Things to do in Barcelona
Barcelona is a versatile city with a lot of activities and sights. When it is your first time in Barcelona, the city will amaze you with its beautiful architecture and labyrinth streets. There are so many things to do in Barcelona, so you have a broad list to choose between, such as beach activities, tours, tastings, museums and more. To help you make the best out of your stay, we made a guide for the best things to do in Barcelona.
Take a walking tour
The best way to get the know the city from the inside out is taking a walking tour throughout Barcelona. In this way you will be able to orientate yourself better and get a clearer image of the cities structure. Also, you will get to know more about the different buildings, museums and the history of this international city.
Taste local food
Living in another country means you have to experience its culture and traditions. As eating is a big part of the Spanish culture, you are also experiencing its culture by eating local foods and who doesn’t like eating? Spain is known for its delicious culinary food and most famous for the tapas. There is a very wide variety tapas and specialised restaurants where you can try them. The most famous tapas are patatas bravas, pan con tomate and the Spanish tortilla. Paella is another dish that is typical Spanish, which is made with rice, vegetables, seafood and/or meat. In Barcelona, you can find many paella restaurants with reasonable prices that are worth visiting. But to taste the authentic Spanish and Catalan kitchen, you should also try some less known tapas. Another kind of restaurant that you must visit during your stay is a pincho’s restaurant. A pincho is a kind of tapa, consisting of a slice of bread with something on it like a tortilla, fish, cheese or something else. But the best thing about pincho’s is that they don’t cost a lot but are very tasty. In many restaurants, you only pay 1€ per pincho!
Take a ride with the téléferic de Montjuïc
The Montjuïc mountain is a very famous sight spot in Barcelona that contains a lot of activities, beautiful buildings and museums. There are different ways to get to this mountain but our favorite one is with the téléferic de Montjuïc. In this way, you will have an amazing view over the city, from the port to the Tibidabo mountain. Because Montjuïc is huge, taking a ride with the téléferic will make it easier for you to see all its activities in only one day!
Go on one day trips
Although Barcelona is a huge city with a lot of activities, we can imagine that sometimes you want to get out of there and see other villages or countries during your Erasmus stay. There are many beautiful places outside Barcelona that you must visit. That’s why Erasmus Barcelona organizes different trips to many stunning places such as day trips to Montserrat, the Fallas Festival in Valencia, or longer ones to Andalucia and Giraltar, and so on. The nicest part of these trips is that you don’t have to travel alone because here you will meet other Erasmus students from all over the world. During the trips, everything will be organized for you such as transport, activities and free actions or promotions, but to not make it look like a school excursion, you have a lot of free time to experience the place with your new friends. Check out the Facebook page or the website to keep up to date with all our trips!
Visit museums
Because Barcelona is a touristic city, there are a lot of interesting museums. But for most students, a museum sounds boring, even though it doesn’t have to be. This vibrant city has many museums in all kind of categories. From art to chocolate, there is something for everyone’s interests. The most famous museums are museu Picasso, MACBA and CAIXA forum. But if art is not you’re thing, there is also the Erotic museum, the chocolate museum or maybe the hash, marihuana & hemp museum. So, as you can read museums don’t have to boring and mainstream, just like Barcelona.
Watch a traditional dance show
Barcelona and Spain are also known for some typical passionate dances such as the Flamenco and the Sardana. That’s why this city hosts a lot of dance performing shows that you can watch live in a bar or in a restaurant while having dinner. But also on the streets, you can enjoy these dances. Especially the Sardana, which you can watch on the plaza near the Cathedral of Barcelona. It is a folk dance that symbolizes the Catalan unity and pride where people dance hand in hand in a circle. Flamenco is a dance that you can mainly watch in bars and restaurants. It can only be performed in a duo and includes singing, guitar playing, hand and finger clapping. One of the best places for a Flamenco show is Los Tarantos at Placa Reial.
Stay tuned for our upcoming events at our website and Facebook page, we hope to meet you soon at one of our events!
