Landing in Barcelona at 00:20 past midnight, the airport was mostly empty and my bags made it without delay. I had booked AirHostel Barcelona because I was only looking for a place to crash for two nights while spending the days roaming around the city. I called the person who was picking me up from the airport and walked to the meeting point. There were a few others waiting as well. Our driver arrived shortly, and we were loaded up and on our way. Check-in was efficient. I was assigned a six-bunk room on the ground floor. The gender-segregated shared bathrooms were clean and close by. The bunk itself was comfortable; there were two lockers assigned to each person and ample space in the room for larger bags.


After a nice day in Lisbon 🔗 yesterday, and having been to Spain before when I visited Madrid 🔗, the original plan for the day was to visit Andorra. However, having learned of the situation in Barcelona before boarding my flight from Lisbon, I cancelled my plans for a day trip to Andorra. I wasn’t in any rush to get up early, so I slept in for a bit.

When I finally got out of bed, I saw that one of my roommates was ready to head out. I asked him what he thought of the situation; he said he wasn’t going to venture too far from the hostel. I walked out of our room and to the front desk to solicit advice from the staff. He said that I shouldn’t have any problem going into the city and advised me to just stay away from groups of protesters if I saw any. Encouraged by that, I made my way to the pantry area. The atmosphere was laid back (likely because it was Saturday), but I didn’t really have time for a leisurely breakfast or casual conversation. The complimentary breakfast was basic but nice: cereal, tea, coffee, and toast with butter and jam. After grabbing a bite to eat, I had a quick shower and got ready for my day in Barcelona. The Cèntric subway stop was just a short walk away, making it easy to get into the city. I took the next train from Cèntric to Pl. Catalunya via Torrassa.


Plaça de Catalunya was filled with tour guides and forming groups. Knowing where to go and which ones to join was, honestly, confusing. I was finally able to locate Free Walking Tours Barcelona and join them for a nice walk through the Gothic Quarter 🔗.


I unimaginatively went to McDonald’s for lunch, but only because it was quick; I wanted to join my next walking tour and head back to the hostel before any potential riots broke out later in the evening. My next tour was the Modernisme Architecture Tour with Play Tours Barcelona 🔗. This also included a short ride on the Barcelona subway, ending at La Sagrada Família.

After the tour, I walked around La Sagrada Família to take pictures, but as it was already evening, there wasn’t enough time to stand in line to visit the inside. I decided to head back and took the subway from Sagrada Família to Cèntric via Collblanc. The atmosphere around Cèntric was totally different in the evening. There was a band playing and lots of locals hanging out with friends and family. I decided to stay there for a bit, grabbed dinner at Prime Döner Kebab, and walked back to the hostel after a nice day in Barcelona.



🚇 Cèntric to Pl. Catalunya via Torrassa
🚇 Sagrada Família to Cèntric via Collblanc
🍽️ Prime Döner Kebab
🛏️ AirHostel Barcelona