In September 2024 I was lucky enough to get to go on a solo mini-break to the beautiful city of Barcelona in Spain.

Spain has always been close to my heart.  I visited a lot as a child & young teen as I had family who lived in Nerja on the Costa del Sol, plus my stepdad owned a villa in the Murcia region which we got to use when it wasn’t being rented out to other holidaymakers.  I studied Spanish at GCSE and AS level (I’m nowhere near fluent, though I can just about hold a conversation depending on the subject matter), and it’s somewhere I’m confident I’ll return to again and again and again and again.  I feel at home there, deep in my bones.  It was even where we took the girls for their first ever holiday outside of the UK when they were tiny babies, followed by more weeks spent there when they were toddlers, tweens and teens.

Playing on the beach in Spain together in 2013, aged five (Ella), four (Mimi) and three (Lola) years old

In Nerja as teenagers in 2022

A mini-break in Barcelona

However, despite numerous visits over the years, I’ve only really ever been to two small parts of Spain, and I’ve been longing to explore more of this diverse and fascinating country for decades – the different regions and the major cities.  Barcelona has always been top of the list – I wanted to see the art and architecture, and learn more about Catalan lifestyle and culture.  It’s proximity to the sea and, of course, the warmth and golden sunshine may also have been deciding factors.

Since 2017 I’ve been taking occasional little solo trips, just 4-5 days in total, spent in various different places in Europe and the USA.  They are deeply restorative and (I’m starting to learn) arguably essential for me on an emotional, mental and spiritual level.  Time on my own where I can be completely anonymous, and can do whatever I want, whenever I want, helps me to reset myself and remember who I am.  I can fill up my cup so that when I return to the reality of everyday life of motherhood and family and work, I have more to pour with.

I usually book my trips months in advance.  This particular mini-break in Barcelona was a little more spontaneous though.  It got to summertime and I realised I hadn’t had any dedicated or deliberate time off work since I went to Lisbon in September 2023, a whole year previously.  Zero time off in almost 365 days. I was quite shocked – no wonder I was on my knees with exhaustion.  Employees get four to six weeks of annual leave on average – when you are self employed like me, it’s much harder to choose to do that because if I don’t work, I don’t earn.  I knew I needed a break.  I went through my diary and found a miraculous run of four clear days in early September where I had no clients booked in, no school/college events requiring my attendance, and no other commitments.  I quickly searched up available flights and booked them immediately, before my boring-and-sensible ‘responsible adult’ side kicked in and talked me out of it.

The planning stages

I only had five weeks in total to research and plan my mini-break in Barcelona.  I travelled out on a Sunday and back on a Thursday, which meant I had three full days (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) to fully explore the city.  It was definitely never going to be a restful trip.  There were SO many things I wanted to do while I was there and absolutely no feasible way I could squeeze them all in, even if I meticulously scheduled every minute of the day (which would eliminate all of the fun anyway – the very best bit of any trip is getting lost and seeing what you discover as you wander).  I tend to live by the old adage of “a change is as good as a rest” – I’d much rather be out adventuring and experiencing new things than lying on a beach doing nothing.

I tend to start the planning process of every trip by making a list of all the non-negotiables, ie: all the things I definitely want to see, the experiences I want to have and opportunities that I know I would really regret missing out on.  My go-to planning tool is a Lonely Planet Guidebook (and/or their website), plus searching for travel blogs online.  I’ve usually also saved things I’ve seen whilst scrolling through Instagram.  Then I build on the non-negotiables list by adding all of the things I’d like to see and do if I have time, or if they happen to be nearby one of the things I’m certain I’ll be doing.

Everything gets plotted onto Google Maps as a ‘saved list’, so I can quickly and easily see where clusters of things are, and once that’s all set up I can figure out rough ideas for where I can spend a morning or afternoon.  This is where the unpredictability and spontaneity comes in – where I decide to head to on any given day very much depends on my mood (sometimes I feel more like going to a museum than the beach for example), energy levels (I walk a LOT when I travel, so if I’ve done 30k steps the day before I might choose a slightly less intense itinerary the following day for example), the weather, public transport options and so many other variables.

That said, some attractions are best arranged in advance.  I pre-booked tickets for the Sagrada Familia and Park Guell, and decided to wing it with everything else and just show up on the day.  I spent a fair bit of time looking into entrance fees for various places, and different transport options for getting around the city.  Barcelona is much bigger than I originally realised so I knew I couldn’t reply on walking alone to get me from A to B.  In the end, after a lot of deliberation, I opted for a Hola Barcelona travelcard which was immensely good value and super-easy to use.

