Barcelona, Spain

We went on a Mediterranean Cruise and Barcelona was one of our stops on our cruise. We had purchased the Hop On Hop Off bus tour, but only used it once because the routes included on the bus tour didn’t take us everywhere we wanted to go. We took a taxi from the cruise ship port to the Columbus Monument, and then walked to the Gothic Quarter and began our time in Barcelona at the Triumphal Arch, or the Arc de Triomf. We only had a limited amount of time, and wanted to see the biggest highlights of Barcelona during our day there.

The Columbus Monument

I enjoyed all of the old architecture of the city, and found it interesting that they covered so much of the most beautiful parts of it with netting. One of our taxi drivers told us it was always covered, to keep the birds off of it.

Arc de Triomf & Parc de la Ciutadella

The Triumphal Arch was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1888 and is the gateway to the Parc de la Ciutadella. We walked through the park, including to the end where the equestrian statue of General Prim stands. We walked through the Umbracle, a building that houses shade-loving plants, and saw the Castle of the Three Dragons, etc.

Arc de Triomf

The other side of the Arc de Triomf

Monumento a Rius i Taulet
Monument dedicated to the politician and lawyer Francisco de Paula Rius y Taulet, who was the main promoter of the 1888 Universal Exhibition, for which Ciutadella Park was created.

Entrance gates to Ciutadella Park

Castle of the Three Dragons
Built as a restaurant for the 1888 Universal Exposition

The Hivernacle, or green house inside Parc de la Ciutadella

The Umbracle, or shade house in Parc de la Ciutadella

Monument to General Prim

L'Agricultura de Venanci Vallmitjana statue

Inside the Cultural Centre is an archaeological site discovered in 2002

Equestrian Statue outside the Barcelona Cathedral

Equestrian Statue with the Barcelona Cathedral in the background

Behind the Barcelona Cathedral

Cathedral of Barcelona

Next we visited the Barcelona Cathedral. We climbed to the roof and walked along the catwalk. The views from the catwalk were beautiful. Construction on the cathedral began in 1298. The cost to enter the cathedral, including roof access, is 14 euro. You can purchase tours for an additional cost. Visiting hours are from 9:30 am until 6:30 pm on weekdays or 5:15 on Saturdays, with more limited hours on Sunday. You can read more about the cathedral on their official website here:

Cathedral of Barcelona

Beautiful Barcelona Cathedral

My husband and I in front of the Barcelona Cathedral

Baptismal font inside the Barcelona Cathedral

View from the catwalk of the Barcelona Cathedral - see Sagrada Familia off in the distance

the catwalk on top of the Barcelona Cathedral

catwalk on the Barcelona Cathedral

inside the Barcelona Cathedral

The fountain at the Barcelona Cathedral has been used for the Dancing Egg during the feast of Corpus Cristi - Read more about that here:
Dancing Egg

We walked from the Cathedral to the famous Sagrada Familia. We stopped for a couple snacks along the way. It is our tradition to try out the gelato in every European city that we visit. Sometimes we try multiple gelatarias to see which one is the best! This one was very good:

It also had a bakery in it

We also tried this pastry at a bakery across the street from the Barcelona Cathedral

Basilica de la Sagrada Familia

It was a fifteen minute walk from the Gothic Quarter to the Sagrada Familia. I don’t have adequate words to describe La Sagrada Familia. It is completely unique! Once completed in 2026, Sagrada Familia will be the tallest church in the world, with its highest tower reaching 566 feet. It will have 18 towers, with the Jesus Christ Tower being the tallest. We had purchased our entrance tickets ahead of time because we heard about the church’s popularity. We also purchased tickets to the Passion Tower, which is currently the highest tower in the Sagrada Familia.

Sagrada Familia was originally designed by Francisco de Paula del Villa in 1882. Only a year later, the project was taken over by famous architect Antoni Gaudi. He worked on the Sagrada Familia until his death in 1926. The basilica is scheduled to be completed 100 years after his death, in 2026.

Tickets to visit the basilica are 26 euro. To visit the basilica along with one of the towers - either the Nativity or the Passion Tower - costs 36 euro. This is definitely worth it! Don’t miss visiting one of the towers! You ride the elevator to the top, enjoy the view, and then you climb down the winding stairs all the way to the bottom (in the case of the Passion Tower, that is 426 steps). I am deathly afraid of heights, but this was still very worth it! We chose the Passion Tower, the higher of the two. I didn’t have any problems with vertigo, despite the height, and have probably never descended a winding staircase faster than that one!

The basilica is open beginning at 9 am Monday through Saturday, but 10:30 on Sundays. It closes at 6 p.m. during the winter and 8 p.m. during the summer. Full information can be found at their official website here:

La Sagrada Familia

The famous Sagrada Familia

The detail and workmanship are incredible

The model of what Sagrada Familia will look like when completed in 2026

A worker on the exterior of Sagrada Familia

I could have taken hundreds of photos of all of the details on the exterior

The stained glass windows on the interior are amazing as well and create such a brilliant light show inside the basilica

workmanship on the ceilings

the beautiful windows

one of the towers not currently open to the public

beautiful staircase and stained glass windows - look at the reflection from the windows on the side of the staircase

This light effect may have been my very favorite

The columns are supposed to resemble tree trunks so that visitors feel they are standing in a forest. They branch out at the top to form an illusion of a canopy of trees.

The line for the Passion Tower elevator

view from the Passion Tower

No fear of falling from the Passion Tower - it is enclosed with metal wire

upward view in the Passion Tower

view under the columns on the exterior

The Sacristy Dome

Paul Guell

We finally used the Hop on Hop Off Bus to travel between Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. We were dropped off on a corner and had to ask a local shop owner for directions to Park Guell. We walked through the park, enjoying the view from the top of Barcelona, sitting on the serpentine bench, the monumental staircase, the three viaducts, etc.

Construction on Park Guell began in 1900. It is one of Antoni Gaudi’s most famous architectural creations, and it opened to the public the year that he died. General admission is 10 euro, and a guided tour is 22 euro. It opens at 9:30 in the morning and closes at 7:30 p.m. You can read more at their official website:

Park Guell

street sign guiding us up the hill to Park Guell from where the Hop On Hop Off Bus dropped us

The Laundry Room Portico, Portico de La Lavandera, or the Washerwoman's Portico

Tree-like columns

La Casa Trias

Beautiful view of Barcelona from Park Guell

The Serpentine Bench

The Columns Room, or Hypostyle Room

bench behind the dragon staircase

looking down on the entrance gates at the south side of Park Guell, which are between the two "gingerbread houses," which are actually the Porter's Lodge pavilions.

wishing pond near the dragon stairway

The Monumental Staircase leading up to the Hypostyle Room

The salamander, or dragon, or lizard, is halfway up the monumental staircase

Mercat de La Boqueria

From Park Guell, we took a taxi to Mercat de La Boqueria, the most popular market in Barcelona. We purchased some snacks and looked around. There is a lot of fruit, fish, smoothies, and sweets to choose from. I found one stand selling pizza and purchased a piece, and while I was eating it a half dozen people asked me where I’d found it!

Las Ramblas

After finishing our snacks at the market, we walked up the most famous street in Barcelona - Las Ramblas - before taking another taxi to the cruise port. That was all we had time for on that day, but we fit as much in as we could. There was so much still to see, so we’ll have to make another trip back someday.