$200 per day in Barcelona for two people?

[writingwithheld]

Hello,

We are going to Barcelona next June. It will be our first international trip. We have already budgeted and priced out the flights and lodging, as well as the passports.

Would $200 for two people (100 pp) be a realistic budget for food, entertainment, admission fees, drinks, and other incidentals? I've tried looking at other sights and it seems to be enough as long as we are moderately conservative with our money. I'd love to hear from a real person instead of a travel site, though.

TIA!

[thebulldog]

What will you want to see while you are there? if you stuck to really basic things, it is possible but more attractions have entry fees. The good thing about Spain is tapas go a long way. We did two weeks in Spain two years ago so happy to answer more.

[Brit]

Is lodging included in the $200/day?

I think you can do it if you eat cheap. We did a drive across Spain last December. I'm also happy to answer questions.

[sushi]

With or without lodging? We stayed at a place that was 100e /night which was less expensive than most I looked at for the time of our trip, but it would account for more than half your budget.

If you're not including lodging, then, yes. We spent a ton on food and drinks b/c it was so delicious. Mmmmm, the truffle bikini at Tapas 24. (around 10e  ) I actually didn't want to know what we spent. It was a splurge trip. But we may have still kept it under 200 without lodging.

You can do less expensive food if you hit the pinxos and drink specials. Usually it's 1-2e per piece, and they're often quite filling.

Look at the attractions you want to do and calculate from there. Also make sure to include your train pass. I think we bought in 10 ticket increments?

[kateross]

For food, entertainment, transportation, sure.

DH and I barely caught a cab. The train stations are all over. I would study those beforehand, and buy/print a map. 2-day pass cost 14 euro, 3-day cost 19 euros. At 2 euro each way, you just need to use the train 4x a day minimum, and you get your money's worth. A cab fare to/from Passeig De Gracia to Barceloneta is also no more than 15 euro. But with tips, that adds up. We did a lot of walking too, since our hotel was pretty centralized.

Las Ramblas and the beach area has a lot of cheap places to eat. Tapas and paella combos usually run around $10\pp more or less at cheap places. DH and I also had days where we just bought a bottle of cheap wine, cheese, meats and bread while we were on the go. That also should run you $10/pp lunch.

Lots of park and public areas to enjoy. Parc Guell (free), Sagrada Familia (22 euro), museums (about 14 euro each) took a lot of our sight-seeing days.

[kateross]

Keep in mind that the train stations close at midnight. Buses are still around, but they do take a while. I believe they were no more than 1-2 euros as well.

[Deleted]

I just got back from Barcelona last week and if you can do one splurge meal go to Bodega 1900 (it's the sister restaurant to Tickets, which is Ferin Adria's brother's restaurant in Barcelona) then it's more than worth it. We had dinner at Tickets and at Bodega 1900 and Bodega was just as good as Tickets. The food is a little simpler (not as much molecular gastronomy) and a little more classic tapas, but everything was amazing.

The website is a little lacking, but it's right next to Tickets. If you're standing with your back to Tickets it's across the street on the right hand side with the blue and cream sign. When we went it had only been open for 4 days, so there was no wait.

You can get out of there for ~$50/person. Lunch might be cheaper too, especially since they close at 8pm.

es.bodega1900.com/

There's a ton of really good and cheap food inside of the Franz Josef market too.

Enjoy Barcelona!

[neonpink]

I adore Barcelona, If that does not include lodging I think you can do it. Some days eat at the markets,(St. Joseph is amazing.)and some days splurge and go to restaurants. Barcelona is a great place for food. Seafood and Jamon, sigh, I want to go back.

The things to see there are also pretty cheap. The Sagrada Familia is maybe 13-15 euros for tickets. It goes to continue construction on it.
Other museums are also pretty cheap. They have a city pass type thing as well.

I found BCN to be a very walkable city. So I rarely took cabs or the metro but walked every where. It's really beautiful so it's lovely to explore. The Metro when you need it though is fabulous.

[thebulldog]

Agree on the metro/subway....we took one cab our entire trip! It is very simple to use.

i be typing from me phone. typos and grammer dont count.

[writingwithheld]

Thank you for the feedback! Yes, lodging is already paid for as a gift from FIs parents. Otherwise, this whole trip probably would not have been possible. I anticipate walking for most of the trip as well.

I haven't looked into any details, but I will certainly refer back here about those restaurant recs. I'd like to splurge at least once for a great meal! As I start delving into the actual planning phase I'm sure I'll be bombarding the board with questions!

[gt7301b]

I think it is doable. The best thing I did in Barcelona was buy tickets to Sagrada Familia online, you get to walk past all those hundreds of people waiting in line. It was awesome.

[lolo]

Yes, it's doable. As others have said, use the markets for one meal a day. I could eat at the Boqueria every day and never tire of it. I would go there in the mornings, pick up a baguette, cheese and some fruit for the day, and enjoy a picnic lunch around the city. There are numerous bakeries and cafes where you can have a croissant or bocadillo at a reasonable price.

You could also eat your 'big meal' as lunch, especially if you have a fridge in your hotel. That would allow you to eat at nicer restaurants and then use the market as your dinner (but buy it during the day). You could then go out for a drink at night if you wanted. Or you might decide to buy a bottle of wine instead of ordered one in a restaurant.

I've been to Barcelona at least half a dozen times and have done research there twice, so am happy to help with things I enjoyed if that's useful at some later point.

[hz80408]

It's doable and really depends how much you want to see in a day, how much food and drink you want.

Last spring our most expensive dinner for 3 was about $130USD and included apps, entree, dessert and several rounds of drinks (La Botiga...it's a great "break" from tapas.

For the tourist sites, Sagrada Familia is currently about $18 USD for basic admission, Caso Batllo is about $28 USD. I wouldn't miss either if I were you.

We used public transit to get around or walked. As recommended to us, we bought the 10-pack of transportation tickets to save a little money. We also realized that one train ticket is good for, I believe, 2 hours at a time, for multiple uses (I could be corrected though).

If you saw one paid sight a day, took the train, that leaves you $100-$30-$5 about $65 for meals (per person) which seems legit

Heres a recap of our trip

[writingwithheld]

Sept 12, 2013 9:35:04 GMT -5 hz80408 said:

It's doable and really depends how much you want to see in a day, how much food and drink you want.

Last spring our most expensive dinner for 3 was about $130USD and included apps, entree, dessert and several rounds of drinks (La Botiga...it's a great "break" from tapas.

For the tourist sites, Sagrada Familia is currently about $18 USD for basic admission, Caso Batllo is about $28 USD. I wouldn't miss either if I were you.

We used public transit to get around or walked. As recommended to us, we bought the 10-pack of transportation tickets to save a little money. We also realized that one train ticket is good for, I believe, 2 hours at a time, for multiple uses (I could be corrected though).

If you saw one paid sight a day, took the train, that leaves you $100-$30-$5 about $65 for meals which seems legit

Heres a recap of our trip

That's a great tip about the trains-- I'll have to look into that!