Joseph First time in Spain like us? Starts with Barcelona and Madrid might be the most common way for every tourist traveling to Spain for the first time.
Barcelona and Madrid are the two most well-known city name in Spain. First, we will share our Barcelona’s itinerary!
Before You Go – Spain/Barcelona
Here are some things you need to know before visiting Spain.
- Currency: Euro (€).
- Power Socket: 230V, same as most of the European countries.
- Barcelona is credit card friendly.
- It’s recommended that your card have PIN card set up aforehand.
- Data coverage for Google Fi in Spain is very good.
- Rent a car or not: Not necessary.
- For big cities, like Madrid and Barcelona, you don’t really need a car. Public transportation can get you to most (~85%) tourist spots.
- Lunch time in Spain is generally around 13:00~15:00 and dinner time start after 19:30. You may even find some restaurants do not open until 19:00, and most restaurants will open until midnight or even later. Definitely check it on Google Maps before you visit any restaurant.
- If you are taking trains within Spain, you must arrive about 40 mins earlier. Security screening is mandatory for any train travel crossing any city border.
- Although not as strict as airport security screening, you need to take off your jacket and bags to go through X-ray machine.
- You don’t need to empty liquids, take off your shoes, or remove electronic devices from your bags. But it will still take time.
Flight
For the departure, I took advantage of 25% transfer bonus from Amex to Air France/KLM Flying Blue in September 2022, spending only 52,000 MR per person for a March 2023 flight from Seattle to Barcelona.
Ticket
| 2023/03/09 (Thu.) | AF 0367 (Air France) | |
| Seattle (SEA) 4:30pm | ✈9h 45min | Paris (CDG) 11:15am (+1 Day) |
| BUSINESS (Z) | ||
| Transfer | 4h 10min | |
| 2023/03/10 (Fri.) | AF 1548 (Air France) | |
| Paris (CDG) 3:25pm | ✈1h 50min | Barcelona (BCN) 5:05pm |
| BUSINESS (J) |
Cost Per Person: 65,000 Flying Blue Miles (52,000 MR) + 206.53 USD
Day 0
We did not have the smoothest first day at all. Because of the strike in France, our flight from Seattle to Barcelona is partially cancelled, and thus our itinerary change from SEA-CDG-BCN to SEA-DUB-LIS-BCN. Unfortunately, even after the rearrangement, the flight from Dublin to Lisbon still delayed for 2 hours due to crew shifts. We ended up missing the flight to Barcelona, and have to spend a night in Lisbon. As a result, there is no itinerary for our first day.
Timeline
| Time / Duration | Location / Transportation |
| – 20:27-1 | Seattle Airport (SEA) |
| (9hr 10min) | (Flight) |
| 13:33 – 18:33 | Dublin Airport (DUB) |
| (2hr 50min) | (Flight) |
| 21:25 – 23:00 | Humberto Delgato Airport (LIS) |
| (15min) | (Subway) |
| 23:15 – | Melia Lisboa Oriente |
Day 1
According to our original plan, we should have some time explore the city after landing. But we are affected by constant changes of flight schedule and very exhausted, thus we immediately fell asleep after arriving at our hotel, Alexandra Barcelona Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton.
Have to mention that Alexandra Barcelona hotel is at a very good location, I’ll cover the hotel review in another post.
Timeline
| Time / Duration | Location / Transportation |
| – 05:24 | Melia Lisboa Oriente |
| (5min) | (Taxi) |
| 05:24 – 07:05 | Humberto Delgato Airport (LIS) |
| (1hr 50min) | (Flight) |
| 09:55 – 11:20 | Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN) |
| (1hr) | (Subway) |
| 12:20 – | Alexandra Barcelona Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton |
Alternation
However, unlike us, if you have enough stamina after arriving at Barcelona, here is my suggestion for a half day trip if staying around Alexandra Barcelona Hotel.
Casa Milà
- La Pedrera-Casa Milà
- Reservation: HIGHLY Recommended
- Entry tickets per day is limited, consider purchase a ticket in a day in advance to secure a spot.
- We think La Pedrera Essential is a good choice for first time visitor.
- Consider spending about 2 hours here.
- Verdict: (n/a)
Casa Batlló
- Casa Batlló
- Reservation: Recommended
- If purchase tickets online before visiting, it will save you about 4€ per ticket. Around 15% off the original price.
- We think General Visit is a good choice for first time visitor.
- Consider spending about 2 hours here. Visit during sunset time would be great as you can see its light as well.
- Verdict: (n/a)
Day 2
Hotel -> Museu Nacional D’Art de Catlunya -> Montjuic Castle -> Guell Palace -> Picasso Museum -> Hotel
Timeline
| Time / Duration | Location / Transportation |
| – 10:45 | Alexandra Barcelona Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton |
| (25min) | (Subway) |
| 11:20 – 12:40 | Museu Nacional D’Art de Catalunya |
| (20min) | (Bus + Barcelona Cable Car) |
| 13:10 – 13:50 | Montjuïc Castle |
| (50min) | (Barcelona Cable Car + Subway) |
| 14:40 – 17:00 | Güell Palace |
| (10+30min) | (Walking + Coffee break) |
| 17:45 – 19:00 | Picasso Museum |
| (30min) | (Bus) |
| 19:30 – | Alexandra Barcelona Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton |
Spotlights
Museu Nacional D’Art de Catalunya
- Museu Nactional D’Art de Catalunya Official Site
- Reservation: Not Needed.
