As my days here in Barcelona start to dwindle down, I ask myself if I’ve truly done everything I’ve wanted to do while i’m here. This city has so much to offer and I realize that I could probably live here forever and never get to do EVERYTHING I could hope. Lucky for me – and for everyone else who visits – Barcelona has a lot to offer, so I decided to make a short list of things I personally think should be taken advantage of on your journey here.

 

1.  Walk as much as you can:

When you look at Barcelona on a map it looks HUGE, at least I thought it did, but I decided that in my quest to see everything, walking would be the best way to stumble on to the best parts of the city (and not to mention a great workout). Turns out everything is quite close and all this time I could’ve saved some swipes on my metro card if I had just walked. Now, I know you’re probably thinking this isn’t always a good idea and I agree, the last thing I wanna do at 8:00am on my way to work is walk so a metro card is a great idea – especially the unlimited rides/1mo – but, there’s nothing I love more than leaving work knowing I have the rest of the day ahead of me and walking home. I get to see the amazing architecture, people watch (a personal favorite for me), and of course with all the Tapas and bread i’ve been eating it’s an amazing workout – my legs and butt have never looked better.

 

2.  Learn some Catalan:

As a daughter of one of the biggest Barça fans, I’ve loved this city since I can remember and I’ve done countless papers and presentations on the city of Barcelona and their soccer team. That being said, I think I have a good understanding of what it means to be able to show your Catalan identity. This, however, didn’t prepare me for all the street signs (and pretty much everything else) to be in Catalan. BUT… on my arrival I learned that it is so important to everyone here that its residents learn the language that often people learn it before they learn Spanish and you can easily find FREE Catalan classes all around the state of Catalonia. Free just so happens to be one of my favorite words so I decided to take advantage of it and I am one step closer to adding Catalan to my list of languages I speak.

 

3. Check out the markets:

One of the best things in Barcelona is its availability of fresh produce for very low prices. Back home produce is only cheap when in season and even then it’s not very cheap at all. This is where the markets come in – I’ve been to La Boqueria and Mercat Santa Caterina and I am OBSESSED. I get fresh fruit, veggies and even some dried fruit and nuts and I am set for the week. Everything tastes amazing and haggling for lower prices is not very hard.

Tip: bring loose change as opposed to large bills so that bringing the prices down is easier – nobody will want to lower the price if they see you paying with a large bill.

 

4. Never try the same dish twice:

Spain is known,  amongst other things, for its amazing Tapas and what better way to get a taste of the city of Barcelona than by trying all of its amazing dishes. Some stuff sounds a bit weird and can be scary to try if you’re not used to trying new stuff but I have yet to try something I don’t like. There are also so many dishes that I try and limit myself to never trying the same thing twice – of course if its THAT good I probably will  but having this rule keeps me more open minded so I can honestly say I tried everything.

Some of my personal favorites have been:

– Pineapple or Melon wrapped in ham (the mix of sweet and salty feels AMAZING)

– Pan con Brie & jalea de Guayaba (this is a little slice of bread with Brie and Guava jam and it is absolutely delicious)

– Ensalada Catalana (a Catalan spin on salad, you won’t be disappointed)

 

5. Do as the Catalan do:

We’ve all heard the saying “do as the Romans do” and I think there’s a lot of truth to this saying. At the end of the day if you want to get a good feel for the city, the best way to do so is to live like a true citizen of the city you reside in. This way you’ll go back home feeling like you really got to know the city and who knows, maybe you’ll decide to adopt some of the things you learn when you’re back home.