In November 2021, I spent 2 weeks in Barcelona on workstation. It was the beginning of my more than 3 months working from Spain. I wanted to be close to the beach and didn’t mind the occasional walk to the center. In terms of distance, that’s all manageable and you can walk. Or by bus or metro. At this time of year it was about 14 degrees, which is chilly, but the sunshine makes up for a lot.
Favorite place
The Barri Gotic neighborhood is my favorite. It is bursting with quaint streets, cozy bars and beautiful buildings. The latter is what I like about Spain anyway, the historical buildings have so much character. In second place is the beach, but that is a top 3 position with me in many cities haha. Staring at the sea with a drink in your hand makes me so happy. Barcelona has several beautiful big beaches.
Where I stayed
Since I work part time I looked for a quiet hostel. I liked getting to know people, so a hostel is most suitable. The disadvantage, however, is that your roommates can disturb your sleep quite a bit. Unite Hostel Barcelona suited my needs, close to the beach, clean, a roof terrace (yasss), large lounge area and has its own office space with nice workstations that you can use for free. Oh yeah, and alcohol is not allowed, so that repels a certain crowd. Which I really like. The bucket list
Of course, you can’t be in Barcelona without visiting a few classics. The hop on hop off bus really goes too far for me, I leave that to the diehard tourists. I’d rather rent a bike or take the local bus to see the city. I went to Parc Guell, high on the hill a park full of Gaudi art and beautiful views of the city. This is a must-see if you go to Barcelona. Walked La Rambla, again, not my thing, too touristy and if I want to go to Zara I’ll do it at home. But skipping it was also pretty much my thing.
Walking through the small streets and admiring cathedrals is more my thing.
Of course I also went to the famous La Sagrada Familia, and since it was drizzling I even went inside. Completely different than expected, but impressive it certainly is. Buy a ticket for this in advance so you don’t have to stand in line for a long time.
Ciao
I ended Barcelona with a pitcher of sangria and tapas with a group of new friends from the hostel. Then I took the train to Valencia, which is a crazy beautiful trip along the beach and mountains, highly recommended! Want to know more about Barcelona? Read also: 5 great places to work in vibrant Barcelona.
