Barcelona Day 2 – Beautiful Park Guell and Awe-inspiring Sagrada Familia
This is the second post in a series about our first European vacation. We booked a repositioning cruise aboard the Celebrity Apex, which would depart from Barcelona, Spain, sail west through the Straits of Gibraltar, stopping in Portugal, first Lisbon then two nights in Porto, with a final stop in La Coruna, Spain, before disembarkation in Southampton, England. Check out our day one experience in Barcelona!
After a good night’s sleep, we were ready for a full day in Barcelona, and in particular, Park Guell and Sagrada Família. But first, sustenance. One of the great things about Barcelona is that it feels like there is a bakery or cafe at every third doorway. Right across the street from the hotel were four, so we headed to Ballard Barceloneta for delicious ham and cheese on fresh baked bread, a chocolate croissant, and of course, coffee, all for $8.50. We bought some bottles of water for our travels at the Supermercat, and we’re ready for the day.
Park Guell
Park Güell is a public park designed by architect Antoni Gaudí, showcasing a wide array of vibrant mosaics, natural forms, and imaginative structures that blend seamlessly with the natural landscape. Originally conceived as a housing development, it has become one of the city’s most iconic landmarks and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You need tickets to enter, which can and should be purchased online in advance of your visit. We had bought tickets on the Official Park Guell web site (you should too) for 9:30AM, the first entrance of the day. They cost 18 euros per ticket.
There are public transit options for getting to the park, most of which leave you a 10-20 minute walk uphill to the main entrance, which then leaves you at the bottom of all the hills in the park. With a long day of walking ahead of us, we opted to take a ride share from the hotel to the Carretera del Carmel entrance, which is at the top of the park, and is the entrance that group coach tours use as well as taxis and ride shares. When we went, Uber was not reliable in Barcelona, so we signed up for Cabify, which offers the same experience as you’d expect from Uber or Lyft..
After a short ride that cost us ~$9, and involved climbing numerous windy hills we therefore avoided walking up, the driver dropped us off right by the Carretera del Carmel entrance about ten minutes before opening. As noted before, group coach tours use this entrance, so there were several clusters of people waiting alongside their flag-bearing tour guide. As I write this, I can hear “Follow the flag, people!” from so many past visits to Disney World’s Flights of Wonder at the Animal Kingdom. Anyway, armed with both digital and printed tickets (in case connectivity was lacking) we joined the general public line, which, at 9:30 began moving and 5 minutes later we were in.
The Carretera del Carmel entrance led us along the three viaducts, then up past the Trias House.
Along the park’s walkways we took in stunning views of the lower park and the city of Barcelona, with the Mediterranean Sea in the distance. Street artists set up shop along one of these paths, and we wound up purchasing a water color from an older gentleman, sharing from where in the world we were visiting.
Making our way along the middle viaduct — there are restrooms here — we came to the Greek theater, a square intended to hold outdoor shows and popular Catalan cultural events. The area is surrounded by a rippling bench covered in tile-shard mosaic, built between 1909 and 1914, and was designed by architect Josep Maria Jujol.
Now this is where we made a little navigational mistake that took us down to the bottom of the park, specifically the Monumental Staircase. No problem, we thought we would head up that staircase right to more of the sights atop those stairs. But alas, that’s a one-way staircase. At least, the signs and various impediments indicated such. Instead, a circuitous climb all the way to the top lay in wait. Yes, right at the top of those steps are Hypostyle Hall, with its forest-like columns, and right before it, El Drac, the giant mosaic salamander.
After about 30 minutes that included a lot of climbing and a couple of helpful park staff providing directions, we found ourselves rounding the Greek Theater once again, but this time with no wrong turns. Just past the theater, the Washerwoman’s Portico came into view on the right, and to the left, the columns of Hypostyle Hall, lined above by the mosaic tile of Greek Theater bench.
Entering Hypostyle Hall, you truly get a feeling of being in a forest of sorts. There are 86 fluted columns that resemble tree trunks, above which are small domes in the ceiling, covered in mosaic. Leaving the hall, you come up El Drac, the colorful guardian of Park Guell. This lizard is stunningly constructed of broken shards of mosaic tile, and is a favorite selfie spot.
We proceeded down the one-way Monumental Staircase back toward the park entrance, but not before snapping photos of the buildings of the Porter’s Lodge Pavilion. There are also clean restrooms nearby. The park’s main entrance lies between these two buildings, and so after a pleasant three plus hour visit, we headed out. Next stop: Sagrada Família.
Sagrada Familia
The journey from Park Guell’s main entrance to Sagrada Família is a relatively easy 30 minute walk, past lots of shops, cafes, restaurants and the Nou Sardenya municipal soccer stadium. Once you get near the basilica, it becomes a huge tourist spot, with McDonalds, Five Guys, and Taco Bell right across the street. We had purchased 1:45pm tickets for Sagrada Família two months prior, which wound up being among the latest admission for the day, since the basilica was closing early that day. Always buy these tickets well in advance, and do so using the official web site. The basic tickets without any tower admission cost 26 euros, each.
We had some time to kill before our entry time, so swung by Pannus Barcelona, which was just a couple doors down from the Five Guys. The tasty snack of two chocolate filled Cañas, a sandwich of jamón ibérico, and drinks set us back $18. Next, we found the outdoor market of the Sagrada Família Festa Major, an annual neighborhood festival, for which we were lucky enough to be there. The market seemed to go on forever along Carrer de Provença. I shall unfairly summarize the market as follows: it’s a lot of cheesemakers and cheese smell.
