This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
In March of 2022, I took my FIRST ever solo trip! However, that wasn’t the original plan. The plan was to meet up in Barcelona with my friend from Austria who I had met my freshman year of university in the U.S. (it had been two years since I’d seen her at the time).
We had booked our flights and hostel in advance and planned on exploring the city together, but unfortunately, my friend had missed her flight the morning of. I decided to still go to Barcelona because I had paid for my flight and I had never been to Spain!
In this blog, I’ll cover everything I did, and tips for you to have a successful trip to Barcelona!
P.S. – This blog is a bit older because I started it last year in 2022 but never got around to finishing it until June 2023!
Day 1 – National Palace of Montjuic + Exploring the City
Arriving in Barcelona
I landed early Saturday afternoon and had the rest of the day to explore. I was first going to drop off my backpack at the hostel so I was carrying less, but I as I arrived in the city from the airport by bus, I came across the National Palace of Montjuic, which is the home of the National Art Museum of Catalonia. At first I just wanted to walk to the top of the building because it was stunning. But when I reached the top, I noticed the museum had free admission after 3pm on Saturdays, and I arrived exactly at 3pm!
The museum was hugeee. I spent between one and two hours there but you can easily spend so much more. I’m pretty new to visiting museums, I’ve barely been to any before coming to Europe, so I’m still figuring out which type of art I like. I went through the Roman Gothic art exhibit and I think the Modern art exhibit. I really enjoyed the modern art because I love the impressionist paintings of landscapes.
Checking Into My First Hostel
Next, I went to check into my hostel to set my bags down and freshen up. When I arrived, I found out that my reservation had been canceled! This was because my friend and I booked under the same one so we could be in the same room, and she canceled her end of the reservation which ultimately canceled my room too. After a few headaches I was finally put into a room which I was so grateful for since they were completely booked that weekend, even though I had to pay a higher price that I originally planned.
I stayed at 360 Hostel Centro and it was the first hostel I’ve stayed in. I surprisingly really liked it, it was a smaller hostel but it felt clean and pretty social.
After I figured out my hostel situation, I decided to explore the city a bit before having dinner. I was really interested in seeing as much of Antoni Gaudï’s work as possible, so I went to find his Casa Batlló. It was about a 15 minute was from my hostel so it was super close. I didn’t do a tour of the inside since it was closing soon, but it was really neat to be in the presence of it since I first learned about Antoni Gaudï and Casa Batlló my freshman year of college in my interior design class.
My First Solo Dinner
After walking around Barcelona for a bit more, I decided to sit down at a restaurant for dinner. This was probably my first time ever eating alone at a restaurant so it did feel a little bit uncomfortable. I decided to Facetime with my parents to catch up with them and I enjoyed that while I ate. I was also able to catch up a bit with my friend that was supposed to meet me in Barcelona so at least I could still talk with her for a bit!
I ate at Tosca Palau and ordered a few tapas. Tapas are supposed to be shared, so you normally order a few for the table, but even though I was alone I still wanted to try all of them! I ordered three and that was too much because I was very full after only two. Two would probably be a good number of tapas for one person, or three to share between two people. I totally recommend eating here, everything was delicious and the service was really good!
After dinner I went back to my hostel and became friends with one of the girls staying in my room. She was super sweet and invited me to go out with her and her friends that night! I’m glad I went out because I saw more of Barcelona and met more cool people. They wanted to go to a club afterwards but I backed out because I wanted to wake up early the next day to explore.
Day 2 – Antoni Gaudï + Barceloneta Beach
I started my second day in Barcelona bright and early so I could fit as much in as possible. My first stop was at Park Guëll which was at the top of the hill, so I took the bus all the way up.
My tip: If you’re staying near the center of a city, I recommend you don’t buy a three day public transportation pass. Chances are, you’ll be walking everywhere since most things will be close by, so it’d be a waste of money. Instead, buy a couple single passes (2 or 3 so you can use them on buses too). This will most likely save you money.
