We had been to Barcelona more than a few times before, so when I booked us a hotel right near Las Ramblas, it felt like stepping back into familiar territory. Since we only had a few short days to spend in the city, I figured we would keep our itinerary simple. See the Cathedral, admire a few of Antoni Gaudí’s famous buildings, wander through the market, and visit the Sagrada Família. That was truly the entire extent of my plan for our visit. Of course, travel rarely goes exactly according to plan, but that is half the adventure.
Arriving “Near” the Hotel
After a relatively smooth and short hour spent disembarking our cruise ship, we caught a taxi to our hotel. We expected a stately arrival right at the front entrance just off of Las Ramblas. Unfortunately, we were abruptly dropped off, bags and all, on a narrow side street. The driver gave us a hurried set of instructions to walk straight and then make two left turns, promising we would arrive at our destination. It was not the most auspicious start to this year’s Barcelona adventure.
Dragging three heavy bags over the historic cobbled streets of Barcelona is no easy feat. The taxi driver had mentioned there was ongoing construction on Las Ramblas, but we were completely unprepared for the sheer extent of the work. The entire road was closed to all traffic except for taxis during very specific hours. The construction ran all the way from Plaça de Catalunya down to the Christopher Columbus statue. It looked like they were replacing a massive water or sewer pipe, which made navigating the area with luggage a bit of a challenge. However, when we ordered a taxi to take us to the train station at the very end of our stay, it managed to arrive right out in front of the hotel.
After Dropping Our Bags
Once we successfully dropped off our bags, we immediately headed out to wander around one of our absolute favorite cities. As we walked up Las Ramblas toward Plaça de Catalunya, we noticed crowds of people were participating in some type of running event. As we approached the main square, the sound of loud band music filled the air. But we decided not to venture directly into the melee. Instead, we ducked down the smaller side streets, heading in the general direction of the Barcelona Cathedral. As we meandered through the pedestrian neighborhood, we stumbled upon beautiful, familiar sights. Places like the ornate theater and the grand architecture of the Cathedral.
Our First Food Finds
Lunch on our first afternoon was a simple affair. Mike ordered what the menu called gazpacho, but we later found out that the thick, creamy soup is properly called salmorejo. This soup features a hearty bread and olive oil base rather than a pure tomato base. Mike also ordered tomato toast, a delicious staple popular throughout Spain. I ordered a traditional Spanish omelet. Unfortunately, the omelet arrived completely undercooked in the center, which was a bit of a disappointment.
That said, dinner that evening completely made up for it. We ate at Restaurante Miño Latino, a spot near our hotel. It turned out to be one of the finest meals we had during our entire time in Spain. The kitchen was incredibly creative, using a generous amount of foie gras across the menu. We started with a wonderful, rich croquette filled with rabo de toro (oxtail), one of our favorite things to eat in Spain.
But the most exceptional part of the meal was the tomatoes. Mike and I have deeply appreciated a truly good tomato ever since we stopped growing our own. It happened to be peak tomato season in Spain. They were so flavorful that we ordered a tomato salad at nearly every meal for the rest of our trip. We also enjoyed a decadent cannelloni paired with a foie gras sauce. Also, cochinillo, which was a very interesting and crispy take on pork belly. We paired everything with a cold beer and a glass of Corpinnat, a premium Spanish sparkling wine that we first learned about a few years ago.
A Spectacular Return to Sagrada Família
The next day, we had pre-booked tickets to visit the Sagrada Família. It had been six or seven years since our last visit. At that time, all construction work on the basilica had ground to a halt. In the last few years, however, they have made an incredible amount of progress toward finally completing Gaudí’s masterpiece. They are so close to finishing the exterior structure. Pope Leo visited a little later in the summer to rededicate the church, now that the massive central cross has finally been added to the top.
Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy when we first arrived. As a result, the effect of the magnificent stained-glass windows illuminating the interior wasn’t quite as pronounced as we remembered. However, they have added new interactive AI exhibits that were really interesting. They were fully included with the standard entry ticket and audio guide. The exhibit instructs you to point your phone camera at a specific section of the church interior. The app then visually travels up the columns to reveal intricate architectural details you might have otherwise missed.
We Highly Recommend a Visit
We exited the church after our audio tour, but then we saw the sun finally breaking through the clouds. So, we turned right back around and went back inside just to experience the full, breathtaking effect of the natural light streaming through the colored glass. There is so much to see here that I didn’t remember from our previous trip, including the historic crypt, the architectural workshops, and the deep symbolism carved into all of the massive facades. I am pretty sure we spent at least two hours exploring. Visiting the Sagrada Família was easily one of the absolute highlights of our entire visit to Spain. If you have the chance to go, I highly recommend getting tickets for the afternoon to take full advantage of the shifting light.
Time for the Boqueria
Later on, it was time to visit the Mercat de la Boqueria. The main covered market right off Las Ramblas remains one of our personal favorites. It is always bursting with energy, featuring rows of colorful produce, fresh seafood, local meats, and plenty of lively sit-down tapas bars and takeaway food stalls.
For dinner that night, Mike decided that he was craving fideuà. A traditional seafood dish very similar to paella, but made with short, thin noodles instead of rice. I ordered a classic paella. But I have to admit, his seafood fideuà was definitely the better dish of the two.
Football Celebrations and Championship Chaos
As we made our way around town over the next couple of days, we couldn’t help but notice massive crowds of local residents filling the streets. People were wearing matching football jerseys, waving flags, and making an incredible amount of noise. As it turned out, the local team, FC Barcelona, had just secured the La Liga trophy for the 2025–26 season after defeating their rivals Real Madrid 2–0. It was their 29th Spanish league title, so the city was in a massive state of celebration.
Mike had wanted to visit the famous football stadium anyway, so we decided to navigate the crowds and head over. While we couldn’t actually go inside the main stadium due to renovations, we spent our time exploring the adjacent museum. We learned all about the rich history of the famed Barça team and their legendary players. The museum was packed, and you could buy just about any kind of team swag you could imagine. The people of Barcelona are truly fanatical about their championship team, and the energy was infectious. After leaving the museum, we decided to catch a ride to the end of the Ramblas and walk back to our hotel, but we had to fortify ourselves first. We stopped at a small local restaurant for a few quick rations of tapas and two refreshing glasses of sangria de cava.
Last Dinner in Barcelona
For our very last dinner in Barcelona, we treated ourselves to another wonderful restaurant called Xera by Raó. We ordered a feast of shared tapas for the table, including more of that delicious tomato toast, creamy burrata, tender duck, seared scallops, and a perfectly seasoned pork dish. The food throughout Barcelona was exceptional, and we loved that we could find such incredible meals without ever really needing to leave our immediate Ramblas neighborhood.
What is your absolute favorite food to order when you are traveling through Spain?
