Why Barcelona Is The Perfect Place For First Time Travelers To Go

Why Barcelona is the perfect place for first-time travelers to go. There are so many choices to travel to in Europe and each one has a lot to see, but Barcelona is the perfect place to get your feet wet.

Spanish

Spanish is the primary language of Barcelona, of course, it is Spain. Everywhere you go the signs are written in English and Spanish. Most of the menus are written in both as well. During our travels through 3 countries, I found Barcelona to be the easiest to communicate.

A month before we left I started using a language app called Duolingo. I took 5 – 15 minutes a day to practice my Spanish and surprisingly I learned a lot. Now I was not confident in my conversational skills, but making an effort to speak someone else’s native tongue and not doing it perfectly goes a long way. I found that most merchants spoke nominal English and I spoke less than nominal Spanish and we got along very well. People were patient and seem to generally understand.

Now, there were a few key phrases I tried to learn fairly well, like Thank You, Where is the bathroom? or where is anything? and excuse me. Simple kind words carry a lot of weight. Not only that, but a lot of Spanish words are very similar in English, so it made translating a little easier.

Transportation

Getting around a huge city can be overwhelming. Barcelona makes it so easy. They probably have the best Metro I have ever seen, even better than New York Cities. You can buy a 48hr., 76hr., or a 5 day Metro pass. The cost is reasonable and you can get anywhere.

After you buy your metro pass you take it to the gate, slide it in the slot to validate it and you are good to go. Just look at the lines and figure out where you want to go. All the major sites are easily accessible by the metro. The major walking from line to line is done underground and is very safe. The maps are easy to read and on each train.

We traveled during the day time and night and never felt unsafe. The biggest complaint we heard about Barcelona was pickpocketers, but we never felt like someone was trying to pick our pockets. Just be aware that this is a problem in all of Europe and Barcelona is no exception to this.

Gastronomical Joy

There are so many good places to eat. Barcelona is known for its doughnuts. They are on every corner, along with other yummy pastries.

Barcelona is arranged in a very orderly manner. Unlike some cities, they kept their streets in squares that line up in perfect parallel and perpendicular lines. You will find coffee shops on all of the streets with their tasty treats displayed in the window.

Coffee

Coffee shops are wonderful in Barcelona. Not only do they have wonderful pastries but also rich and delicious coffee and before I forget, fresh-squeezed orange juice. The coffee is rich and the milk is warm and frothy. I love their coffee shops.

Supper Time

One thing to remember about Barcelona is that the restaurants close from 4 pm to 8 pm. The Spaniards eat late suppers. Some places will open at 7:30 but most will be after 8 pm. They are also known for Tapas. Tapas is what I would call heavy hors d’oeuvres. Many restaurants serve Tapas and you pay by the toothpick.

For families, the pizza is very good here. We went to 3 different family-owned pizza places and they all had brick ovens for cooking their pizza. There is also hamburger, Chinese and any other type of food you may desire.

The Spanish bread is everywhere as well as olive oil and olives. It is easy to find something to satisfy your stomach in Barcelona.

Seeing The Perfect Place For First Time Travelers

How We Saw The City

Barcelona is walker friendly and biker friendly, like most of Europe. It seems that only in America, everyone drives to the closest store. The bike tour took us all over Barcelona, including down the middle of the busiest street of the city. I also saw many children riding with their parents on these busy streets.

For first-time travelers going to Europe, seeing a city like Barcelona is a delight. The sites smell and people in the city are a wonderful experience all by themselves.

Some Of The Perfect Places To Go To In Barcelona

Why Barcelona is perfect for first-time travelers to go to is the attractions are easy to get to and many are free. If you are traveling for the very first time to Europe you will soon find out in Spain that Gaudi’s work is one of their claims to fame. Before visiting Barcelona I had no idea who he was.

Antoni Gaudi

Antoni Gaudi is revered in this Catalonian city. He started as a young student of art in Barcelona and never left the city. His fingerprint covers every arena in Barcelona. Our tour guide spoke about him in a magical and mesmerized tone the entire time.

