City Break - Barcelona

I'm just back from a long weekend in Barcelona and its obviously a nice city to visit but am not sure its great for Solo travellers. When I travel totally alone I tend to do a lot of people watching and also chat to a few people especially on a evening when I go out for a meal and cople of drinks.
However that was the problem, I found most people that was about where usually couples if not large groups of friends. Suspect its one of them destinations that couples go for a romantic break similar to the likes of Rome or Paris.

On my own I often eat in Pubs and Bars as those that have travelled alone will tell you restaurants arn't great fun, tendency is to sit there twiddling your thumbs.
Plenty of Tapas Bars but again I see it as something you would go for as a couple and share the diferent plates.

Well first two nights I ate at a couple of Irish Pubs which is usually a safe bet but to be honest Barcelona's Irish Pubs wasn't the best. First night it was largest place called Dunnes and the food was just about acceptable but not a massive choice.
2nd night a place called O'Haras and it was terrible, advertised as a irish bar and restaurant and it was basically a microwave hidden in a back room. Place was quite small but there was a group of very drunk English Women obviously on a hen do. Thought they were very rude to the locals and made me a little ashamed to be British, main thingi thought was some poor sod is gong to marry one of these.

After two average meals I decided to do a restaurant on the third night, cant remember the name but it was close to the Cathedral. I had Veal which I must admit was excellent just a shame I felt like "Billy no Mates" sat waiting for it.

4th night dd a little Italian Place and had a Pasta dish which was nice, actually ate quite early and the place was quiet and had a nice conversation with the staff.

Did look for some entertainment and visited one place which advertised live music and lets just say the singer wont be auditioning for "The Voice", terrible it was, luckily he started before I'd ordered a drink so walked straight out.

Got lots of warnings to watch out for pickpockets but to be honest it seemed a very safe city to me, never once felt any danger. Although got a discount offer from a lady of the night (which i refused before anyone asks).

So that is the negatives on Solo travel and before i tell you about what I did during the day I must say was very pleased with the food provided on British Airways flights. I flew from Manchester to Heathrow early morning and they gave me a nice toasted sandwich (wasn't really expecting much as only a 40 min flight). Then after a wait in Heathrow i got the flight to Barcelona and it was a Charcoaled chicken and roasted peppers in a flat bread, really enjoyed and was happy we got the same on the return to England.

On Arrival I'd looked up how to get to the City and got the AeroBus (HI goes to term 1 & H2 to term 2) and only costs just over 10 euros for a return ticket and they run every 10 minutes (lets be honest taxis are expensive when only one of you). It takes less than 30 minutes and drops off at The Playa de Catalunia in the city which was fortunately just around the corner from my hotel.

I stayed at a 3 star hotel "Mont Blanc" and definately had no complaints, couldn't have wished for a better location the staff were friendly and spoke good English. They provided a nice buffet continental breakfast when lots of places don't, sets you up nicely for the day. My room was only a single room, quite small but i'm not living there it was very adequate and even provided a mini-bar in the room (not that i used). Plenty of hot water for my shower and surprisingly for a small snigle room i had the biggest balcony I'd ever seen, think you could have played football on it.

Plenty to see and do in Barcelona during the day time so that wasn't a problem for a solo traveller. I had 3 full days (4 nights) and on the first i went exploring by foot which is the best way to see a city in my opinion.

In the morning i walked from my hotel and down the famous street Les Rambles which would estimate is about a mile or so. Then when reaching the port area turned left until coming to the Zoo (didn't go in) and a Park. Explored around a bit until getting a light lunch then walked back to the Old Town and spent the afternoon wandering the narrow pedestrian streets and visiting some of the interesting shops.

If I can be critical of Barcelona as a tourist city there is a lack of public toilets so when you need to go its a visit to a cafe for a coffee (of course that also makes its way to the bladder).


For the rest of the trip I got a two day ticket (35 euros) for the Hop On Hop Off buses which I can recommend. You get a set of headphones and choice of languges with the commentry. There are two routes and one day I did the Blue route (North) and the other the Red Route (South) but you can interchange.

 Both routes take about two hours if you just stay on the bus but have plenty of places you can get off so can easily take a full day (Buses are very regular and come along every 10 minutes or so). Blue route takes you to such places as the iconic Sagrada Familia church, Nou Camp stadium, Park Guell, among other places.
The red route to the Palace, Olympic Stadium, Placa Espanya, Port Vell, Port Olympic, etc.

I never visited any museums as ran out of time but would have liked to have done the Maritime Museum if I'd been there another day.
Plenty of Art museums and interesting architecture if those things rock your boat.

Also considered watching Barcelona as they played on the Sunday but kick off was a 9pm which i consdered too late so didn't bother. Tickets where easily available at places in the town for people interested.

Glad I went, its just a case of where next ?