We, a bunch of Bulgarian travelers, started our first day in Barcelona with a French breakfast at the Spanish Basílica de la Sagrada Família. Eclectic!

Sagrada Família

Sagrada Família

The Basilica is a large Roman Catholic church, designed by (as many other buildings in the city) the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí. It's construction hasn't been completed, but despite that, the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the time of Gaudí's death (in 1926) less than a quarter was completed but thankfully, the project wasn't stopped. The completion is expected to be in 2026 and if it is, the basilica will become the tallest church in the world (at 170 meters).

Our next stop was at Casa Milà, also known as La Pedrera.

La Pedrera

It is a modernist building, the last civil project designed by Gaudí. It took six years to build and at the time it raised a lot of discussions, because of its nontraditional design. The most interesting part of the building is the rooftop - there are six skylights, twenty-eight chimneys and four domes.

La Pedrera Rooftop

The chimneys were twisted so that the smoke comes out better and some of them are covered with marble fragments and broken Valencia tiles. One of them has a top made of glass pieces and it was said that Gaudí did that right after the founding of the building, using the empty bottles from the party.

There is a vast view on all sides and it's pretty windy, so hold tight!

View from La Pedrera

You can also take a night tour, when there's supposed to be a unique audiovisual show - for schedule and tickets check here.

Under the rooftop is the attic with 270 arches and an exhibition.

La Pedrera Attic

Casa Milà was originally built for a married couple, but currently it is the headquarters of the Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation, which manages all public activities at the house. In 1984 it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Another one of Gaudi's masterpieces - Casa Batlló was next on the list. Like everything he designed, it follows the modern architecture style guide. The local name for the building is Casa dels ossos (House of Bones). Can you guess why?

Casa Batlló

Right next to it is Casa Amatller.

Casa Amatller

A little further down we found Plaça de Catalunya.

Plaça de Catalunya

The square is generally considered to be the city center. Some of the city's most important streets and avenues meet there. It is especially known for its fountains and statues, its proximity to some of Barcelona's most popular attractions, and for the flocks of pigeons that gather in the center.

At Plaça de Catalunya

29 °C? It felt like way more in the sun and way less when the wind started blowing. Weird weather.

In the old city (Ciutat Vella) the streets were narrow and met at lots of squares. It kind of reminded me of Venice.

Ciutat Vella

I mean Venice, right? There was even a hotel, named Rialto.

Palau de la Música Catalana - a concert hall, designed NOT by Gaudi. The Palau has won a best building built award in 1909. We didn't go in, but I've seen pictures of the inside. It looks pretty nice.

Palau de la Música Catalana

Did I say it was 29 °C? We freshened up at a fountain..

Ciutat Vella

.. and went on to.. okay I know I mentioned Venice, but it's time to teleport to Paris - Arc de Triomf.

Arc de Triomf

It was built as the main access gate for the Barcelona World Fair in 1888. Below it, leading all the way do the Ciutadella Park is a wide promenade - Passeig de Lluís Companys.

Passeig de Lluís Companys

We skipped the park and on our way back to the old city, we found some ruins and benches where we could rest. At this point we'd probably made about 20000 steps.

After our short break, we followed the signs to Santa Maria del Mar. It is an impressive Catalan Gothic church.

Santa Maria del Mar

Santa Maria del Mar

Plaça Novais the place where the old city was born: Barcino.

Plaça Nova

It hosts a Gothic market and the main entrance to the Barcelona Cathedral. The Cathedral is the Gothic cathedral and seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona. There is a dress code (no shorts or bare shoulders), so keep that in mind if you decide to explore it inside.

Barcelona Cathedral

It does look kind of creepier at night though.

Barcelona Cathedral

We found our way to La Rambla - Barcelona's most popular pedestrian street. Beware - prices are way higher here.

La Rambla

Gran Teatre del Liceu, an opera house on La Rambla (of course I took my mandatory photo there).

Gran Teatre del Liceu

Our last stop before going back to the apartment was Plaça Reial. There are a large number of restaurants and some of the city's most famous nightclubs. It is a popular meeting place during the summer, also during the annual La Mercè festival (in September), and other celebrations such as New Year's Eve. It may become very crowded. The street performers we witnessed probably contribute to that.

Plaça Reial

27000 steps later, I'd say I deserve a bite. Chocolate fudge brownie - one of the best ice-creams ever! No product placement intended, I just really love this ice-cream.

After our 'architectural' first day, we decided to devote our second one to nature. First stop - Park Güell.

Park Güell

It is a public park with gardens and architectonic elements. The design was given to Antoni Gaudí. It sits on Carmel Hill (which belongs to the mountain range of Collserola). Hence - the view.

