Off the Beaten Path: 3 Barcelona Experiences That Don’t Get Talked About Enough
Finding lesser known, but still captivating, excursions on a trip is a way to take your experience to another level. Here I give you advice on three, under the radar, experiences to take advantage of during your time in Barcelona.
Barcelona is an amazing city. In how many cities can you walk 30 minutes one way and be in the mountains or walk 30 minutes the other way and be at the beach? And in the middle, you can stop at delicious tapas bars or medieval relics. However, while it is incredible, it has also become one of the most popular cities in the world among tourists. While I recommend spending some time at the main tourist sites, including the Sagrada Familia, Gothic Quarter, and Park Guell, I want to inform you of 3 lesser known, but still amazing places to visit that will bring your trip to Barcelona to the next level.
First, take a trip to the Catalan History Museum. This is in a very popular location among tourists, in Barceloneta, but the museum is still often overlooked by visitors. However, after spending a few hours in this museum, I had a much better understanding about the history of not only Barcelona, but all of Catalonia. I recommend visiting this museum early on in your Barcelona stay to get a very thorough picture of what this region has been like from prehistoric times until now.
Second, take a trip back in time at the Museum of the History of Barcelona. Head to Placa del Rei and buy a 7 Euro MUHBA ticket (5 Euro for students). This ticket not only gives you access to this history museum, but also gives you access and discounts to other MUHBA locations situated throughout the city. If you are interested in ancient history or specifically Roman history, you will be fascinated by this museum. You enter, and then you take the elevator down. The elevator opens, and you find yourself thrown back in time. You can explore what this area of the city looked like during the 6th to 1st century BC when it was a part of the Roman Empire and called Barcino. Each section not only has the ruins from the city at that time, but it has detailed descriptions of what was in each location. It is truly a walk through ancient history and a part of Barcelona’s history that is often overlooked by tourists, but should not be missed.
Third, if you are here for more than a few days, take a day trip, or at least a half day trip, to Montserrat. Montserrat is a mountain range about an hour outside of the city by train. Take the funicular or cable car up, and you will reach a Monastery. The first Monastery in this location was built about 1,000 years ago, and the Monastery located there today is still operating. The views from this level are rather amazing as well. Montserrat is a very uniquely shaped mountain range, and the views get even more astonishing if you take the hike up to the top of Sant Jeroni, the highest mountain in the range. It is about a 2.5-3 hour hike round trip, but at the top, you get stunning 360 degree views of the surrounding area. While it was not completely clear when I did the hike, it has been said that on a clear day, you can see as far as Mallorca.
Barcelona is an amazing city with so many amazing things to do and see, and three months in, I was still finding new places. Above are three that may not pop up right away when you look at what to do while there, but in my opinion, these adventures should not be missed.
