I had Barcelona as one of my must-see cities in Europe.  Also, being a Meteor Garden (Taiwanese series) fan, I would love to visit the places where some of the Barcelona scenes were shot.

We took Vueling airlines flight from Orly Airport (ORY Paris) to Barcelona (BCN).  We got the Optima Fare (with 1 pc checked baggage up to 23kg) at Euro63.66.  Check-in at Orly airport was ok, although lines were a bit long.  We had our boarding passes printed but we were still given a (new) boarding pass upon check-in.  After passing through security gates, most of the people stand/sit near one of the monitors to wait for the boarding gates announcement.  Once boarding gates are announced (that is when the plane is already disembarking passengers), people flock to the gates.  Make sure you're lined up at the correct gate since, due to small waiting/boarding area, the gates are almost beside each other.  Aside from that, the flight was smooth, no delays (even for luggages).

At BCN airport, we took the Aerobus to the city center.  These buses are available at BCN T1 and T2 at certain schedules, fare is at Euro5.90 per person.  You can pay inside the bus (forgot if they give out change though).  The ride takes about 35-45 minutes to Placa de Catalunya, which is the terminal at the city center.

Aerobus ticket

When we got out of the bus, it was already dark.  Good thing is that our hostel is within walking distance from the stop.  We looked for Av. Portal de l'Angel, which is technically just across the street from Placa de Catalunya.  I had a printout of the booking confirmation and ask some vendors for direction.  It's less than 5-minute walk from the stop.  Sweet!

Since it was already late, we started our Barcelona experience the next day.  So it was just like a 1.5 day stop in this beautiful city.

Day 1: 
- Park Guell
- Sagrada Familia
- Passeig de Gracia
- Las Ramblas and Port Vell

Day 2: 
- Montjuic

To get around Barcelona, we bought a T10 transportation ticket for Euro10.30 at a vending machine in the metro station.  The ticket is valid for 10 journeys and can be shared by people in a group (in our case 2 persons).  It can be used in metro, bus, tram or local train within the city.  One trip is valid for 75 minutes, so if you ride again within 75 minutes, it will be considered as part of the previous journey.  We had this privilege twice so instead of using the ticket for 10 journeys, we've only used up 6.  So, for other people to be able to make use of it, we left the ticket at the hostal.

On our last day, we took the Aerobus back to BCN for a hassle-free trip to the airport (make sure to check which Terminal you need to go to and hop on the correct bus).  The airport was big and organized (better than ORY).  We took another Vueling flight which we got for Euro54.99 for the Optima fare.

BCN Airport

Vueling Airlines

Our Accommodation (Hostal Lausanne)

Besides having free wi-fi, this hostal boasts of great location.  It's on a shopping street, a block away from Las Ramblas (it's actually parallel to Las Ramblas), and about a 5-minute walk from Placa de Catalunya, which makes it very accessible.  The entrance to the hostal is near Stradivarius store, just look for the number of the building and press the doorbell for Hostal Lausanne.  They have a 24-hr reception desk so there's always somebody who would open up the door.  Upon entering the door, go straight to the small elevator (can fit up to 3 persons) and press 1.  The door to the hostal is on the left when you get out of the elevator.  Most likely the one who opened the main door would already be waiting for you at the doorway.

Hostal Lausanne location

Main door of the building

Interior of the building

Hostal Lausanne as seen from outside the building

Lift

Stairs

Hostal door

We booked this accommodation via booking.com for a total of Euro 88 for 2 nights for 2 persons plus a Euro 0.78 city tax/person/night.  The room that we booked does not have a private bathroom.  But the good thing is that the bathrooms are not the typical hostel bathrooms where there are cubicles inside the room.  It's more of like a private bathroom (there's 2) provided for the guests of the hostal.  During the time we were there, we did not experience waiting in line to use the bathroom, maybe it's because not a lot of people are there during our stay.

Our room has 2 single beds, there's a basin and a heater (no aircon though).  Towels are also provided.  The room given to us is beside the living room.  At night, we here some elders chatting here but at a tolerable level.

Living room beside our room which has a view of the street

Hallway

Inside our room

Inside our room

On our last day, we checked out early and left our luggage in the hostal.  We just went back for it before we took the bus back to the airport.

Placa d'Espanya and Montjuic

We just have a little over half a day to spare so we decided to arrange our things, checkout and leave our luggages at the hostal before going out.  We took the metro from Placa Catalunya (Catalunya station) to Placa d'Espanya (Espanya station).