One of the most helpful websites I found during the planning stages was Why Visit Barcelona – it was VERY useful when I was trying to get my head around the metro system in particular, including how to get to & from the airport.

I have to admit, I was a little nervous of pickpockets.  The first thing that literally everyone said to me when I mentioned I was heading for a mini-break in Barcelona was “be careful, there are pickpockets everywhere”.  I am always very alert & aware when I travel, whether I’m on my own or with the girls.  If I’m checking Google Maps I stand with my back against a wall and make sure I can see in all directions, I don’t carry lots of cash with me, and I never put my phone in the back pocket of my jeans.  A friend did get mugged while he was in Barcelona several years ago, so it does happen (although, to be fair, he was most likely quite drunk at the time).  Thankfully, my concerns were unfounded and I felt mostly safe whilst I was exploring.  It didn’t feel any more likely to happen in Barcelona than if I was in London, or any other major city to be honest.

Itinerary ideas for a mini break in Barcelona

Here’s a list of all the things I wanted to see and do whilst I was in Barcelona:

• Sagrada Familia
• Park Guell
• Casa Batllo, Casa Pedrera, Casa Vicens
• Tibidabo
• Montjuic – cable car, castle and gardens
• Las Ramblas
• Sunrise at the beach
• Las Ramblas
• Picasso Museum
• Port Vell – cable car
• Bishops Bridge
• Poble Espanyol
• ‘The Kiss’
• Palau de la Musica Catalana
• Bunkers del Carmel
• El Bosc de les Fades
• Ciutadella Park
• Mercat de Santa Caterina

As you can see there are far more items on the list than I would realistically be able to see and do in just three days.  I managed a lot of them, but not all.  I also made some unexpected discoveries along the way (as you’ll see as you keep reading).  I think I’m just going to have to go back for another mini break in Barcelona some time in the not-too-distant future so I can visit all the places I didn’t have time for!

Where I stayed in Barcelona

I always choose to stay in self catered accommodation – usually an Airbnb – over a hotel whenever I travel anywhere nowadays.  I much prefer having a little more space; the freedom to be able to cook and eat what/when I want; not having other people in a room right next door; and the opportunity to stay in slightly off-the-beaten-track neighbourhoods that let me experience real local life.

I dedicate a lot of time to figuring out where I want to stay.  I managed to find this cute little apartment in the Poble-Sec district at the base of Monjuic.  It was on the third (maybe fourth?  I can’t remember!) floor of the building, and the lift to get up there was old fashioned and absolutely miniscule which definitely added an extra sense of adventure to every excursion.  It was bigger inside than it looked in the photos (with the exception of the bathroom, which was as tiny as it was described – I’m quite little and even I only just about fit in there!), clean, aesthetic, close to two metro stations and the hosts were helpful and generous.  I would happily stay there again.

A mirror selfie in the apartment, and the only photo I have that shows the kitchen (part of it at least!)

The lounge/living area

One of the two double bedrooms

Mini-break in Barcelona: Travel Diaries

Day 1: Sunday – travel day

When I travel solo, I’m usually relatively able to go with the flow.  However, this outward journey ended up being quite stressful.  I flew from Birmingham Airport which was as chaotic as it was when I flew to Dublin from there with Ella earlier in the year.  There were very long queues and it was incredibly busy – the staff were doing their absolute best to organise everyone but it wasn’t really happening.  I genuinely thought I was going to miss my flight.  I got stuck in the queue to go through Security – in the end they fast-tracked me and then my bag got pulled from the x-ray machine to be searched.  Almost everyone’s did – you don’t have to take liquids or electronics out of your bag any more so inevitably something gets spotted that needs further investigation.  It made everything take twice as long.

I sprinted to my gate (and trust me, I don’t usually run anywhere) and arrived 10 minutes before we were due to take off only to find everyone still waiting – boarding hadn’t even started yet.  There were no explanations, we all just…stood there.  After an hour, we were finally instructed to board, and then we sat on the runway for another hour!  It transpired that there were bad thunderstorms in Barcelona, which meant that every flight in and out of the city was delayed and we had to wait for the weather and the backlog of aeroplanes to clear.

