Gaudi’s creations are definitely all the rage, but the city’s other architecture doesn’t lack for beauty and intricacy either. And then there’s the unique design of its city blocks, the work of visionary urban planner Ildefons Cerdà, who created the octagonal blocks, which he considered ideal for traffic flow, as well as sunlight and ventilation.

If you want to see the city from a different vantage point, you might want to hop on the gondola Telefèric de Montjuïc and ride to the top, where you can visit Montjuic Castle, an 17th century fortress. We chose to hike up to the mid-point and stroll through a park overlooking the port. We found a table at Terraza Martinez and relaxed for a while, taking in the panorama.

Barcelona has a lot to offer and a few days are not enough to discover it all. However, we had to keep moving. Our next stop: Mallorca (Majorca), the largest of the Balearic islands.