Day 96 - Barcelona Cathedral & The Colorful Gothic Quarter
/We are almost done with this leg of our trip. In a few days we will be packing our bags and moving on to our next destination on the map. But before leaving this amazing city, we decided to visit one of our favorite spots, the Gothic Quarter, one more time and check out the Barcelona Cathedral.
Catedral de Barcelona
We visited the cathedral in the evening and encountered barely any crowds. The cathedral houses many sacred statues (which are almost all behind locked gates), and some beautiful stained glass windows. However, after seeing Sagrada Familia, despite it being under construction, it is tough to be awed by other cathedrals! Read more about the history of the Barcelona Cathedral here.
Be it as it may, the tall pillars and the statues create an atmosphere that makes this place worth a visit.
Travel Tip: You can visit the cathedral before 12:45 PM and after 5:00 PM for free, in between it costs money for admission. There is a dress code for both men and women. Women wearing sleeveless shirts or shorts/short skirts are not allowed inside. Men are also not allowed if they are wearing sleeveless shirts. If you do forget to wear proper attire, don't fret, there is a lady near the front steps who makes a living off of these circumstances by selling nice shawls for coverup. :) Also, if you plan to attend a mass while you are there, make sure you check the website for the hours.
Gothic Quarter's Hidden Gems
It took us less than about 45 minutes to explore the Cathedral and its courtyard. After which, once again we meandered through the awesome streets of the Gothic Quarter and really enjoyed the unique and colorful shops.
If you are in Barcelona for more than a day, you must must must visit this area and just have no plans at all. You will be surprised by what you find!
Two of our favorite finds were an antique shop called Anamorfosis, and a craft shop called Artesanat Same, S.L.U. The latter is also a great place for kids. The "basement" area is full of fun functional toys made of wood and metal. Our kids ended up scoring a wooden sword and a wooden shield each, mainly because they were so adorable playing with them at the store :) As I write this post (2 days later), they still love them and play together with them, pretending to be Link and Zelda. I like to think it was a successful investment.
La Boqueria
Right before we hopped on the subway, we decided to pop into the La Boqueria market and check it out. It was way too overcrowded, but certainly very colorful.
