🦎 Park Güell: The Gingerbread House on Acid

Originally designed as a luxury gated community for Barcelona’s elite (which flopped spectacularly because nobody wanted to commute up a mountain in 1900), this is now Gaudí’s psychedelic playground. It looks like Dr. Seuss was the site foreman. You’ve got the famous mosaic lizard, columns that look like palm trees, and gingerbread houses that make you hungry.

It is colorful, chaotic, and absolutely stunning—if you can ignore the 5,000 other people trying to take the exact same selfie on the serpentine bench.

My Tip: Book your tickets weeks in advance. I am not joking. If you show up without a ticket, you will be sad and sweaty on the wrong side of the gate. Also, take the bus (Bus 24 from Plaça Catalunya) instead of the metro, unless you enjoy walking up a hill with a 45-degree incline.