Why is Barcelona the most visited city in Europe?

Finally I made time for myself and went for a 5 days trip to Barcelona this month. In few words it was a great trip and it was quite nice to get out of the office for a change. Here's a short description of my trip, that will maybe help you make Barcelona your next trip destination as well.

I left from Henry Coanda, the airport closer to Bucharest, using Tarom for my flight and I can say that they really make it worth the price, rather than choosing a lower cost option. The staff is great and the flight is quite easy to handle, even if you are the nervous type.

Landing in Barcelona, seeing the city and the Mediterranean sea from up high was one of the nicest views I've seen in my life. Beatiful port and long beaches. What can I say, it seemed from the start the things will go great.

In Barcelona, I recommend that you walk, and although you set a destination, don't forget to let your eyes dwell on the incredible architecture of the Gaudi era, or even newer buildings that make think you are actually in a dream, weird dream in some cases, and an incredible one in the others.

Must see are:

• Sagrada Familia – which is a huge cathedral whose construction started over a century ago, in 1882, and is planned to be finished around 2026. It's a very imposing building and has a very detailed architecture and decorations in gothic style following Gaudi's original design.
• Park Guelle – is a nice walking park, where you can roam freely, as you only need to pay to see the Monument area, but do so as it has some fascinating mosaic architecture and decorations.
• The Ramblas – is a promenade area where you can buy all sorts of souvenirs, eat local cuisine, take pictures with human "statues" and see fascinating types of people.
• Port Vell – is the port area of Barcelona, between the industrial area and the beach area. Filled with small ships or cruise ships, fish that stays to be fed like in your personal aquarium and drawing bridges.
• The Aquarium – is a nice place to study marine life of all sizes, from clown fish (Nemo) to great sharks and huge catfish. The walk in area of the aquarium makes you think how nice it would be to leave underwater surrounded by animal fauna.
• The Zoo – great zoo, but unfortunately the only place that pissed me off, mostly because of the staff indifference (some, not all, the trainers are great and it's nice to chat with them, especially the sea lions trainer). If you don't want to ruin your visit, come early in the day (11:00 AM) to catch the Dolphins show as the online schedule is not followed and even if it's marketed only as an educative show, go see the sea lions as well at 13:30 PM. What pissed me off is that currently a huge chunk of the Zoo is being rebuild making both visitors and animals suffer.
• Tour buses – at least once in your trip it's a great way to see the city via Barcelona Tour Bus, as one ticket ensures you access to all tour busses for the day, even if it's a bit pricey it's a good way to view areas which are harder to reach (eg. Camp Nou or Monjuic)
• Mt. Tibidabo and Tibidabo Amusement Park ( schedule it for a Saturday, as during the week the amusement park is closed and you can only visit the first level) 
• Museu de la Xocolata – for the turists with a sweet tooth.
• many more….

One thing you must absolutely do is sample the local cuisine. Starting from hamon, which you can find almost everywhere to fideua (which is a kind of paella, done with thin noodles) and see food all around (prawns, crayfish, lobster, scallops and cuttlefish). The taste is incredible and will leave your wondering how soon you can get your hands on it again.

Here are some images from my personal archive, in order, so don't miss any: