BARCELONA GUIDE.
It seems like a lifetime ago we headed to Barcelona, a long weekend that consisted mainly of lounging by the pool at our amazing hotel Olivia Balmes. Thanks to the guys at Travel Supermarket we headed off to Barcelona in September. The perfect time to visit - not to hot, not too cold.When we weren’t ordering cocktails and room service we were mostly eating so here’s a little round up of places we visited.Barcelona is the perfect place to visit whatever the time of year and honestly I prefer when it's not so hot to properly explore the city.FoodCan Cisa - Bar BrutalGreat little tapas restaurant/bar, Brutal-Can Cisa might not be the most obvious option but this little gem has some of the nicest tapas – it's all about the meats and bread. Near the Picasso museum this is perfect for early dinner or tapas with drinks.Mont BarA relatively new place in Barcelona & very popular. Situated not far from our hotel is a small authentic restaurant serving the most elaborated tapas I’ve ever had in Barcelona.Boca GrandeNot a tapas restaurant (for once) but an amazing atmosphere (if not verging on slightly pretentious) and wow - the interior design. Even if you don't need to use it, check out the toilets, any loos that have a photo booth make it a winner in my eyes. They have 3 floors, downstairs is the restaurant, upstairs is an amazing looking bar and the top floor is a small roof terrace with another bar.Travel and CupcakesThe perfect place to start the day with a delicious breakfast - so good we went twice.Quite modern and dare I say hipster, unlike many cafe/restaurants I have seen in Barcelona.Eyescream and FriendsIf you’re in the mood for ice-cream and fun there's no better place (or more Instagram worthy) than this little gem, situated near the port, a stones throw from the beach. Pick your flavour & toppings and soon you'll have a new little friend...well, until she melts.
STAY
Olivia Balmes.We deliberated a lot over hotels before picking Olivia Balmes, having visited Barcelona a handful of times before we wanted to go slightly more luxury and this was just the ticket without being super expensive.Beautiful, clean, modern rooms and a short distances from Barcelona’s Passeig de Gracia, in the elegant Eixample neighborhood. Which in other words means, close to lots of shops and restaurants and super easy to get to from the airport.The roof top pool was definitely the icing on the cake, especially with a mojito in hand.
To do's - Believe the hype
Not talked about enough -Take the cable car up the mountain and head to the Castle Montjuic.
Visit Sagrada Família it really is a tourist must.
Hire bikes - the best way to see the city & for someone who can be quite a nervous cyclist, the bike paths are really great.
Take the bus tour - we got the two-day pass that allowed us one day to take the red route and the other for blue. Getting to see literally every tourist destination in a hop off and on way. Spending as much or as little time as you like in your favourite places.