Arcadia Ireland

The excitement of choosing a European city to visit, scouring the internet for a cheap flight, worrying about the size of your cabin baggage and navigating your way to Dublin airport to catch a very early morning flight (because they are usually the cheapest!) is a must do for any study abroad student in Ireland.

Regardless of the time of year, you can always find a short, inexpensive flight from Dublin airport to many great locations around Europe. I have visited some wonderful cities in Europe - Vienna, Budapest, Rome, Paris, Bratislava, Prague - but there was one city that had been recommended so highly that it was next on my list: Barcelona! Arcadia has a Barcelona Center and I understand why students would choose this city for a study abroad program - it is a trendy, modern and traditional city; a true cultural magnet and European metropolis.

Here are some of my tips for a short city break:

• Pack light! Roll your clothes - I swear by this method of packing and feel I squeeze much more in.
• Travel size containers - with only carry on luggage all liquids have to be 100ml or under. There is no limit to how many items of 100ml or less you can have (as far as I know or have gotten away with!), but they should fit in one plastic bag that closes. Penny’s sell a set of travel containers for just €1.50 or boots do a great range of travel size items and are usually on offer 3 for 2 - keep the containers and reuse!
• Transport - Barcelona has a great transport system and I took the metro from the airport to the city center for just €4. I then bought a T-10 metro ticket for €10 which allowed me 10 trips around the city - excellent value and I never waited more than 4 minutes for a metro! I took the Aerobus back to the airport which cost €5.90.
• Taxi’s - very reasonable and I used for returning to my hotel at night - safest way! There is an extra tariff added after a certain time at night so just be aware. There are taxi ranks/signs on many streets where it is easiest to wait for a taxi but you can also hail on the street - just look for the green light on top of the car to show they are vacant.
• If you stay in a hotel be prepared for them to charge you a city tax per person per night when you check out - but don’t worry it is a very minimal cost (75c - €2 per night).
• You will be warned about pick-pocketing when going to Barcelona as apparently it is quite common, so it is best to be very cautious and aware.
• Dinner can be expensive, depending on the area you are in, but snacks and breakfasts are great value and I enjoyed stopping regularly for a coffee and bocadillo (a small baguette with cheese or ham usually) which costs as little as €2.50 for both!
• It is not expected to tip in Barcelona, but I found that a few euro was greatly appreciated.

I somehow managed to fit all of this into 6 days in Barcelona:

1. The Magic water fountain (the views from the Museum at the top are most impressive!)
2. Hop on hop off City Bus tour - I spent a full day doing the two routes!
3. Park Guell - my absolute favorite thing I did in Barcelona - savor the view as once you leave the Monumental area you can’t re-enter!
4. La Sagrada Familia - of course! We did buy a ticket online in advance and had a tour guide with a group of 10 people. This allowed us to skip the queue. It was 1.5 hours and provided a great history and was worth the extra cost in my opinion. Our Tour Guide did not believe that it will be completed by 2026!
5. Cable car up to the castle on Montjuic - there are 2 cable cars that take different routes, over the sea or up the side of the mountain.
6. Las Ramblas - strolled through the buzz of the well known street and soaked up the atmosphere.
7. The beach - walk a little further down for the quieter areas, past the giant fish statue (worth seeing, it sparkles in the sun!)
8. The 1992 Olympic Stadium & Museum on Montjuic - the stadium is very cool to see and free entry.
9. La Boqueria food market - try an empanada and fruit juice.
10. The Gothic Quarter - stroll through the narrow and winding streets.
11. FC Barcelona - I had no choice! But for something that I am not necessarily interested in I was fascinated by the absolute dedication and passion that people have for this team and as their motto says - "Més que un club" which is Catalan and means "More than a club".
12. Casa Batllo - described as a Disneyland for the senses, I loved the interactive element of this tour which provides you with a headset and smartphone to look through the screen as if a view back to the time of when Gaudi created it and see how it looked then or how it may have appeared in his mind.
13. Tapas, tapas and more tapas . . . I don’t think I could get sick of tapas and certainly not the variations of patatas bravas as each place has their own way of doing them - as an Irish girl of course I love potatoes :)

Overall, would I recommend Barcelona? Absolutely yes! Whether you want to chill out on the beach, walk until your feet hurt (like I did!) to view the many many fascinating buildings and sights, enjoy the nightlife or just appreciate the uniqueness of Antoni Gaudi’s creations - Barcelona really has it all. Now, where to next . . .