After a good night’s sleep and a quick breakfast of coffee and a sandwich, we took bus 24 instead of the metro to get to Park Guell. The bus drops you at the back entrance of the park, and you can avoid climbing the steep hill from the metro stop. I reserved the advance ticket online for 10:00 am.
Park Guell is another Gaudi work of art that sits on a hill. It was initially supposed to be a housing community for the rich. The entrance fee is 10 euros and here is the website to book the tickets.
There was much exciting architecture and walks to go on within the compounds. The structures were beautiful and out of the ordinary. Make sure to wear comfortable shoes as there was a lot of walking involved. You can either walk on your own or take a guided tour for an additional cost.
Gingerbread houses, one of them is the museum and another souvenir shop.
Beautiful ceiling with tiles was breathtaking.
The famous dragon or the lizard at the stairs. People were taking turns taking pictures.
You can spend hours enjoying nature and the architecture here. As time went on, it got crowded and hot. I felt it’s better to come in the morning or late evening as it gets hot in the afternoon. We might have spent around 2 hours here and are ready to leave. They scanned the ticket again when you left and can’t enter again.
Next stop: Sagrada Familia.
Going down the hill was not bad, so you can either take the metro L3 or bus 24 to Passeig de Gràcia and then metro L5 to get off at the Sagrada Familia stop. We still had time for our entrance, so we went for lunch nearby and waited for our time.
Sagrada Familia is a beautiful basilica in Barcelona designed by the well-known architect Antoni Gaudí. Even though the basilica construction started in 1882, the Sagrada Familia is still not finished. It is one of the top attractions in Spain and worth the admission price.
We entered at our designated time. The audio guide was included in the ticket price and helped understand the history and construction of the basilica. There were beautiful sculptures outside and stunning architecture and designs.
As you entered, there were stained windows with natural light.
The columns look like trees with branches spreading out.
The windows look so colorful with all the sunlight coming in.
The columns looks like trees and forest.
Stained glass windows with different colors on different sides.
The included audio guide also tells the story of the outdoor sculptures.
You can go up the towers for an additional cost.
We took the metro back to our hotel and rested till dinner time. The Public transportation network in Barcelona is very well developed. We bought a T-Familiar ticket which has eight trips and can be shared. It was good enough for us. Another popular option is T-Casual which has ten trips.
In Spain, most restaurants were closed between 4:00 and 8:00 pm for siesta. We went to a vegetarian restaurant Teresa Carles for dinner and enjoyed our meal there.