Hi friends! Finally sharing about our trip to Barcelona and Marrakech over Thanksgiving. I got a flight alert about a crazy deal to Barcelona that I couldn’t pass up. Dave had never been to Spain and I’ve always wanted to go to Morocco and it’s a short flight from Spain, so we decided it was the time to go! You can read more about how I book travel using points and miles here. We flew in and out of Barcelona via Delta with a crazy deal on miles. We spent the first night in Barcelona then flew to Marrakech the next afternoon for three nights, then back to Barcelona for the last two nights.
Where we Stayed in Barcelona
We stayed our first night at H10 Art Gallery booked via my Chase Sapphire credit card. It was $100 a night, but you get an annual $50 hotel credit with the Chase card, so only paid $50. It was a cool concept with art in the lobby. The room was nice and clean, fairly small, but did the job! The last two nights we stayed at the Renaissance Barcelona because we had some free Marriott nights. It was definitely nicer and bigger rooms! The location for both hotels was nice and pretty central. We could walk anywhere we wanted to go for the most part.. Barcelona is fairly spread out so you do need to metro or taxi some places. If I was going to stay anywhere else I may have looked at staying closer to the Gothic quarter which may have been a tad more charming, but it seemed like it was more expensive to stay down there.
What we Ate in Barcelona
I love the way Spaniards eat! Tapas are my all time fav. I love that you can try little bites of a bunch of stuff. Overall, people say Barcelona is not a food city, but I thoroughly enjoyed our meals!
Baluard Bakery
Grab a croissant!
Petit Pot Cafe
Maybe one of the best meals we had all trip! The breakfast was amazing.
Funky Bakers
Cool coffee shop/bakery and casual breakfast/lunch spot.
Enrique Tomas
Local chain known for Iberico ham – amazing sandwich and great quick bite!
Trebol Churros
Sadly the only place we ate churros, but they were delish!
El Quim de la Boqueria
Counter tapas restaurant in the Boqueria market. Known for seafood but we loved the bao buns too!
Berbena
Nicer dinner spot, more chef-driven. Also some of the best service I’ve had at a European restaurant!
El Nacional
One of my favorite spots. A collection of restaurants and tapas bars inside the most beautiful space.
Tapeo
Cool tapas bar.
El Xampanyet
Old school tapas bar. Get in line early!
Eldiset
More modern tapas and great wine selection.
2254 Tapas
A more modern take on tapas, the eggplant dish was amazing.
Maitea Taberna
Known for pinxtos (small bites) we went for dinner one night, but weren’t blown away. Decent, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to go here.
What we did in Barcelona
La Sagrada Familia
Obviously the main attraction in Barcelona. This church designed by famous architect Gaudi is stunning and you definitely have to visit. We did the tower tour as well (you go up to the top) which was well worth it, but if you are claustrophobic or afraid of heights I would not recommend. Make sure to book tickets in advance!
Casa Batllo
Probably the second most famous of Gaudi’s work, this shows off the quintessential style of Gaudi. Book tickets ahead of time.
Guell Palace
A house designed for a wealthy family, it was cool to see and different than the other Guadi houses I had seen. If you’re not super into architecture you could skip this one.
Park Guell
A park with sculptures and landmarks by Gaudi. We hiked up here at sunset and it was well worth it!
La Boqueria
Maybe my favorite spot in Barcelona. This historic market sells fresh produce, meat, cheese, bakery items etc., as well as prepared food. I recommend wandering and trying lots of bites – empanadas, croquettas, tapas, iberico ham and cheese. There’s also tons of fresh juice in just about every flavor you could imagine. You can also shop for olives, olive oil, spices and more to take home. We got great olive oil from Olio Graus.
Picasso Museum
Neither Dave nor I are huge art people, but we really enjoyed the museum and it’s definitely worth a stop. There are certain days of the month that are free entry but you need to book ahead of time.
Wander the Gothic Quarter
Just get lost in the charming streets.
Tapas Hop
Probably my favorite thing we did was do a self-guided tapas/bar crawl. I had a bunch of spots saved on a Google map, and we just hopped between places getting a dish and drink at each. If you’re not comfortable doing this on your own you can book tours via TripAdvisor or Viator.
If you’re planning a trip to Barcelona let me know in the comments! Happy to answer any questions via comment or email me at leela@lexeats.com. I also have a Google map with lots more restaurants and attractions that I researched saved here.
Check out my other travel guides here:
Dubai Travel Guide
Portugal Travel Guide
Dublin Travel Guide
Budapest Travel Guide
My Trip to Thailand
Bangkok
Bali Honeymoon
Palm Springs Bachelorette
Denver Travel Guide
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