L1 Metro stops

I think the metro stop is just below the plaza itself. We followed the exit going to Montjuic.  One of the exits is going to Arenas de Barcelona, which is also just around the plaza.

Placa d'Espanya

Arenas de Barcelona

Once out in the streets, we've already seen which direction we need to take.  It's going to this elevated structure and fountain.  Below are pictures as we went up the stairs (and escalator, yes there's an escalator :P).

Montjuic Fountain

View from Palau Nacional on Montjuic

From MNAC, we continued going uphill until we got to the Olympic stadium.

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

Map of the area

Torre Calatrava

Estadi Olimpic de Montjuic

Palau Sant Jordi

View from Montjuic

We stayed for a bit, took some pictures and went back to the area of Placa de Catalunya for some lunch before getting our bags and head to the airport.

It was a very short stay in Barcelona and, hopefully, I would be able to go back.

As per Google maps, a walk from Placa de Catalunya to Port Vell, just past the Columbus monument takes about 16 minutes (1.4km).  However, due to sight-seeing and having some snacks, it took us about 2 hours to do so.

 

Placa de Catalunya

Placa de Catalunya is a large square in central Barcelona that is generally considered to be both its city center and the place where the old city and the 19th century-built Eixample meet. 

Some of the city's most important streets and avenues meet at Plaça Catalunya: Passeig de Gràcia, Rambla de Catalunya, La Rambla or Portal de l'Àngel, in addition to Ronda de Sant Pere, Carrer de Vergara or Carrer de Pelai. The plaza occupies an area of about 50,000 square metres. It is especially known for its fountains and statues, its proximity to some of Barcelona's most popular attractions, and for the flocks of pigeons that gather in the centre. [Wiki]

Placa de Catalunya

La(s) Rambla(s)

La Rambla

La Rambla is a street in central Barcelona, popular with tourists and locals alike. A tree-lined pedestrian mall, it stretches for 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) connecting Plaça de Catalunya in the centre with the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell. La Rambla forms the boundary between the quarters of Barri Gòtic, to the east, and El Raval, to the west.

La Rambla can be crowded, especially during the height of the tourist season. Its popularity with tourists has affected the character of the street, with a move to pavement cafes and souvenir kiosks. It has also suffered from the attention of pickpockets and, especially towards its southern end, sex workers.

La Rambla can be considered a series of shorter streets, each differently named, hence the plural form Les Rambles (the original Catalan form; in Spanish it is Las Ramblas). [Wiki]

La Rambla Map

Rambla de Canaletes


This part of La Rambla is where the Font de Canaletes can be found.  There can be lots of fountains in La Rambla but this would be the first fountain on the right coming from Placa de Catalunya.  This is also the site of celebration of FC Barcelona victories.

They were saying that if you drink water from this fountain, you would be able to go back to Barcelona... and so, we did. :)

Barcelona Tourisme information

Font de Canaletes

Inscription (by Google translate):
if you drink spring water gutters you will always love about Barcelona. and away you went. always returns

Beware of pickpockets.  We were almost victimized by this guy.  He's got a companion that's on our other side.  Good thing we noticed them before they even got closer.

Rambla dels Estudis

Church of Bethlehem

Church of Bethlehem

Rambla de Sant Josep

Also known as Rambla de les Flors.

La Boqueria

I've seen Escriba (Antigua Casa Figueras) from a scene in the Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden 2. I was looking for the strawberry short cake that the main characters tried but can't find it there, well it was about 10 years ago. So I just tried the other sweets. I must say, it's delicious!

Escriba

Escriba

Rambla dels Caputxins

Teatre del Liceu

Rambla de Santa Monica

Teatre Principal

Museu de Cera

Building before crossing the street to
Columbus Monument and Port Vell

Here are some other pictures of the streets and side streets of La Rambla.

Placa Reial

One of the side streets	Iglesia de San Jaime
Casa Bruno Cuadros Local residents call this building the "Casa dels Paraigües" which means "House of Umbrellas."	A fountain on one of the side streets

Some paintings being sold along La Rambla

Port Vell

Crossing to Port Vell from La Rambla, the Columbus monument can be seen and serves as somewhat a rotunda.  Had we known at that time that there's a viewing gallery at the top, we might have spent a bit more time here.


At the end of La Rambla is the Port of Barcelona.  This includes Port Vell and Rambla del Mar.

Port of Barcelona

Rambla del Mar

Port Vell