Sagrada De Familia

The Sagrada de Familia is the most visited site in Barcelona. If you plan to go inside, get there early and buy your ticket in advance. The line is incredibly long all day. People from all over Spain come to see this masterpiece as well as tourist from all over the world.

Do not be surprised by the scaffolding in the skyline. It will be there till 2026. Gaudi has been long gone and was in no hurry to finish when he was alive. He said that God was whom he worked for.

Casa Mila

Standing across the busy intersection here you will see a private residence that Gaudi did for someone. His style is seen in the intricate ironwork across each window.

Gaudi liked to use nature in all of his work. In the evening Casa Mila has a light show with music and dancing.

Pala Guell

Pala Guell is one of Gaudi’s earliest works. You can see the change in his style after you leave this house and start to see his other designs. This was the last thing he did before he started the Sagrada de Familia.

Placa Reial, Lamp Posts

Placa Reial means “Royal Plaza”. In Barcelona, the Placa Reial is near one of the most popular tourist areas called, Las Ramblas. Las Ramblas is filled with people during the tourist season. It is an area that has street artists, restaurants, and shops.

Placa Reial is a square that has touches of Gaudi all around it. Not only the buildings but even the lamp post. Look very closely for the snake winding the top of the lamp post.

Fountain at Parc de la Ciutadella

This fountain features the birth of Venus. It was designed by  Josep Fontserè. He does receive credit for the creation and design of this beautiful structure. The zoo and city park surround the piece of art. Walkers and cyclist come daily to these grounds and enjoy the beauty.

Antoni Gaudi is also credited for working on this monument as a young intern. Whether he did or didn’t is not ever discussed. Barcelona gives him credit for working on this masterpiece as a young intern.

Parc d’Atraccions Tibidabo

If you are tired of searching the city for Gaudi and the kids are tired of the same, this is a welcomed relief. Tibidabo is another reason Barcelona is the perfect place for first-time travelers to go here. Take the metro to the Tibidabo Mountain. As soon as you get off of the metro there is a bus called the Funicular Bus at the corner. For 12 Euros it will take you up to the mountain top and back.

Checklist For Getting Your Passport, Here.

Tibidabo is the tallest mountain peak in Barcelona. At the top of this mountain, the church Sagrat Cor church and the top is the sculpture of Temple of the Sacred Heart. Both are magnificent but right next to this beautiful church is an amusement park with a Ferris wheel as well as other fun attractions.

Where To Stay In Barcelona

Another reason Barcelona is the perfect place for first-time travelers to go to is their accommodations. Barcelona has a lot of Airbnb’s. We chose to stay in one because we were staying with our son and daughter-in-law.

We stayed in 2 and was very happy with both of them. There are 23,000 Airbnb’s in Barcelona. If you are going to want to live amongst other Barcelonians and enjoy the community, this is the perfect way to do just that.

Every morning we took a very very short walk to a coffee and pastry shop and enjoyed our pastries and coffee con leche. It was wonderful. We were also close to the Metro and had no trouble to get around.

The apartments were roomy quiet and both had elevators to the floor.

Why Barcelona is the Perfect Place For First Time Travelers To Go To

Flying into Barcelona is easy. The airport personnel speak really good English and taking a taxi is a breeze. You can use a free app called FREE NOW. Uber is illegal in Barcelona, but the FREE NOW app is just as easy. For 25 Euros you can get a taxi to take you to or from the airport to your lodgings. The airport was easy to navigate and everything is written in multiple languages.

Why Barcelona for First Time Travelers?

Well, to wrap this up here are a few of the reasons I would choose Barcelona for my very first international trip.

• Transportation is easy
• Language is not a problem
• Prices are reasonable
• There is a lot to see in the city center
• The food is fantastic
• There are a lot of choices for lodging
• The people are friendly

You can not go wrong by getting your feet wet in this city. It is the perfect first-time place to go and get used to using a different currency as well as culture.

Are you thinking about taking an international trip? Is there something, in particular, holding you back? Let me know what it is, I may be able to help you. Next, I am going to talk about cruises and if they are a good choice for your first time out of the country. Comment, Honestly, Janet