Park Güell

Park Güell is part of a period when Gaudí’s work was inspired from organic shapes. The buildings at the entrance have very original roofs lead the path to Gaudí's multicolored mosaic salamander, popularly known as "el drac" (the dragon).

Park Güell

We didn't get in that part of the park because it has a separate entrance and a long queue to buy a ticket for four hours later but the dragon is right behind that fence.

Park Güell

The park was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, under 'Works of Antoni Gaudí'.

At Plaça d'Espanya, a couple Venetian Towers lead to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. Plaça d'Espanya is one of Barcelona's most important squares. It was built for the 1929 International Exhibition, held at the foot of Montjuïc.

Plaça d'Espanya

Just below the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya is the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc. The Magic Fountain was designed by Carles Buïgas.

Magic Fountain of Montjuïc

Aside from its beauty, its magic lays in its singing and illuminating abilities at night. (It's not every evening though, so check the schedule). Performances include film, classical, and modern music, such as The Godfather, The Lord of the Rings and modern pop songs. We found our way back there a couple hours later, where a break boy band decided to entertain us while we waited for the fountain show to start.

At the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc

And then there it was

Magic Fountain of Montjuïc

But back to our earlier walk. Up the hill is the Palau Nacional. Since 1934 it has been home to the National Art Museum of Catalonia. It's also a popular tourist destination and one of the most beautiful places we've seen in the city.

Palau Nacional (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya)

For the lazy ones, there are escalators going up.

And a beautiful view at the top.

At Palau Nacional (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya)

On the hill, there's an Olympic park - built for the 1992 Summer Olympics. The major facilities include the Olympic Stadium (Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys), the Palau Sant Jordi sports hall, the telecommunications tower, the National Physical Education Institute and the Picornell swimming pools.

Olympic park

The Montjuïc Communications Tower, popularly known as Torre Calatrava and Torre Telefónica, is a telecommunication tower built for Telefónica to transmit television coverage of the 1992 Summer Olympics Games in Barcelona. The tower represents an athlete holding the Olympic Flame.

The Montjuïc Communications Tower

From the Olympic park we took a cable car, which runs from a station of the Montjuïc funicular, and climbs higher up the Montjuïc hill to a terminal near the Montjuïc Castle.

Cable Car

Montjuïc Castle is an old military fortress, currently - Barcelona municipal facility.

Montjuïc Castle

The Montjuïc Funicular connects the city with mountain Montjuïc. It is part of the metro network system and no one is driving it.

Montjuïc Funicular

We went back to the city center later and continued our walk. We saw the World Trade Center - a business park. The building structure was inspired by the shape of a boat.

World Trade Center

Day 3 we called our sports and recreation day. First stop - Camp Nou.

Camp Nou

Camp Nou is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia. It is the home of FC Barcelona. It is the largest stadium in Spain by capacity, also the largest in Europe and the second largest association football stadium in the world in terms of capacity. It has hosted numerous international matches at a senior level, including a FIFA World Cup semi-final match, two UEFA Champions League finals and the football competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Camp Nou

Right next to the stadium is the official FCB store.

Official FCB store

We bought some souvenirs and headed to our next stop - Barcelonita Beach. The Mediterranean Sea is a bit colder than what we're used to, but it's survivable. As every other place in the city, the beach is pretty windy too.

Barcelonita Beach

Barcelonita Beach

Time for a break with soccer and beer. It's the Euro 2016 after all. We found a typical English bar, where spilling beer, dramatic exits and cursing weren't missed.

Last day, starting with some metro art. (Speaking of the metro, be sure to check T-10 tickets - seemed like a good deal).

At the end of La Rambla, we foundColumbusoverlooking the sea. The monument was constructed in honor to his first voyage to the Americas. It serves as a reminder that Christopher Columbus reported to Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand V in Barcelona after his first trip to the new continent.

Monument of Columbus

Nearby was Port Vell or Old Harbor - a waterfront harbor and part of the Port of Barcelona.

Port Vell

Can you count the boats?

At some point, we visited the Aquarium. It was located on Port Vell and was Mediterranean themed.

Aquarium

Just fyi, if you decide to go surfing in the Mediterranean sea, keep in mind that you might run into one of these:

Aquarium

In one of the halls, it became colder and we soon found out why - penguins.

Aquarium

See those two in the upper left part - I bet they're a couple!

After the aquarium we had some more time to kill so we went back back to the pedestrian bridge on Port Vell, where we found some company.

At Port Vell

They were pretty friendly although, they passed on our invitation to go back home with us so after thousands of steps and a very fulfilling time spent in Barcelona we grabbed our luggage and went back by ourselves.

Note: Wikipedia was used for some details.