Gaudi’s Casa Batlló

On my second afternoon in Barcelona I sat on the terrace of a restaurant called La Bombeta with my friend Ana, sunshine hot on my skin. Ana was glowing, and not just because of the light but because she was so happy to be sitting in the sun after months of cloudy winter in France.

Ana is an au pair too, and as she was leaving to spend a week with me in Barcelona her host kids asked why she was going, and her host mom replied: “She’s chasing the sun.” And I love that response. Because it’s a beautiful goal, to seek light, and it’s also fitting for our trip.

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Barcelona is such a rich place, and there are many ways you can seek moments of sunshine and light and warmth there. I can’t speak to Barcelona in the sweaty summer, but in February it had gorgeous weather: 62 degrees and blue skies. It could get chilly, sure, but what stands out to me when I look back on my week are moments of warmth, in all the varying forms warmth can take.

So, here are ways to chase sunshine in Barcelona:

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Gothic Quarter

Light slides over the gothic quarter in interesting ways, illuminating narrowly winding streets and glowing buildings cut across by shadow. Some alleyways are so narrow it’s dark in the middle of the day, until you look up to see a jolt of bright blue sky splitting the roofs like a seam. It’s an architecturally compelling area, with buildings, squares, and churches referencing thousands of years of bloody history.

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Our tour guide on our first day said that the theme of Barcelona is reinvention, with every building and street reincarnated. And though the gothic quarter is touristy, it’s touristy for a reason–– nowhere else can you see this reinvention and ancient beauty so clearly. So get lost in this neighborhood. You’ll walk through tiny dim streets and turn the corner to a square flooded with light, oranges swaying in trees and fountains burbling. It’s wonderful. And if you top your visit with sugary churros I promise that you won’t be able to stop smiling.

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Park Güell

Park Güell is Gaudi land. And though it was smaller and more crowded than we had imagined, and though I was so hot there I regretted not only bringing a jacket, but wearing long sleeves in general, I’d recommend visiting anyway because the place radiates light. Rainbow mosaics and palm fronds and fantastical spires and columns. It’s a place of imagination. There was nothing nicer than sitting under the shade on one of its beautiful wavy blue benches, people watching and eating sandwiches and sipping wine out of an Arizona Iced Tea bottle (it’s recommended not to bring glass into the park).

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La Bombeta

Bombas are basically giant fried mashed potato balls covered in creamy spicy sauce and they are addictive. At La Bombeta you can sit on the terrace with a plate of bombas, order a cold glass of sangria, and let the sun wash over you as people stream by on the way to the beach.

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La Barceloneta

One of my favorite memories of Barcelona was coming to this gently sloping hill on one side of the port, facing the city with the boats behind us. Later I discovered the name, Plaça de l’Ictineo. Ana and I had ice cream bars and we lay on the cool grass with the sun warming our skin, listening to the murmurings of people and bike wheels and stereo beats all around us, and we watched dusk fall over the city. Another afternoon we went to the beach itself, and we got cute little mojitos from a walking vendor (negotiated to such a low price they were a steal) and combed our fingers through the sand finding little chips of green and blue and white sea glass in every handful.

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Parc de la Ciutadella

The Parc de la Ciutadella is the perfect place for a picnic on a nice day. There is the occasional parakeet hopping on tree branches, a huge fountain guarded by mythical creatures, people reading, kids playing, and the earthy scent of weed on the breeze.

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Brunch at Eat My Trip

This is sunshine in a brunch place. A silky latte light as a cloud and the best acai bowl I’ve ever had. It was so cool and fresh it was minty; naturally sweet from the fruit with a dusting of cinnamon that added a little smokiness. It was perfection, and well worth the 20 minute wait after we went to Sunday mass at the Sagrada Familia (a great way to get out of paying 20 euros to see the church, by the way).

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Montjuïc

Montjuïc is a hilly, natural quarter scattered with botanical gardens and stunning view points. Start outside the stunning Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, and then climb up the hill to the gardens of Mirador del Poble-sec where you can stroll among flowers and gaze out at the Mediterranean. Continue climbing to Montjuic Castle for a breeze and incredible views along the way. It’s so refreshing you’ll find it hard to believe you are still in the city.

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We visited the Picasso museum for free on Thursday evening by booking tickets in advance

Picasso Museum

In the Picasso Museum there’s one room entirely of the artist’s “Les Pigeons” paintings, which feature seaside views from a window. Picasso painted them while in Cannes, and they’re all so bright and colorful that surely Picasso wasn’t chasing the sun so much as capturing it. And beyond this room, the whole museum is well done, with engaging expositions. It was fascinating to read about his thought processes, the symbolism of colors, his ideologies and opinions and relationships.

View from the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya

La Xampanyeria

You’ll drink gold at La Xampanyeria, and eat it too. We walked in and it was packed, but we found a place standing at the bar with a tiny little ledge to set plates and drinks down. The whole place was humming with light and laughter and voices, and we toasted with 2 euro glasses of cava (Spanish sparkling wine) and ate the most delicious nutty manxego cheese and the most delicious hot chicken croquetas and I was in heaven.

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Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya

Vinitus

This tapas place will warm you just as much as any actual sunshine. Vinitus is famous so we got there early for Spanish time— 7 p.m. on a Friday — and by the time we left around 9:30 the wait was 45 minutes. We drank red wine and had fried artichokes with crispy delicate leaves and savory mushrooms topped with egg yolk and shrimp in garlic oil and phenomenal ham croquetas. It was buzzing in there, and after our first glass of wine we were too.

Beautiful Barcelona

To be honest Barcelona hadn’t been on my radar before this trip. I’ve always prioritized going to other cities, but after my first day in Barcelona I was utterly charmed. I fell in love with its character and warmth and chill personality.

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It’s the kind of city you can imagine yourself living in. Playing beach volleyball on a Sunday at Port Olympic. Drinking cervezas on terraces on warm evenings and going dancing after tapas. Collecting sea glass and taking stunning photos of the city and hiking up to Bunkers Del Carmel for sunset views. Watching street art bloom over Poblenou and buying fresh produce at Santa Caterina Market. It’s that kind of place— a place that inspires you to dream and create and soak in the moment like a ray of wonderful sunshine.