Just over a year ago, Chad and I landed in Barcelona for a week of exploring. It was our first international trip together, and my first trip abroad in over a decade. Chad was being flown across the Atlantic for work, so we decided it was the perfect excuse for us to take a big trip (paying for one international flight is way easier than paying for two!). We decided on Barcelona because neither of us had ever been there and it was high on my list of dream destinations.

Here are a few of the highlights from our week in the Catalan capital. 

Gaudí

Antoni Gaudí is arguably one of the most famous and influential modern architects. He created gorgeous buildings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many of them in his home city of Barcelona. We didn't get a chance to see all of his Barcelona designs, but we did our best to check out as many as possible. 

We took a walk through the Eixample to cross two destinations off our list: Casa Milà and Casa Batlló. These two residential designs are a quick 5-minute walk down the Passeig de Gràcia. Both are beautiful, adding something unexpected and special to the urban landscape. We didn't go inside, but if we ever make it back to Barcelona, I'll probably pay the €25 to do the tours.

Gaudí's designs are all influenced by nature, incorporating lots of organic shapes. This is especially evident at Park Güell, an urban park located on a hill in the Gràcia district on the city's west side. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a quintessential Barcelona tourist destination. The structural detail and mosaic designs are truly beautiful, and despite the crowds, it's a lovely place to spend an afternoon. The main park grounds are free to walk around, but if you want to check out the "Monumental Core," featuring much of Gaudí's famous mosaic work, definitely buy your ticket online in advance.

The final stop of our Gaudí tour was the ever-changing Sagrada Família. Construction started on this church in 1882 – and it's still going. We spent €15 each to go inside (again, buy those tickets in advance!) and it was worth every penny. The Sagrada Família was probably my favorite thing that we did in Barcelona. It truly lives up to the hype. 

Craft Beer

Apparently, Barcelona has an amazing craft beer scene. Who knew?! Chad is a big beer guy, and until I gave up alcohol a few months ago, beer was my drink of choice as well. There are a ton of great beer bars and breweries all over the city. We were able to get fancy American beer we can't even find in St. Louis. And we spotted a few St. Louis beers too (looking at you, Perennial Artisan Ales). One of our favorite nights was spent at the Mikkeller Bar, not far from our Airbnb in the old part of the Eixample neighborhood. Mikkeller makes great beer and the vibe in this bar was super chill. We also had a great bartender who chatted us up about the local beer scene and even had a fair bit of knowledge about some of the beer coming out of St. Louis. 

All the Art

One of the first things we did when we got to Barcelona (after sleeping off the jetlag), was head to the The Museu Picasso and buy a couple of ARTICKETs. The Barcelona Art Passport costs €30 and covers admission to six museums. We were able to get to five of them (we spent too long enjoying the vista on Montjuïc after visiting the Fundació Joan Miró and missed the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya by like 20 minutes), making the cost totally worth it. A surprising favorite was the Fundació Antoni Tàpies, which is a fairly small museum that houses one of the most complete public collections of Tàpies’ work, but also showcases temporary exhibitions of con­temporary art. The one we saw was an installation by Oriol Vilanova comprised of 34,000 postcards and I. loved. it.

Literally Just Walking Around

Barcelona is beautiful and incredibly walkable. There is a decent bus system, but we only used it a couple of times the whole week. We covered a lot of ground, but it was very doable for us and it allowed us to really take in our surroundings and slow down whenever we passed something that caught our eye. We especially loved El Raval, the Gothic Quarter, and El Born and kept going back to those neighborhoods, which are all right next to each other. Walking La Rambla was also a highlight. Cute bars and restaurants, gorgeous architecture everywhere you look, what's not to like? 

We loved Barcelona and would go back in a heartbeat. It was wonderful to get to spend a whole week in a single place and really explore without feeling rushed or like we had to get to every single thing. We were able to pick and choose and plan our days as we went. With the exception of a day tip to Figueres (more on that later), a lot of our trip was planned on site or just left open ended. Thankfully, there was so much to see and do in Barcelona, that strategy ended up really paying off. As a final note, I would be remiss not to make note of one of our absolute favorite things in the city of Barcelona: a chocolate dipped donut found in gas station convenience marts. It sounds strange, but as self-proclaimed donut aficionados, we consider this one of the best. Sort of like an Entenmann's chocolate covered donut – only better! If you ever make it to Barcelona, I strongly suggest grabbing one to go.