Four Free Things To Do In Barcelona

Want to have some fun abroad without draining your bank account? Head to Barcelona where several days of entertainment can be had without forking over a fistful of euros.

Here are four of your best options for free fun along the Spanish Riviera:

1) Festivals – Barcelona knows how to throw a street party, and its festivals are among the world’s best. During Fiesta de Gracia, for example, residents of this historically working class neighborhood compete to create the best festival art of the year. Local musicians put on free concerts; flamenco dancers perform in the streets and makeshift bars spring up across the neighborhood. There’s even a human castle building competition. Fiesta de Gracia is held in late August each year, but it’s just one of many in Barcelona. Check festival schedules online to coordinate your travel dates around one of these legendary celebrations.

2) Beaches – Thanks to the 1992 summer Olympics, Barcelona has become a beach bum’s paradise. Stretching 4.5 kilometers from Port Olimpic in the north to Barceloneta in the south, these beaches are a man made paradise along the Mediterranean. Once a simple port, imported Egyptian sand and Hawaiian palm trees have made this stretch an oasis for sunbathers, beach volleyball players and tourists and locals alike looking to cool off in the idyllic blue water.

3) La Rambla – This 1.2 kilometer pedestrian walkway stretching from Catalunya in the north to Port Vell in the south is perhaps Barcelona’s top tourist attraction. Souvenir stands, artists, street performers and vendors line this strip day and night, hawking their wares and putting on shows for passers-by.

4) Free Walking Tour - You won’t find Sandeman’s legendary New Europe free tours here, but head to the Travel Bar, located at Boqueria 27, for an English language tour that’s just as good. Barcelona-based guides will walk through the city's gothic quarter, pointing out Picasso’s favorite absinthe bar, one of the two oldest synagogues in the world and several other pieces of history you may otherwise miss. Tours depart at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. daily. You'll have the option of buying a 1 EUR Sangria or beer at one of the Travel Bar's sister properties at the end of the tour.

Which brings me to... where in the world is (was) Meena??


At Fiesta de Gracia in Barcelona