Eventually, we took off.  The flight was smooth and the experience at the other end was super easy.  I got my luggage, headed for the metro, bought a ticket and made my way to the stop I needed.  The trains had aircon, which was a blessing, and the system was simple to navigate, even with needing to change lines.  Upon emerging from the metro, it should only have been a 5 minute walk to my accommodation, but I got a bit turned round (my sense of direction is notoriously questionable, at best) and Google Maps sent me in the opposite direction from where I should have been going.  After walking in the wrong direction for longer than I care to admit, I turned around and eventually found my Airbnb, 3 hours after I was supposed to arrive.  The host, who met me there in person, was thankfully very kind and understanding.

I’d originally had grand plans of heading out to see the sunset after I settled in, but I’d missed that by a long shot.  It was dark and I hadn’t eaten since midday so I found the nearest 24-hour convenience store (all the supermarkets were already closed), got myself some basic food to eat and went to bed.

It felt challenging at the time.  Now it’s just part of the story.  It wouldn’t be proper travelling without some kind of adventurous mishap!

I was delayed by over two hours but at least there was pretty light!

Day 2: Monday (am)

I’m an early riser, and I’d ambitiously wanted to head out as soon as I woke up to try and catch the sunrise.  Given the long previous day of travelling and no time in the evening to figure out where to go, I opted to stay in and map out a rough plan for my mini break in Barcelona instead.  It turns out that it’s a MUCH bigger city than I initially realised – it’s fairly neatly organised in a grid format, but it sprawls far and wide between the mountains and the Mediterranean Sea.  Walking anywhere took a lot longer than I anticipated.

That said, I was out of the Airbnb by 8am.  It was a glorious blue-sky day:  commuters were heading underground to the metro to make their way to work; school children were playfully jostling each other at bus stops; and elders were sat sipping coffee and reading the newspaper at the numerous cafes that spilled across the pavement as I made my way along Av. del Paral-lel towards the Magic Fountain.  It’s currently switched off (as are all the fountains in the city in order to save water – there had been a severe drought and the reservoir levels were below 10%).  From there I walked up towards the MNAC – Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya.  It wasn’t open yet otherwise I would definitely have gone in for a wander around.  The building itself was beautiful too – it’s located in historical Botanical Gardens that were a delight to walk around.  I meandered past the Fundacio Joan Miro, a modern art museum that I would also have loved to have peeked inside of but which was also closed.  I’d forgotten that the Spanish keep a different time schedule and things don’t open until later in the morning.

The entrance to the Pop-Air Balloon Museum (which looked very cool and fun, but is now, sadly, permanently closed according to Google Maps)

The MNAC – Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya

I’d pre-booked a ticket to ride on the Teleferic de Montjuic, a cable car stretching from the foot of the mountain all the way up to Montjuic Castle at the top.  I arrived early and it wasn’t open yet, so I strolled around for half an hour, taking photos and people-watching, before joining the small queue at the entrance.  The cable cars were quite large (you could easily fit 6-8 people in them comfortably), they were fully enclosed and there were seats.  I’m ok with heights and really loved seeing the incredible views of the city as I (and the other three people who were in my pod with me) slowly travelled skywards.

Montjuic Castle was cool to see.  I didn’t go inside – I was more interested in the views from the top of the mountain and spent a little while exploring the area.  Once I’d had my fill, I caught the cable car back down to the Estacio Mirador (halfway down the mountain) and hopped off there for more views at the Mirador de l’Alcalde viewpoint.  The whole mountainside is covered in gardens and green spaces intersected with numerous winding pathways, so I decided to walk the rest of the way back down to the city rather than get back on the cable car to the third and final stop of the round trip.

The Teleferic de Montjuic

Castell de Montjuic (Montjuic Castle)

A graffiti covered cannon

View of the port from Mirador de l’Alcalde, halfway up (or down, depending on which way you’re going I guess!) Montjuic mountain

Once back in the city streets, I made my way to the Jardins de les Tres Xemeneies (‘Gardens of the Three Chimneys’).  It’s quite a misleading name as it’s not actually a garden at all – it’s a piece of old industrial land that’s been turned into a skate park.  I knew this in advance – the reason I wanted to go is because it’s a little bit like Leake Street Tunnel in London – graffiti artists have free rein so there is a lot of cool street art.  I wandered around for a while taking in all the colourful murals (being extra careful because it also seemed to be a hub for the less-fortunate residents of the city) and watching with open admiration and amazement as the skateboarders showed off their skills.

