Are you ready to travel again and visit the places that has been in your bucket lists before the pandemic happened? I am very excited to travel again but probably not yet this year. Although a lot of travel restrictions had been lifted, I am still waiting for the chaos at the airports to settle down before I go back traveling again. For now, I want to share with you one of my major trip to Spain just before the pandemic happened in 2020. I had been keeping my travel posts waiting for the right time to release them and I think this could be it. A lot of people are back doing traveling and I hope my Spain adventure will inspire you to explore Spain on your own or with family and friends. I already released few posts related to Spain, I left them all at the featuted posts section below, check them out if you want to catch up on my Travelling Solo in Spain posts series. Let’s GO and see what Spain has to offer.

Exploring Gothic Quarter

The Gothic Quarter is one of the most famous landmarks in Barcelona. Located in the heart of the old city, this Barcelona neighborhood features a fusion of buildings dating from Roman times to the 20th century.  This is the heart of Old City, a historic area with narrow medieval streets with bars, restaurants and cafe. The quarter have a lot of small squares (placa) where you can rest and relax and huge old style architecture like the Cathedral. A day and night visit in this area is a MUST as both gives a different ambiance and feel.

Highlights of Gothic Quarter

1. Gothic Cathedral – Barcelona’s Gothic Cathedral is the gateway to the heart of Barcelona, located between Vía Laietana and La Rambla.
2. Bisbe Irurita Street – This gorgeous pathway leads from the Cathedral to Sant Jaume Square, featuring one of the most photographed bridges in Barcelona.
3. Church of Santa Maria del Pi – With a 54 meter high tower (which can be seen from La Rambla) is one of the most incredible structures of the neighborhood.
4. Sant Jaume Square – Features the City Hall and government buildings.
5. Plaça del Rei (King’s Square) – One of the most beautiful corners of old Barcelona. This 14th century square houses the Museum of History of Barcelona.
6. Plaça Reial (Royal Square)  – This square is famous its charming and lively atmosphere.

How to Get to the Gothic Quarter

The Gothic Quarter is located in the area between La Rambla and Via Laietana, and from the seafront. This place is accessible via:

• Metro: Green Line 3, Liceu station or Yellow Line 4, Jaume I Station.

• Website: https://catedralbcn.org/en/
• Address: Pla de la Seu, s/n, 08002 Barcelona, Spain
• with Fee: e Gothic Quarter area itself is free, but the Barcelon Cathedral have entrance. Please make sure to visit the website for the most recent amount. You can buy the ticket just for the cathedral visit OR cathedral and museum visit.
• Cathedral Duration Visit – 1 hr max if going up in the Skyline, but this is totally doable in less than 1 hr

Barcelona Cathedral

The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, also known as Barcelona Cathedral, is the Gothic cathedral and seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The cathedral was constructed from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, with the principal work done in the fourteenth century.

Definitely not as grand and majestic are Sagrada Familia, but it does have its own charm. This Cathedral is one of the major attractions when visiting the Gothic Quarter. It is a small cathedral and it will not take a lot of your time. I allocated 1 hr but it is definitely doable in less than 1 hr especially if you are not going to the roof top.

Barcelona Cathedral Skyline

When visiting the Cathedral, you have an option to go up in the roof top for a better view of the Gothic Quarter. The rooftop is referred to as the “Skyline”. From the top you will have a better view of the Gothic Quarter. There is a lift that takes people up to the roof top. There is a limit on the no of people at a time going up due to the small space in the lift but the wait is not that bad when I was there. I guess it depends on how busy it is. The view from the top was nice, so I suggest that you go up since it is included in the cathedral visit fee anyway. It won’t take long, 15 minutes tops.

Tip in Visiting Gothic Quarter

I think the most important tip that I could give in visiting the Gothic Quarter is to allocate enough time and be spontaneous. Wander around and do not be so strict of following a plan. Explore the narrow alleys filed with shops, restaurants and galleries. These small alleys have a lot to offer although a lot of them are not mentioned as main tourist attractions. It is when you let yourself free wandering that you find many interesting things and places. Although I have some specific places I had in my list to visit in the Gothic Quarter, a lot of what I saw and explored were not on my list. I enjoyed walking around when I am on vacation as this gives me opportunity to see a lot of things and to actually experience the culture. This photo below is one of the place I stumbled on while walking around. It was hidden inside the alley and it was a surprise to see it. There are small shops and cafe and a nice outside seating area for meal or dessert.

It was also great finding the weekend market they have outside one of the church in the area. I did not even know about this when I was researching on what to do and see in this area. They sell different local delicacy and some souvenirs too. I was told this they only have this during the weekend. I bought some dessert to go and I ate it while walking around.

There are also some art installations scattered around, I took a lot of photo but this one I really like. I am not sure if these are permanent installations or maybe not.

The Gothic Quarter is definitely something that you should add in your to do list. Even if you do not intend to visit the cathedral, just walking around is a nice touristy thing to do.

My BEST of Barcelona Videos

Featured Posts:

Attractions

[VIDEO] Traveling Solo in Barcelona, Spain #6: Inside Casa Batlló | Antoni Gaudí Modernist Museum in Barcelona

by SweetnSpicyLiving March 11, 2020

Attractions

[VIDEO] Traveling Solo in Barcelona, Spain #5: Exploring Park Guell

by SweetnSpicyLiving February 26, 2020

Attractions

[VIDEO] Traveling Solo in Barcelona, Spain #4: Walk the La Rambla, The Most Famous Street in Barcelona

by SweetnSpicyLiving February 19, 2020

Attractions

[VIDEO] Traveling Solo in Barcelona, Spain #3: La Boqueria Market, Where Foodie Meets the Food

by SweetnSpicyLiving February 12, 2020

Attractions

[VIDEO] Traveling Solo in Barcelona, Spain #2 : Know Before You Go Up The Sagrada Familia Passion Tower

by SweetnSpicyLiving February 5, 2020

Attractions

[VIDEO] Traveling Solo in Barcelona, Spain #1: The Basilica of the Sagrada Familia

by SweetnSpicyLiving January 29, 2020

Thank You for visiting my website. Please don’t forget to click the “Like” button below if you like this recipe. Your feedback helps me decide what to put on my next baking to do list. Lastly, did you know that I have a YouTube Channel? Please support my channel by clicking on the “Subscribe” button in my video and the “Bell” icon to get notification of new videos.