We spent 5 days in the beautiful city of Barcelona with our miniature dachshund Mash. We had so many messages on our trip that I thought it would be best to share our experience here in our blog.
Bringing your dog away with you is such a treat and honestly the sweetest memory you will forever cherish as a family. My husband and I recently took Mash on our city break to Barcelona, as you can’t fly from London with a dog, we took the hassle free option of driving to Folkstone and took the Eurotunnel to Calais, we then drove from Calais to Lille Airport, and then flew from Lille to Barcelona, I go into more detail about how we travelled in our Travel Guide – from London to Barcelona with your dog blog.
Barcelona is one of my favourite cities, it has clean beaches, amazing food and stunning scenery and architecture. I mean travelling with a dog does mean you have to substitute a few things during your holiday, like not being allowed everywhere. For example, if you’re into museums and viewing heritage buildings be warned, you won’t be allowed inside with your furry friend. Infact, most places weren’t very dog friendly in Barcelona. But this didn’t stop us seeing the beautiful architecture from the outside nor did it stop us enjoying any part of our holiday.
Barcelona is a very outdoorsy place and perfect for adventurers, the weather was beautiful during our stay, we travelled at the beginning of October and the temperature was 24-28 degrees the whole time. We sat outside of restaurants most of the time, so we didn’t need to compensate on places to eat with a dog as everywhere with outdoor seating is welcoming, some will even bring you a bowl of water for your dog.
What to bring
Firstly, we started our family holiday making sure we packed all of Mash’s essentials, forget ours, the poochini is our child and depends on us, and because it’s the first time we were going to fly abroad we wanted to make sure we got it right.
Checklist:
- Pet Passport
- Rabies Jab – 21 days before travel
- Vaccinations document (although we didn’t need this, the passport was enough we still bought it just in case)
- Tapeworm treatment 24–120 hours before arrival in the UK.
- Food & Treats
- Woofbrush chews / Dentistix
- Water bottle
- Lead / collar / harness (pack spare just in case)
- Poo bags!
- Blanket
- Travel case
- Comfort toy x2
- Puzzle toy / kong
- Scalibor collar (to prevent sandflies and ticks)
Day 1
We spent most of Day 1 traveling (read more on how we travelled with Mash here). It took about 10 hours from home to hotel which went surprisingly smooth and I would do it again in a heartbeat if Brexit complicate things too much.
Taxi: From to the airport to our hotel we jumped into a taxi. Taxi’s in Barcelona are dog friendly, but the two taxis we took (too/from airport) insisted he stayed in his bag or on our lap, which is fair enough he does this anyway, but it’s a bit frustrating if you have a bigger dog.
Hotel: We stayed at a pet friendly hotel called Petit Palace Boutique, in a prime location just off the main La Ramblas strip. The staff here were lovely and very friendly. They upgraded us to a bigger room with a balcony which was very convenient for us as Mash went for his morning/ evening pees out there. The rooms were quite small, but we didn’t spend much time there, just to rest and luckily the beds were very comfortable. They provided a pet bed and bowl for Mash too but not food was provided, which was not a problem as I bought his food with my anyways just in case.
Restaurant: That evening we wandered the La Ramblas strip and went to a delicious restaurant in the Plaça Reial square called Rossini. Moody staff but delicious Paella.
Nightlife: After dinner my husband was eager to find a pub that was showing the Arsenal vs. Man United game. We tried to ignorantly walk into 2 pubs thinking that dogs were allowed inside but we soon got told to leave. Unlike the UK, Barcelona pubs are not dog friendly at all, but we did find one, Irish Pub Temple Bar who were very welcoming to Mash and they loved him, we sat near a screen and got very merry by the time we left.
Day 2
Breakfast: We headed out towards the beach and on our way stopped off at Portal de la Pau, we sat outside with a view of Mirador de Colom and they even bought out a bowl of water for Mash.
Beach: We walked from Las Ramblas to Platja de Sant Miquel which was about a 25min walk. The beaches in Barcelona are dog friendly out of season. They are allowed on public beaches from the end of September to the beginning of May. However, during the peak seasons (June – Sept) they’re only allowed on the beach very early in the morning or late at night.
Restaurant: In the evening we wandered the La Ramblas strip again and had lobster in Plaça Reial square called Marisc CO. A bit pricey but the food was good.
Day 3
Vet: It is very important to find a vet who can provide your dog tapeworm treatment 24–120 hours before you return back to the UK. We went to Casa Del Perro off Las Ramblas strip to get Mash’s tapeworm treatment and passport signed. The treatment cost us €3.50 and we done this 2 days before returning back home. The vet didn’t speak any English, but through the power of Google translate we were able to communicate. He signed Mash’s passport and gave him a quick look over too and everything was good to go. We felt confident we wouldn’t have any issues coming back to the UK and was able to enjoy the rest of our day.
Site Seeing: There are some must see places in Barcelona, the beautiful architecture of these buildings are a must!
- Plaça de Catalunya
- Casa Batlló
- Sagrada Família
- Park Güell
*Note: This was the day we completely ruined our legs. If you’re going to walk, please remember to bring your best walking shoes. Comfortable and light! or take the Metro, don’t kill yourselves.
Sagrada Família 
Park Güell
Transport: Dogs are allowed on the Metro, Trains and Tramvias. Making sure they always on a leash and bring a muzzle just incase. In Sept through to June dogs are not allowed on the metro between 7.00am and 9.30am, and between 5.00pm and 7.00pm. They are allowed at any time during the summer (June-Sept) and on weekends and public holidays. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed on buses or the Cable Carts.
Dogs welcome on: Metro, Trains, Tram and Taxis
No dogs on: Buses or Cable Carts
Football Match: That evening we had a planned trip to watch Barcelona v. Inter Milan at Nou Camp Stadium. The husbands choice of course but an experience I was excited for too. We left Mash with Asli, a girl we found through PetBacker, she runs an instagram account called @petsofbarcelona and although it was hard leaving your baby with a stranger, she had great reviews and we felt comfortable with her straight away. She can speak English and Spanish and sent me photos during the time we were out.
With his dog sitter Asli
Day 4
Breakfast: We decided to check out a dog friendly place called ENKEL who made the most delicious brunch. It was competitively priced and they LOVED Mash. 100% recommend.
Site Seeing: From there we walked on to see some of these these are definitely some that can be done in one day:
- Parc de la Ciutadella
- Montjuïc
Day 5
We start our journey back home. Read how we made our return journey in our Travel Guide from London to Barcelona with your dog blog.
Happy travels
B and Mash
Reference on Beach and Transport: https://barcelona-home.com/blog/visiting-barcelona-with-a-dog/
Mash 