It’s been a year since we moved to Barcelona. We lived there for six months last year and fell in love with the place. Jack worked remotely for his agency back in London, while Jo was an English language tutor. In this blog we run through why we loved living in Barcelona, as well as our top tips for your trip to Barcelona.
Having recently travelled back to Barcelona to run the marathon (check out our highlight video here), we got to thinking about just what we loved about living here. We’ve got to be honest, this swiftly turned into a love letter to the city; from the historic streets, beautiful weather, tasty food and awesome vibes, there’s a reason George Orwell called the place ‘the great temptress’.
If you’re looking for a city break, a long holiday, or even a new city to move to, Barcelona has to be at the top of your list. Need convincing? Here’s five things we loved about living in Barcelona – which will hopefully shine some light on why we think it really is the best city in the world.
Affordability
There’s a reason Barcelona often comes up in the top places to live and work on digital nomad lists. That’s because the city, considering it’s one of the most well-known and loved European cities, is just so affordable. Public transport is cheap – about a euro each journey, while we were able to secure an apartment by the beach for about 1,000 Euros a month (and we probably over-paid for it anyway).
Fruit and veg is ridiculously cheap, for our weekly shop we often filled our boots with our weekly veg shop and only spent about 30 euros, with extras bringing up our weekly food shop to 50 euros. About 20 euros cheaper than our shop back in London.
And while we’re on the topic of food…
Food and wine
Barcelona is teeming with incredible restaurants and bars, cafes and food markets, and on every street corner you’ll find a fresh fruit and veg shop.
The cava and wine is out of this world; we highly recommend a tour of the nearby cava vineyards, while you cannot beat a bottle of fill your own jug of rioja from the local wine shop.
Being vegan, we were spoilt for choice when it came to restaurants too. Some of our favourites include:
- Cat Bar – some of the tastiest vegan burgers in town, run by an English guy, they also serve pints of craft beer, ensuring you don’t miss home too much
- Sopa – for around 6 euros, you get a soup and main meal at this modern vegetarian lunch spot.
- Flax and Kale – the best restaurant in the city; slightly expensive, but with the majority of the menu plant-based, and gluten free, it is to die for. We’d genuinely fly to Barcelona just to visit here.
- Veggie Garden – craving a curry while living in Barcelona? Then look no further than this incredible plant based restaurant. For between 8-10 euros you can get a massive thali plate, full of curries and bhajis.
- Surf Cafe – the perfect brunch spot by the beach in Barceloneta. A great way to start the day.
Culture
Everybody knows about Gaudi and the Sagrada Familia, but Barcelona is about so much more than this awesome architect. It’s the capital of Catalunya, the home of anarchist thinking and Picasso. The city streets are a mix of old and new, with each winding alley in the gothic district leading you to new discoveries, whether it be a new, hidden bar or plaza, or perhaps some new street art the city is famed for. The architecture is rich and varied, with no street the same.
We highly recommend taking a walking tour to discover the history of the place. We did ours with Free Walking Tour, and couldn’t recommend the following more highly:
- Gothic Quarter walking tour – Treat this as a ‘Barcelona 101’ – learn about the history of Barcelona, Catalunya and the people that live here. We learnt so much about the city, and it was a great way to get our bearings and understand the history behind this amazing region.
- Barcelona Uncensored Tour – learn about the Raval, one of Barcelona’s most infamous neighborhoods. Find out about the revolutions, revolts, and dictatorships that have shaped the city, the city’s famous street artists, and how Barcelona continues to fight for a better world with contemporary protest movements, and community projects.
The climate
Having lived in cold, drizzly England for the majority of our lives, the weather in Barcelona is fantastic. The winter very rarely drops below double digits, while come spring time its warm enough to spend days and evenings down by the beach, watching the sunset and watching the waves coming into shore. The beach is fantastic, stretching for miles down the coast, and it’s so nice to be able to head to the beach and have a dip in the sea when things get too hot.
Day-trips and activities
Where do we start? If you ever tire of Barcelona, there are a host of activities to sate your hunger for experiences.
As mentioned, the beach in Barcelona stretches for miles along the coast, and we spent many a day running or cycling along the seafront. The nearby countryside is also really accessible, with colourful interesting towns such as Girona, and its medieval heritage, and Sitges – Catalunya’s answer to Brighton, only an hour by train. Closer to home, and you can take a quick train ride and furnicular to the hills around Barcelona, to bunkers del carmel or Tbidabo, an old fun fair and cathedral with views back towards the sea and Barcelona.
We’d also recommend a day trip to the famous Montserrat, where you can take a cable car and trek to an amazing mirador with incredible views accross the region. Did we mention that vineyard cycling tour we did? Check out our blog and video here for our visit to the Penede’s district.
This is all just scratching the surface of the city. And you need to visit and find your own adventure. But hopefully this list will give you a taster of why people like us love this city.
Barcelona, we’ll be back.
These Wild Journeys 