2024 in Spain (Catalonia - Barcelona)
On August 23, 2024, I took an overnight flight from Toronto (YYZ) to Barcelona (BCN) which resulted in the visit of my 30th unique country:
This made it my:
- 20th European country
- 4th time in continental Europe (excluding UK and Iceland)
- with previous visits to Europe in 2014 + 2022 + 2023
- 3rd time in a Spanish-speaking country
- visited Mexico in 2003 and 2023
- 1st time in a Catalan-speaking area
- 1st time in the Iberian peninsula
Basis
Originally, I had intended to visit Greece, Turkey, Israel, Cyprus and Egypt in 2024. Of all times, I had booked that cruise itinerary in September 2023.
Sure enough, the events of late 2023 unfolded. On top of that, Egypt required some unnecessarily complicated visa requirements for Canadians. Finally, the cruise line cancelled the itinerary. So, I then really had to "re-jig the annual trip".
I still wanted to set foot in Africa for the first time, so I opted for an itinerary that included Morocco. Celebrity Equinox happened to offer that itinerary that embarked from Barcelona. So, I visited Barcelona as a "means to an end": to reach Africa.
While I saw isolated anti-tourist banners in quiet corners of Barcelona, I never saw any direct violence targeted towards tourists. Travellers and tour guides went about their business without much harassment and so I enjoyed the city for the most part.
Arrival
Arriving at the airport (BCN) on August 24th. I liked the airport in that visitors could walk straight into a subway station. The public transit system proved fully functional without any major issues. One could buy transit tickets or passes from multiple kiosks that had interfaces in several languages. The more touristic lines had announcements in English, Catalan and Castilian Spanish, while suburban lines would offer just the latter two.
I also liked that the city had a district (Eixample) with a grid-patterned layout that made it relatively easy to navigate. (Of course, the older parts of the city had a more chaotic street pattern!)
Mercadona, the local supermarket chain, did its best, with food and drink prices (especially for the alcohol) that one would consider heavenly in Canada.
Sights
Nothing felt overcrowded. I even experienced a walk through Festa Major Sants, an annual August street festival at Plaça de Sants, as I stayed in a hotel near the Plaça d'Espanya.
On August 25th, my second day in Barcelona, I visited all of the following without much issue:
- Jardins de Montjuïc
- site of the Olympic Games in 1992
- Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys
- Olympic Stadium
- Sagrada Familia
- the Modernist cathedral designed by Antoni Gaudí
- Park Güell
- another architectural work by Antoni Gaudí
- well worth the bus ride to see a nice view of the Mediterranean Sea and some surreal architecture!
- Barri Gotic
- Gothic Quarter with various churches and old-world charm
I did not visit "Las Ramblas" (the touristy shopping street) just because I did my YouTube research. I also dined at Mussol, a Catalonian restaurant, far away from the regular tourist district. I liked them because they did not have people outside stand waving menus with pictures.
On August 26th, Barcelona also served as a springboard for a day trip to Andorra, a micro-state tucked away in the mountains between Spain and France!
On August 27th, I visited the interior of the Sagrada Familia in great detail and enjoyed its architectural brilliance. Then, it came time to go to the cruise port via the Cruise Bus: a 3 euro ride that took only 10 minutes - but for what would otherwise be a 45-minute walk in the hot sun, walking uphill on a stroad-y bridge, with a backpack and carry-on luggage!
Soon enough, I boarded the Celebrity Equinox and headed for the southern Spain port of Càdiz, to see some flamenco!
Reflection
By the sheer lottery of current events, I feel fortunate to have "re-discovered" Barcelona. I had always heard about this place. Ever since the Olympics in 1992, I would hear about Barcelona in passing but it never really pulled me in. It took a "current world thing" and a will to cross a continent off the bucket list to come here. After having visited it, I felt like Barcelona was a good mix between Europe's north and south. I enjoyed all its quirks as the city functioned decently enough.
The Catalonian culture, distinct from French and Spanish, also intrigued me. It felt like both and neither at the same time. It had the visual colourfulness of Mediterranean and Southeastern Europe but the cultural quietness of Northern and Eastern Europe. As a Canadian, I also gravitated towards learning the basics of Catalan, over the basics of Castilian Spanish. Catalan naturally had more commonalities with the French language and I was surprised how many Catalan advertisements I could understand!)
Still, out of respect for the city, I would not visit Barcelona again as a tourist. Yet, if I had to go to Barcelona for business, I would definitely take the chance to visit again. (I missed a lot of the museums and would certainly do a more in-depth visit!)