Happy Monday everyone and happy MDW to my US friends! This post was supposed to go live on Friday as “Friday Fitness” of sorts, but I forgot to schedule it to go live, left for Marrakech on Thursday night without a computer and here we are! It’s a special Monday fitness-y post coming your way.
I’m continuing my Guide to Barcelona this week and will have a post everyday on a new topic (tomorrow’s post is a biggie, the best restaurants in BCN!). Let’s kick it off today with a running-focused guide for the city.
Running in a big city can be a daunting task. Between the traffic and the tourists, you might just accept that it would be easier to run on a treadmill. But where’s the fun in that? By running around a city you get to sightsee and burn calories at the same time. Admittedly, it might not be your best or fastest run due to stoplights, but it’s still a great way to get your workout in while traveling and exploring.
With city running it is key to get over it being your strongest workout ever. Remember this one is about enjoyment. I used to never stop while running. Especially while training for a race, I felt that if you stopped, it wasn’t adequately preparing you for race day. I’ve moved past this mindset and now focus on running for enjoyment. That means being okay with stopping at a million stoplights and also feeling free to stop and snap a picture when I see something worthy (which there is a lot of here).
If you’re visiting Barcelona and need an energizing morning boost, wake up early and beat the crowds to run around the city.
Here are the best Barcelona running routes.
Barcelona Beach Run
You can run for miles along the Barcelona beaches. If you like the extra challenge of running in the sand, go for it. But know you can also run along the pavement too–there’s a wide pedestrian/bike path you can follow that will take you along all the small beaches. From the W Hotel to the most eastern beach, Llevant Beach is just about 6 kilometers one way.
Arc de Triomf & Ciutadella Park
If you’re looking for a Central Park-esque space to run in the city center of Barcelona, unfortunately you aren’t going to find it. The closest thing you’ve got is Ciutadella Park. The park is beautiful and on nice days is full of locals, tourists, and playing pups. If you run the full perimeter (including the zoo), it’s about a mile and a half so for a longer run, you may need to do a few laps, or run in and out of the different paths within the park. Visit the fountain within and if you’re looking to up your heart rate, run a few rounds of stairs while you’re there. From there you can journey through the Arc de Triomf, a nice wide pedestrian area nearby.
Eixample to Park Guell
Want to run one giant hill? Head from the city center (the Eixample neighborhood) towards Park Guell. It will start with a small incline and the hill will get much steeper the close you get to the park. The great news is that the way home is a downhill breeze. Starting around Casa Batllo your round trip run will be about 3 miles (or a 5k). Add extra mileage by running around the park a bit (some places you have to pay but there’s a lot to explore for free).
Along Avenue Diagnol
Avenue Diagnol is one of the wider city streets, lending itself well to runners. It cuts across the center of the city and has a few small parks along the way that you can explore. Starting at the beach and heading all the way to Camp Nou will give you about 9 kilometers of running.
Gaudi City Tour
Want to see a bunch of Gaudi’s archetecture in one workout? Run through the city to see Gaudi’s best works. Any way you go, expect lots of stop lights and people, but if you get up early enough, you can get in a good groove. I recommend running in this order (omit some if you want less milage): Placa Reial->Casa Batllo->Casa Mila->Park Guell->Sagrada Familia. Hitting all those spots you’ll rack up about 7 kilometers.
(pin this and save it for later!)
There are certainly more beautiful places to run around the city, and if you know of any great routes I missed, please comment and let me know! The routes I shared here will ensure you’ll get your milage in with a sight-seeing twist.
And if you want a guided run, make sure to check out my Airbnb experience: Run, Bootcamp and Brunch Gaudi Running Tour, now live!