Street art and skateboarding at Jardins de les Tres Xemeneies

Literally every single surface was covered, even the floor

Day 2: Monday (pm)

After a short time back at the apartment to grab a bite to eat and top up the charge my phone, I made my way to the nearest metro station and collected my Hola Barcelona travelcard, which I’d pre-booked online.  It was a super quick and easy process – I highly recommend doing it this way.  On the agenda for the afternoon was an exploration of a few of Antoni Gaudi’s finest architectural works:  Casa Batllo, La Pedrera (formerly called Casa Mila) and Casa Vicens.  You can buy tickets to go inside and explore each of them, which I would have loved to do as the interiors are supposed to be spectacular.  I chose not to in the end though as I wouldn’t have had time to do them all justice, so I settled for admiring the unique exteriors instead – they’re all so different from each other!  Gaudi’s creativity, imagination and vision really were something very special.

From Casa Vicens I walked over to Hospital Sant Pau, designed by architect Lluis Domenech i Montaner.  I didn’t go in as I had a ticket booked for the Sagrada Familia and needed to make sure I was there on time for my entry slot.  Looking at the hospital from the outside I know for sure that I would have spent hours in there – it’s so full of history and stories, and it’s supposed to be beautiful on the inside too.  Hospital Sant Pau was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 due to it’s ‘architectural uniqueness and artistic beauty’ – it’s style is described as ‘modernisme’, which from my understanding is Catalunya’s variation of art nouveau.

Casa Batllo – I don’t have the words to describe how uniquely beautiful this building is!

La Pedrera

Hospital Sant Pau

I strolled down Av. de Gaudi – a wide, tree-lined, pedestrianised avenue – towards the Sagrada Familia, which loomed imposingly above the cityscape – it really is incredibly tall (172.5metres/566 feet when it’s finally completed, to be exact).  My timeslot was at 5pm and I didn’t want to miss it.  Booking in advance is vital as it’s such a busy tourist destination.  It was €26 (which worked out at roughly £23.50) for a basic ticket – I chose not to go up inside the towers or have the audio tour – and it was 100% worth every cent/penny.

I did a lot of planning into when might be the best time to go for the incredible light and colours that the Sagrada Familia is renowned for: mornings are more blue & green and evenings are mostly red & yellow due to the sun’s trajectory in the sky relative to the positions of the stained glass windows.  I also made sure I booked my visit on the first full day of my mini break in Barcelona – I figured that if I wanted to see the other colours I could book for a different time on a different day if tickets were still available (and if I was unlucky enough to have a rare, overcast day it meant I would have the opportunity to try again).

It transpired through my extensive research that roughly two to three hours after sunrise or before sunset is the optimal time to visit.  I checked in advance and sunset was due to be at approximately 8pm, which is why I opted for a 5pm timeslot.

I honestly wasn’t really sure what to expect as I went in.  I’d seen photographs online, but nothing could have prepared me for what it was like to experience it in person.  There aren’t enough adjectives in the English language to describe what it was like visually, or how it felt to be there in amongst the dazzling display of light and colour and magic that poured in from all sides.  Even though it was insanely busy and quite loud with people chattering, which surprised me – I’d thought it might be a quiet and reverential, almost holy, space – I was able to tune it all out and try to take it all in.  I actually got quite emotional and I still can’t really explain why.  Awe-inspiring.  Mesmerising.  Breathtakingly beautiful.  They’re not even close.  The photos below don’t do it justice in the slightest – this is something you’ll need to see for yourself.  It was definitely one of the top highlights of my mini break in Barcelona.

The Sagrada Familia, viewed from the little park opposite the entrance

Early evening light pouring in through the stained glass windows

Rainbows of light everywhere I turned…

I spent about two hours at Sagrada Familia in total, reading all of the information signs, listening to the organ music that played every so often, taking photographs and sitting on one of the benches just quietly contemplating and absorbing it all.  As I made my way to the Airbnb on the metro afterwards I felt different somehow, like something inside of me had shifted inexplicably.  I was exhausted by the time I got back – I’d walked 27,000 steps and despite my intention of a quick expedition to watch the sunset somewhere, I knew I needed to rest so I’d have the energy for all of the next day’s adventures.  A quiet evening at the apartment reading my book was called for, which is exactly what I did.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog post to find out what I got up to during the rest of my mini-break in Barcelona…