What to See in Barcelona in 2 Days
Hello from Barcelona!
My plane just landed and I can’t tell you how excited I am to rush outside and see the entire city!
And I only have 2 days!
What to see in Barcelona in 2 days???
It’s a beautiful sunny day and I could see the blue Mediterranean just before we touched ground. I wanted to rush out for a swim …
There are so many exciting things to do, I can’t decide what to see in Barcelona in 2 Days!
I am so lucky that the client booked me at the Barcelona Nobu hotel. So I’m just now checking in and expecting a normal room …
… but the client booked me a suite! I mean, two entire rooms with floor to ceiling windows, and a Japanese soaking tub!
I’m going to check it out now … if you’d like to see more about my room, you can check out my post about Nobu here.
For now though, I’m going to do some Google searching to find out what to see in Barcelona for 2 days.
What to do in Barcelona in 2 days
Okay. So I’ve had my Japanese soaking experience and I’m ready to see the city!
Even though I’m a fashionista, I should confess that I’m also something of a museum freak.
And I’m a total geek when it comes to exploring archeology.
So the first place I visit is the Barcelona City History Museum.
The reason why it’s so cool is because museum was built over the ruins of an ancient Roman city.
Now I have to warn you. It’s a little difficult to find. I loaded the location into my iPhone, and it had me walking around in circles.
Endless circles.
So I had to ask a few pedestrians, and eventually found it (note, it’s tucked behind a church off a little square).
In any event, when you enter this museum you will be led to several bridges made out of plexiglass (or a similar material).
In this way, you can see the foundations of the city as you walk above it. You can even feel the rough ancient stones of the old city as you walk down the pathway.
Visitors can rent headsets in English that explain all the structures.
But I was in a rush so just wanted to speed through. Even speeding through took about an hour, but it’s a fabulous experience I highly recommend.
Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya
This is one of the most popular museums in Barcelona, due of the wealth of its vast collection.
Here you can see almost all of Barcelona’s artistic history in a single visit.
This includes the Catalan modernism of Gaudí. And also the classic European Renaissance painters like Diego Velázquez.
Even Francisco de Goya.
Love Picasso? You can see his work in his own museum, called the Museu Picasso de Barcelona, located in a different area of the city.
If you’re a Gaudi freak (like most of my artistic friends in NYC) you will want to visit his museum in Park Guell.
The art and architecture of modernist Antoni Gaudí is highly symbolic of Barcelona. He made a name for himself designing buildings characterized by dramatically curved shapes and fanciful designs.
Actually, this is more than a museum, as you will be visiting the house where he lived for twenty years. At the time he was developing Park Guell as a residential area for affluent families.
It would be interesting to live in a Gaudi-themed housing development, yes?
For better or worse, the housing development never took off. Park Guell is now a world UNESCO World Heritage located in Carmel Hill at the foot of the Collserola Mountains.
Park Guell is filled with gardens, with my favorite being the Austria garden filled with trees. You can also check out the Plaça de la Natura, and outdoor theater hosting many events.
Flamenco Show: Tablao Flamenco Cordobes
If you want to see a live, “old school” Flamenco performance, check out Tablao Flamenco Cordobes. It’s been around for nearly a half-century, and struck me as a very authentic experience.
The venue is near the Las Ramblas area. I took a cab expecting to be dropped off at the door.
Instead, the taxi driver gestured for me to get out and walk down a dark alley.
What?!
I had a flash of the night my brand new Max 11 Pro iPhone, in its bright red case, was taken from me by two thugs in a similar dark alley in Montpellier.
So you can understand I had my hesitations.
And even though I swore to replace the eye-catching bright red case with discreet black, it was still red.
But I soon discovered that the alley only looked dark at the entrance. It turned out to be an active pedestrian walking street.
Even so, the Tablao Flamenco Cordobes proved impossible to find.
I was able to show friendly-looking pedestrians the picture of the venue, and luckily I was able to find the theater before the performance began.
So in other words, get there early!
I gave my ticket to the man at the door. Then I entered what first appeared to be an outdoor bar.
The man ushered me into a cave-like area that had something of a bordello look, with red velvet sofas and nude paintings and sculptures everywhere.
Okay.
Guests were sitting on the sofas, in anticipation of the performance. Yet it turned out the seat I booked online was just a normal fold out chair, facing the stage.
The view was okay, though.
And as a plus, guests get a free drink (wine, soft drinks, sherry) with the entrance fee.
The performers were all super well trained. Some of them looked as if they might have been part of the original group in the 1970s.
Still, they were energetic and passionate with their songs and dances. You can them below,
Restaurants
Barcelona is known for some of the best restaurants in the world.
I wanted to eat light and have some fun, so I asked the hotel to book a pinxos (tapas) restaurant called Cañete.
It took me twenty minutes to walk there after the Flamenco performance, and when I saw the restaurant from the street I nearly turned away. The street looked pretty run down, and the exterior of the restaurant not much better.
But when I opened the door, the place was packed with people waiting for a table!
Okay, they weren’t the most fashionably dressed group I’ve ever seen, but they were lively and having a greate time.
I was so glad that my hotel booked a table, because people without reservations were turned away.
After waiting about twenty minutes I was shown to a space at the long bar.
Behind the bar, chefs were quickly working on the various dishes and it was fun to watch.
The couple next to me, about my age, indulged in extensive kissing sessions between their many courses.
When the seat next to mine became available, I had high hopes of a handsome dark-haired Spaniard being shown to the seat.
But most handsome dark-haired Spaniards were probably home with their wife and kids, or maybe out with their friends.
So I wasn’t particularly surprised when an exceptionally well dressed woman in her late thirties was shown to the seat.
She was American, with a very pronounced Southern drawl.
It was a bit difficult for me to keep silent when she asked the waitress (all remarkably well versed in wine, and speaking great English) if she should have red wine, or white wine with her shrimp.
Ok. Everyone has to start somewhere …
I liked her adventurous spirit, though. With each of the many dishes she ordered, she asked for a new and different glass of wine (wine is available by the glass and bottle).
After I paid my check, I struck up a conversation, asking how she happened to hear of the place.
It turns out her hotel recommended the place, and she was staying in Barcelona an extra week after a group trip.
I took a taxi back to the hotel, and reflected on how I spent my day. The museums were inspiring and the evening well spent.
Day 2: Playa de La Barceloneta
Barcelona beach is more than a place to swim and lay in the sun. You will find a beautiful boardwalk, and even better, some great upscale restaurants serving delicious cocktails, really exceptional grilled food.
Even better, you will find the people-watching some of the best in the city.
The most important thing to see in Barcelona is to simply have fun.