Park Guëll
Park Guëll was gorgeous. It was designed by Antoni Gaudí in the early 1900s to house families of the estate of Eusebi Güell. Now it is open for the public to explore, and it is absolutely worth doing so.
La Sagrada Familia
After Park Güell, I headed to La Sagrada Familia, also built by Antoni Gaudí. Here, I did the audio guided self tour throughout the basilica and I am so glad I did because I learned so much! There is so much detail and thought that went into the design and construction, it is absolutely mind blowing.
After I finished touring the basilica, I headed back to my hostel to charge my phone because it was about to die and I left my portable charger there! Not my smartest move. I also changed into warmer clothing since it was a bit windy out.
Lunch in Barcelona
I grabbed lunch at Las Muns which is a “fast food” empanada chain mostly in Spain but also in Portugal. They have so many options for empanadas, and each flavor has a heat pressed label with what’s inside. I had the spicy beef (ternera picante) and the emmental spinach (espinacas emmental) and they were both tasty!
La Barceloneta
After enjoying my empanadas, I walked down the famous street of La Rambla to get to La Barceloneta Beach. This day, I did so much walking but it was so worth it because I really got a feel for Barcelona and pretty much knew a sense of where I was.
When I got to La Barceloneta, I picked up churros and a sangria from a little stand nearby and brought it to the beach. At first, it definitely felt uncomfortable enjoying food and a drink alone, but I tried to enjoy my surroundings and not pay attention to the fact that I was by myself. It definitely took some time for me to be completely comfortable traveling by myself, especially eating in a restaurant.
I think Barceloneta was my favorite part of the day. I spent a while there sitting on the beach, enjoying my churros and sangria, and watching people surf. I could watch people surf all day! It’s so amusing to me.
Dinner While Solo Traveling, Part 2
Eventually I decided I should freshen up before I get dinner, so I took a bus back to my hostel. I decided not to walk because that would have taken forever and I wanted to get there a bit quicker.
For dinner, I believe I didn’t find the restaurant in advance. And I didn’t do that the night before either. I just started walking towards a busy area and figured I’d find a good restaurant. And I was lucky because I did!
I think in the future, I will probably look up restaurant recommendations on Google Maps just to take some guessing out.
I had my second solo dinner at Tantarantana and I highly recommend it! They specialize in Catalan and Mediterranean cuisine.
I ordered three tapas and a glass of wine, but I definitely would have been set with just two tapas. I wanted to try a lot of them, what can I say! Even though I was very full leaving, the tapas were incredible.
The camembert cheese and jam came out after I had finished my first two tapas, but it was so good that I had to finish it. Probably my favorite cheese and jam dish I’ve ever had!
My tip: figure out how to eat olives that have a pit in them, in a classy way. I was literally sitting at the table looking up how to properly eat an olive with a pit because I didn’t want to spit it out! I ended up just putting the pit on my fork and then back on the plate haha.
After dinner, I walked around for a it before heading back to my hostel. I felt really safe walking alone as a female in Barcelona. For any other female travelers, this would be a great solo city!
Day 3 in Barcelona
On my third and final day in Barcelona, I only had enough time to have breakfast before heading to the airport to catch my flight back to Lyon.
I had breakfast at a nearby cafe with my new friend from my hostel, it was her go to spot since being there for a few weeks. It’s called Onia Cafè and is an espresso bar but they have a ton of bakery items and even a menu.
I had a croissant and chai latte, and the chai latte was the cheapest one I had in Europe! It was about 3 euros.
After my breakfast, I walked around briefly and take in how beautiful Barcelona is before taking the bus to the airport. Even writing this a year later, Barcelona is easily one of my favorite places that I’ve visited.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my first time in Spain and my first solo trip! I will be creating an itinerary guide soon to go along with this blog post.
Xx
– Carmela
Under The Sun 
Leave a comment