I have taken countless trips away: three days, four days, even five days in places like Newport, RI, Salem, MA, Portland, ME, Nashville, Scottsdale, Chicago, San Diego, and Napa. I’ve taken weeklong and two-week trips too: Cape Cod, Florida and Pigeon Forge collectively, Mexico — that one time! — and Boston.

But I mean, a month?!

Where will I stay? Do they have fluff and fold services? Where will I get an unsweetened iced tea? Do they even have unsweetened iced tea?

They don’t, by the way.

A vacation is an escape from reality, but staying away from home for an entire month feels more like imagining a temporary version of my life.

For a normal trip away, I’d whip out my Notes app, make a list of places, maybe add a few well-known restaurants in the area, plan out some cute outfits, and call it a day. But, this trip isn’t just about which Gaudí houses to visit or whether to take a day trip to Girona or Sitges. Yes, I want to do all of that and more, but I also want to have time to discover the heart of Barcelona you don’t find through a tourist checklist.

I want to experience the routine, lifestyle, and small everyday moments that reveal themselves when you stay a little longer. Will I adapt to the slower pace and late evenings? Will I be a woman who enjoys vermouth hour?

I knew I wanted to stay in an Airbnb for the duration of the trip. It is cost-efficient — especially for monthlong stays — and I can cook small meals, do laundry, and pretend it’s my little nest in a city I hope to become familiar with.

Barcelona is divided into different neighborhoods, each with its own distinct  appeal. I was looking for a place that had access to public transit, was close to the beach — but not on the beach — very walkable, full of restaurants, oozing with history, and aesthetically beautiful. Sounds like I was looking for it all. 

I landed on the Gothic Quarter, and while I understand this is one of the most tourist-dense areas, it offered a lot of what I was looking for in a home base. I liked the central location and felt it was a neighborhood I could slowly peel back the layers of over the course of my one-month stay. Other neighborhoods I considered were Gràcia and Eixample, but ultimately, for my first time in Barcelona, I decided staying in the oldest part of the city was the right choice for me.

I’ve been developing my “Barcelona Hit List,” which is a compilation of restaurants, museums, bars, bookstores, shops, experiences, cultural sites, parks, markets, day trips, etc. that are of interest to me. I do not expect to hit all of them, but I wanted to have a really robust list of options for when I am planning my days — or intentionally not planning.

To assist in building my list, I purchased a few Barcelona travel guides, each offering a different perspective of the city. I found Barcelona and Catalonia while wandering through a bookshop in Pleasanton, CA. It is a traditional guide featuring the most popular places like Sagrada Família and Park Güell, with maps and in-depth information about the sites.

In addition, Barcelona Like a Local, which features recommendations by natives and transplants who call the city home, has been helpful in providing a more local perspective. I also stumbled upon the Lost In travel book series through an article in Los Angeles Magazine, so I picked up a copy of Lost in Barcelona. It is a small book that explores the more hidden, underbelly side of Barcelona and includes not only recommendations, but interviews with restaurateurs and artists helping to shape the culture of the city.

I went through each of the books cover to cover and marked the places I was interested in with small sticky notes. I also took note of any places that were mentioned in all three guides because they have to be worth checking out, right?

Once I had a solid list as a jumping-off point, I set out to organize it by micro-neighborhood: Gothic Quarter, Gràcia, Eixample, El Raval, Barceloneta, Montjuïc, and outer parts. For me, using an AI app to keep track of my list was the best option because, for example, when I find myself walking through Eixample and looking for lunch, I can ask AI what restaurants around me are on my list.

I hope this will allow me to visit my places of interest without scheduling every minute of every day.

My goal for this trip isn’t to cram in as much as possible in a month. Of course, I plan to have museum days, beach days, and day trips, but I also plan to balance these with days and afternoons of just coffee, walking, and letting the city unfold organically.

My ideal plan for structured days is to select one or two ticketed must-sees — for example, a museum and a restaurant requiring reservations in the same area — and let the rest of the day remain unplanned. I don’t want to feel as if I am running from place to place. I want to take the time to just sit, relax, observe, and naturally discover new places.

Some days, I won’t necessarily plan anything at all. I’ll just pick a neighborhood and go. As I meander, I can select a more casual, low-lift place from my list or find something completely unheard of.

Being a solo female traveler is uncharted territory for me, and I do have some anxiety about it: dining alone, safety, using public transit, etc. I am working on trying to ease these anxieties by mentally preparing for a month completely reliant on myself.

For example, I’ve been practicing going out to my local neighborhood restaurants and bars solo in hopes of turning my discomfort into normalcy. I’ve also been working to practice good solo habits, such as not leaving my phone on a tabletop and keeping the gin to a modest limit. In addition, I have made some notes about areas to avoid walking alone at night and will most likely choose to take cabs at later hours. 

I don’t want to let my anxieties rule my trip, but I also want to be prepared and aware. 

Aside from three nights in Mallorca, which I booked ahead of time due to hotel availability, I am really leaving a lot of the trip intentionally unplanned. I don’t want to account for every minute of my 30-day stay. I think when you over-plan, you don’t give yourself any room to let a place surprise you.

My goal prior to departing is to do enough research that I have an idea of what I am most interested in seeing and doing, but let the when come more naturally. I want to leave space to discover Barcelona’s unique offerings that aren’t in a guidebook — places you only notice when you take the time to slow down and observe.