- Free entry with Barcelona Card.
- It has limited English description and focus on Catalunya history and art.
- If you are not an art lover like us, 1.5 hours here should be enough.
- Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐
Montjuïc Castle
- Montjuïc Castle Official Site
- Reservation: Not Needed.
- Take Funicular from Parallel subway to Parc Montjuic station, and then use Barcelona Cable Car from there can lead you to castle without climbing the slope. (Tickets sold separately)
- Free entry with Barcelona Card.
- We spent around 1 hour here, as it seems like a lot of rooms did not open.
- Verdict: ⭐⭐
Güell Palace
- Güell Palace Official Site
- Reservation: Not Needed.
- With Barcelona Card, you can get 25% off for tickets. Closed on Mondays.
- We spent around 2.5 hours here. Audio guide is included within their app.
- Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Picasso Museum
- Picasso Museum Official Site
- Reservation: Not Needed.
- Free entry with Barcelona Card.
- No photos are allowed inside. However, some visitors still try to capture photos…
- We spent around 75 mins here. But it’s due to their on-time closure (they kicked us out when the museum is about to close for the day), you can easily spend around 2.5 hours here.
- Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Day 3
Hotel -> Park Güell -> Jewish Quarter -> Sagrada Familia -> Hotel
Timeline
| Time / Duration | Location / Transportation |
| – 09:15 | Alexandra Barcelona Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton |
| (25min) | (Bus) |
| 09:40 – 11:25 | Park Güell |
| (30min) | (Bus) |
| (2hr) | (Lunch) |
| 14:00 – 16:00 | Jewish Quarter |
| (25min) | (Subway) |
| 16:25 – 19:00 | Sagrada Familia |
| (8min) | (Bus) |
| 19:15 – | Alexandra Barcelona Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton |
Spotlights
Park Güell
- Park Güell Official Site
- Reservation: Not Needed.
- Entry fee required.
- We recommend to arrive as early as possible. As it will only get more crowded later in the day.
- We spent around 2.5 hours here without haste. If you want to visit as many spotlights as possible, you can plan around 1.5 hours here (photo time included).
- Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jewish Quarter
- Call de Barcelona – Visit Barcelona
- Reservation: Not Needed.
- Simply get lost and visit any place within the area. But be VERY CAREFUL OF PICKPOCKETS.
- We spent around 2 hours here due to our reservation at next tourist spot. You can easily spend 4 hours here if you don’t have later plans.
- Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sagrada Familia
- Sagrada Familia Official Site
- Reservation: MUST, Reserved Only. Reserve at least 3 days in advance.
- We chose the SAGRADA FAMÍLIA AND TOWERS package, and think it’s pretty sufficient for first-timer.
- A must visit place in Barcelona, one of the most well-known Gaudi’s architecture on the planet.
- We spent around 2.5 hours here. Audio tour is included within its App, but its app, is pretty bad 🙁
- Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐+
Day 4 (Day Trip Itinerary)
Hotel -> (Private photo shooting session in Barcelona) -> Hotel -> MADRID
Day 4 is the “working day” for us during this trip, as we are having private photo shooting session in Barcelona. During the day, we visited the places we been to the last few days for photo-shooting. Therefore, our timeline will be skipped here.
Instead, we will provider our recommended day trip itinerary, should you wish to visit Barcelona for a day only. As we basically follow this timeline in the photo shooting session.
Day Trip Timeline
| Time / Duration | Location / Transportation |
| 09:00 – 11:00 | Sagrada Familia |
| (25min) | (Subway) |
| 11:30 – 13:00 | Park Güell |
| (30min) | (Subway) |
| 13:30 – 15:00 | Mercado de La Boqueria (Lunch) |
| 15:00 – 18:00 | Gothic Quarter |
| (15min) | (Subway) |
| 18:15 – 20:00 | Casa Batlló |
| 20:00 – | Dinner + back to hotel |
Spotlights (Not mentioned above)
Mercado de La Boqueria
- Mercado de La Boqueria Site
- Reservation: Not needed.
- BE VERY CAREFUL OF PICKPOCKETS.
- It has lots of Tapas option within the market, and will be a good place to grab lunch / quick bites.
- Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Final Thoughts
Barcelona has lots of attractions and can easily take 3-5 days to explore its charm. We unfortunately don’t have enough time to visit all tourist spots, for example, the Camp Nou stadium, home of FC Barcelona, and Barceloneta Beach. However, we still enjoy the every moment within this attractive city.
One thing to note is that, we prepared anti-theft bags and anti-theft underwear during our trip in Barcelona due to its notorious pick pockets. Always be aware of your belongings, and don’t take photos with people who paint their face white, will save you lots of money and time.
Overall, I would rate the city a solid 4.5/5 and will be back for sure in future!