48 hours in Barcelona: a student’s guide
Photography by Cerys Mason
Cerys Mason gives her thoughts on how to get the most out of Catalonia’s capital.
The December strike period was a hectic time for all, and my course-mates and I had the misfortune (or perhaps blessing) of practically being given a week and a half off while our lecturers participated. Now, what do you do with an abundance of free time and no uni, I hear you cry. Working on our assignments would probably have been a great answer, but no. No, we decided to spontaneously book flights to the tapas capital of Espagna instead.
Saying this, we weren’t exactly blessed with luck, as we ended up sleeping through our alarms and missing the flight. Quite a classic move.
So, we were faced with a new dilemma after racing to Stansted, almost missing a second flight, and finding our way into the city centre at nightfall. Sat around a colossal pan of seafood paella, we suddenly realised that we had exactly 48 hours until our flight back home. What does one do with such little time?
Fortunately, our hostel had all the answers. Just a quick chat with them revealed the very best of Barcelona, including free walking tours and club crawls. For those who are well accustomed to the complete absence of privacy at a hostel, I would highly recommend Sant Jordi Rock Palace, with a wonderful location in Eixample, beautiful décor, and lots of perks — it is one of the widely known “party hostels” in the city. After ticking paella off the list, as well as a chilled cocktail night in Gracia (the hub of authentic Catalan bars and youthful nightlife), we were suited, booted, and ready to perform a military-style operation with the remainder of our time in Barcelona.
The most time-effective and cheap way of seeing Barcelona in a rush is a walking tour, which our hostel offered for free. Starting at the divide of “old” and “new” Barcelona, we were taken around the maze of alleys that make up the Gothic Quarter, from before the city roads were built in a grid shape. From the grand cathedral to tales from Barcelona’s dramatic history, the intense sense of culture and pride in this small, modest quarter was something to marvel at, and truly unmissable. From there, we crossed the main road into a completely new world, with equal strife and pain to the former, but injecting a new political essence into the colonial style. The recent history of Barcelona is just as shocking as the old, and with a guide to take us through the ages we were completely immersed in the Catalan perspective.
The tour ended near a prestigious tapas restaurant area, so by lunchtime we had already had an entire whistle-stop tour and got to eat great tapas. What could be better?
We asked the tour guide the best route to see some more highlights that day, and she suggested going round from the Arc de Triomf, down to the Parc de la Ciutadella, along the port by the beaches, and up La Ramblas, the famous high street of Barcelona. Some of the best things in a city can be explored simply by walking around for a day, and from gardens to beaches to stupidly busy shops, it seemed as if this city had just about everything.
We headed to Parc Guell after a day of wandering, which was more than sufficient for our idyllic Barcelona-sunset dream. At the top of the park there is a viewpoint over the whole city, and everywhere people were sat reading, chatting, and drinking sangria in the winter sun. On a bench a busker was playing his guitar, providing the perfect movie soundtrack for our sleep-deprived, star-stricken group who danced in the dusk, worlds away from essays and strikes and rain back at home.
Hint: Parc Guell can be quite expensive, but before 8.30am and after 6.30pm it is completely free. As long as you’re inside before tickets start being sold, you can stay as long as you want, so brave the early morning and reap the reward!
That night, we were given the luxury of an open bar by the hostel staff, which was not so much an “open bar” as it was an alcohol free-for-all. This was followed by beer pong, pubs, and an underground club, so it’s safe to say we didn’t make the early start for Parc Guell. However, the next day, with 7 hours to go, we vowed to cram in as much Gaudi and Picasso as we could.
My favourite part of Barcelona has always been La Sagrada Familia, the iconic basilica towering over the city skyline. It’s still in construction and made up of many eras of architecture, echoing Gaudi’s open-mindedness to all kinds of beauty. Inside, the pillars are shaped like palm trees, with stain glass windows on every side showering the chamber with tropical light. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Yes, it’s expensive, but please – if you only pay for one thing in the city, let it be this.
Afterwards, we returned to the colonial area of old Barcelona to visit the Picasso museum and spend a tranquil few hours gazing at the history of Picasso’s unique career, in a beautiful Mediterranean stone building. Now at the point of literal exhaustion, and with only two hours to go before our journey back, we took some deep breaths, devoured Subways, and went to see Gaudi’s Casa Batllo and Casa Mila – both insanely spenny to go inside, but equally stunning on the outside.
And there concludes my how-to guide of Barcelona in 48 hours, if you’re willing to have jelly legs for a week afterwards. Barcelona is just the place if you want to hide away in a city so rich in identity that you’ll never want to leave, so go for it. Try not to miss your flight though.