The time had finally come to enter Sagrada Família. This is UNESCO World Heritage site and is the largest unfinished Catholic Church in the world. Construction began in 1882, with Antoni Gaudi taking over as chief architect one year later. Gaudi dedicated the better part of the rest of his life to its construction, but died in 1926 and is buried in the church’s crypt. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed its completion, so now it is scheduled to be finished in 2026, 100 years after Gaudi’s death.
It is almost impossible to describe the majesty and awe-inspiring nature of this basilica, other than, well, it’s majestic and awe inspiring both inside and out. As you approach and queue up, the detail of the many sculptures adoring the building come into focus.
There is a Sagrada Família mobile app, on which you can download a free audio tour, which starts once you are through the gates. This is entirely worth it and sets the mood, as you make your way inside. Later in the day, the play of light and colors through the stained glass windows is stunning. The massive columns are made of red porphyry and basalt, and are shaped like tree trunks to make visitors feel like they are deep inside a forest instead of a Roman Catholic Church. The crypt and sanctuary within are visible through windows on the main level.
After about an hour taking it all in, and with Sagrada Família closing at 3pm that day, we headed outside. The basilica presented more stunning detail and views from the exit.
Meals, Drinks, and Chocolate
By now, we were ready for a late lunch, and based on a couple of vloggers, we had one place in mind: Puertocillo. Just a block or so away from Sagrada Familia, you walk in and select from an array of all kinds of fresh seafood at the counter, grab drinks, and then have a seat until they call your number, which they may do multiple times until all of your food is ready.
Rona and I love clams, all kinds, but this was the place where I truly discovered the transcendental joy of eating razor clams, and this would not be the last time on this trip. We don’t see a lot of these in the northeastern U.S. so I would be especially sad knowing I wouldn’t have them again (at least for this low price) for a good long time. Then, of course, Spain being Spain, we ate more grilled octopus, with this one being the best we sampled.
Multiple content creators on youtube had recommended the fried anchovies, so we felt obliged, but being newbies to this, we also combined them with fried calamari. They crunchy little blobs of salty goodness, but I’d say we both preferred the squid to the anchovies. I should also note that the person behind the counter asked us if we wanted soup or salad, and because we didn’t know better and wanted to taste everything, we said yes to the soup. The soup tasted like a kind of chicken broth, and had a few mussels in it. It was fine, but we could have given it a miss. With drinks, this meal cost us $52.
It was close to 4pm now, and we were pretty tuckered out, so it was time to make the 20 minute trek back to the hotel to rest up before… you guessed it… dinner. This was a pretty walk, which took us along Carrer de Provenca then to Avinguda Diagonal, surrounding us with impressive architecture, and loads of shops and restaurants in which to peek. We did manage to resist ordering dessert, though curiosity led us through one bakery.
After a brief rest and cleaning up in our hotel room, we headed downstairs to avail ourselves of a free cocktail offer we received as a result of joining Club H10, which was also free. Normally, these were offered at the hotel’s rooftop bar, but it was not open at that time. Still, there is a restaurant and small bar in the lobby and a lovely tree-shaded courtyard just outside. We sat inside, next to the large windows overlooking the courtyard.
Since we had some time before dinner, we decided to look for more souvenirs for the family. While Scott was interested in a Caganer, which we’d purchased the day before, Rachel’s primary ask for our trip to Europe was chocolate from every country. So, we headed around the corner to a nearby chocolate shop, Xocolata Amatller, at which we laid in a supply of chocolate gifts for the family. They had a wide variety of options, all beautifully packaged, and supposedly offered free samples, though apparently not to us! As one does, we bought too much, but speaking from some time in the future, nothing was wasted.
Lastly, it was time for dinner. We’d made a 7:30pm reservation at Estel de Gràcia, a tapas restaurant that was a few minutes’ walk from the hotel. This choice was purely based on distance, Google reviews, and a desire for tapas. Fortunately, this place did not disappoint.
As with most restaurants in Barcelona, dinner does not typically start until 7:30 or 8:00pm, and so when we arrived shortly before 7:30pm, they were just opening and we were first in. The restaurant was cozy and somehow casual and trendy at the same time, and we immediately noticed they were playing 1980’s music in the background, which continued all evening. Gen-X’ers that we are, and having been teenagers in the 80’s when MTV launched (and only played music videos), it felt like home.
Along with a glass of Cava, we first had a far more authentic Patatas Bravas than we’d had the night before. The potatoes were crispy and the combination of garlic mayonnaise and their secret citrus and spicy recipe took it over the top. The toasted bread covered in tomato spread, olive oil and Iberian ham was full of contrasting textures and flavors, combining the slight crispiness of the bread, the saltiness of the ham and sweetness of the tomatoes. 13 out of 10.
Next, we had two types of croquetas: Iberian ham and roasted meat. Again, compared with our meal the previous night, these were as crispy as the night before, but far more flavorful. Lastly, we ordered what was essentially a Spanish omelette made from eggs and potatoes, topped with garlic shrimp. By the time this arrived, we were quite full. However, this dish was worth pushing through. Combining the heartiness of the eggs and potatoes with the savoryness of the garlic and shrimp made this our absolute favorite tapa from our time in Barcelona. With drinks, this meal cost us $56.
With an incredibly enjoyable meal after a long day of sight seeing, we waddled out of there and back to the hotel for the night. Tomorrow, we’d be boarding the Celebrity Apex, for our 7-night cruise!
If you’ve been to Park Guell or Sagrada Familia, let us know your impressions! And let us know what restaurants in Barcelona you recommend, because we will be going back!