Boqueria, around the town and "Museu Nacional d´Art de Catalunya"

La Boqueria, Barcelona´s biggest - and what they have told us finest - marketplace is actually called "Mercat de Sant Josep". But nobody seems to remember this anymore, the signs everywhere say "Boqueria - this way". Shopping at marketplaces is something very common in Spain, and even the Boqueria, right downtown next to the Ramblas, is no tourist trap but a center for shopping and communication, with the freshest goods at very reasonable prices. Since we lived almost nextdoor we went there every day to provide us with fruit and other mouth-watering treats.

The market stalls are definately a feast for the eye!

After filling the tummy at the Boqueria the best way to get a good impression of Barcelona is the Hop on/Hop off bus, one of the hubs being at the Placa de Catalunya right at the top of the Ramblas. There are two companies - the Bus Turístic and Barcelona Tours. We were told, that Bus Turístic is the better choice, the busses depart more often and there are more stations where you can get out (and in, of course). Barcelona Tours is less crowded and a little bit more expensive, but you have to wait longer - which was the reason why we took the Bus Turístic, and we found that we had made the right choice.

You have to sit on top to get the real fun, so don´t forget sun protection. What we also liked was the fact that the staff there tell you if there is room on top, if not they recommend you to wait for the next bus if you do not want to sit inside. Excellent service, nobody tries to shove you in. Thanks, friendly staff of Bus Turístic!

We got off at Montjuic, which is the leisure area of Barcelona. You find many sports facilities, museums and parks there, and the people of Barcelona love to go up there on weekends and enjoy this wonderful garden area.

We went there to see the Museu Nacional d´Art de Catalunya, which is famous for its Catalan art. You have frescos from old mountain churches there which were collected and brought to the museum before they could have been destroyed. Also highly recommendable are the departments for gothic and roman Catalan art - and even the building itself is definately worth the visit.  

We loved the time at the museum, and we almost felt sorry when we were leaving. But we made sure to enjoy the view outside, before we wandered on.

We ended our personal city tour with a visit to the harbour area. For hundreds of years Barcelona has been a city "away from the seaside" (as they called themselves). The further away you lived from the beach the better it was. Now there is a lot of thinking going on and the whole area has been revitalized and people enjoy their harbour and beach area.

Another perfect day had ended....