, in case you wonder who designed the two fancy street lamps on the side of the fountain of Placa Reial, it was not the architect Francesc Molina who designed the Placa Reial itself, it was young Antonio Gaudi.

A walk along the Barceloneta, the sandy beach of Barcelona is also a highlight we can recommend. From the Christoph Columbus monument, which is located at the end of La Rambla, it is a 24 minute walk to the beach, where you can sunbathe, swim, surf or just drink an espresso while watching the Mediterranean Sea while processing all the creative and historic impressions from the city of Antonio Gaudi.

And last but not least, for all soccer pilgrims, Camp Nou, the home stadium of the F.C. Barcelona (the fourth-most valuable sports team in the world worth $4.76 billion). With a capacity of 99’000, Camp Nou is the biggest stadium in Europe.

https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/club/facilities/camp-nou

You can reach Camp Nou by metro. There are several stations within walking distance (10 minutes) and the ride there is about 25 minutes from the city centre. We recommend to take the the hop on hop off bus (blue route) which also has stops at the Park Guell and the Sagrada Familia.

The hop on hop off route map can be found here:

https://www.hoponhopoffbarcelona.org/routes/

Marc Buchser
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