Need Barcelona recs

[hokiegirl82]

DH and I are going to Italy next Friday for a week, and then will be in Barcelona for 4 days after that. We are attending a MotoGP race in Barcelona which will take up some of our time, but we will also have a couple of days for sightseeing. I have done absolutely no research on Barcelona, and would love some recommendations on sights to see, places to visit, places to eat, things to do, etc. Thanks!

[travelingjen]

I visited Barcelona a few years ago and have an entry from the trip in my travel blog here: wanderlusttraveler.blogspot.com/2012/04/barcelona.html

[mdgirl]

The Gaudi stuff is really amazing. I'm also still kicking myself for not going to Els Quatre Gats (Picasso and his cool friends used to hang out there). We did a day trip to Monserrat, but in retrospect that probably wasn't the best use of our time. It was pretty, though. This is my trip report from my blog.

[daringmiss]

I love Barcelona!

My favorite museum in Barcelona is Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat. It is in the Barri Gotic near the Cathedral. After a brief introduction to the Roman history of the town, you go down the elevator into an underground area where they have put the foundations of the old roman city on display. You move around on an elevated walkway and there are lots of signs to tell you what you are looking at. It isn't a huge museum, but it does a great job of giving you a sense of what life in the city was like over a thousand year ago.

www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Spain/Catalunya/Barcelona-274654/Things_To_Do-Barcelona-Museu_dHistoria_de_la_Ciutat-BR-1.html

[basilosaurus]

I just got back last week. In addition to travelingjen's advice (which I took. Xaloc was excellent, as was tapas24), be aware that almost everything is closed on Sunday. It was incredibly frustrating. Even restaurants that were theoretically open for lunch according to my lonely planet were closed. We ended up doing a lot of extraneous walking just to find something open.

[hokiegirl82]

thanks for the replies ladies! i'll be looking over the blogs today to get some ideas - I'm so excited to go to a new place I've never been.

[daringmiss]

Since you have a lot of options when it comes to viewing the work of Gaudi, here are my recommendations in order:

1.) Go and see La Pedrera first. There is a great set of exhibits there explaining how Antonin Gaudi worked. It is a great way to get your feet wet. The audio tour is good.

2.) Then go and see La Sagrada Familia. While you might think of skipping a church, you will not want to miss this one. Go in the later afternoon when the sun is lower in the sky so the stained glass is even more impressive. It is really breathtaking (and I am really jaded.)

3.) Casa Batllo - this is a private building, but they allow tours during limited hours of the day. Look the times up before you head over. It is close to La Pedrera and they are interesting compliments, but my recommendation is to do them on different days to savor the effect. Casa Batllo is more impressive, but there is less explanation. Don't miss the attic. Audio tour is long-winded. The air conditioning is located along the walls and on hot days, that is a great place to stand and listen to the audio.

4.) Parc Guell - I found this park to be lovely, but if you have to skip something, this is it. It is incredible to see Gaudi's principles done on such a grand scale, but it involves a lot of walking and if it is a hot day, that can be tough. The views of the city are great from up there.

[osumelissa]

Ditto a lot of the previous suggestions, so I won't repeat them. To add, I would recommend La Boqueria. It's a great market that you can walk around and get some delicious eats.

[kirnat848]

Agree with all the previous suggestions, we loved Barcelona it was such a great city. We also did a wine/food tour with Barcelona Spanish Trails and I can't say enough good things about it.

[Deleted]

If you're there on a Friday night check out La Fuente Magica (magic fountain) at the Plaza de Espana. Starts around 8 pm and last several hours. This is a free show of many levels of fountains, lights and music - like an amped up version of the Bellagio show :-)

This is what we did in our time there:
Arrive Friday - Sagrada Familia, with the elevator ride, and the magic fountains
Saturday - visit to Montjuic and we took the gondola to the top. Just kind of cruised around (and we brought beers in our backpack!).
Afternoon over by Cathedral and Barri Gotic, Picasso Museum.
Sunday - Parc Guell and the evening in Barceloneta - cocktails at the W Hotel. (And yes, we had lunch at some crappy chain restaurant in the food court of a mall because everything was closed!!) But restaurants were open that night.
Monday - Las Ramblas and La Boquiera

[basilosaurus]

I really wanted to like park guell, but it was way too crowded. Our entertainment came from the vendors being chased by the police. I preferred just chilling at mountjuic. But, again, this was after a week of cruising, and I was totally peopled out.

[hz80408]

Agreed on Sundays being a bummer.

We went for 4.5 days in April. I rec seeing Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, walk the beach and Gaudi houses, in addition to walking Las Ramblas (eh, okay), Ravel and Gotic areas.

Out of the two Gaudi homes to visit; we went to La Pedrera/Casa Mila first, waited in line about 45 minutes and were not that "amazed" when we left. We walked by Casa Batllo and there was no line so we decided to go in. MUCH better. If you only want to pay (15-20E) for one, I'd say Casa Batloo is, hands down, my choice.

We also visited Magic Fountain; it was cheesy but fun.

For tapas, Cerveceria Cataluna and Ciudad Condal are both good, but popular and have identical menus. If you show up 8pm or later, anticipate waiting at least 45 minutes. We liked the ambiance of Cerveceria better.

We also loved loved La Botiga Restaurant. Delicious change from tapas and for 3 people with pitcher of sangria, bottle of cava, 3 or 4 courses it was something like 78E.

We also ate a Caputxes which was a nice change from tapas; delicious pasta! (Right next to edited: Bilboa with the chocolate cake this board raves about).

Unfortunately since we were there Easter wknd; we never got a chance to go to La Boqueria bc it was closed 3 of the days; but definitely wish we would have been able too!

Also, the metro is really easy to nagivate. We were rec'd to buy a 10-trip pass. Definitely think this was a good idea!

[basilosaurus]

Oh, a good Sunday night activity, since so much is closed, is a pintxo crawl in el born. We went with another couple we met on our cruise and had a blast. I think we hit up bilbao, sagardi, and finished off with tapas at, um, some place I don't remember, but it was across from bilbao. All that sangria

[basilosaurus]

May 17, 2012 10:58:24 GMT -5 hz80408 said:

Also, the metro is really easy to nagivate. We were rec'd to buy a 10-trip pass. Definitely think this was a good idea!

Ditto. Also, a tip, that 10 trip pass can be used by more than one person.

[hokiegirl82]

You ladies are giving me so many good ideas! I'm so excited to sit down this weekend and make a list of things to see, places to eat, etc. Now i just have to get through one more crazy week of work!

[ILikeSloths]

May 16, 2012 8:17:29 GMT -5 osumelissa said:

Ditto a lot of the previous suggestions, so I won't repeat them. To add, I would recommend La Boqueria. It's a great market that you can walk around and get some delicious eats.

I was going to suggest this market as well. I loved it.

I think everything else I would suggest has pretty much been covered. My favorite sights were Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell for the view. I thought Las Ramblas was overrated, touristy, and crowded but that's JMO.

[evalolita]

I love Barcelona and am jealous you are going for the race. That should be amazing. I won't reiterate the Gaudi sites, besides go see them. they are very unique.

If you are into food check out tickets. It's a really interesting restaurant that is serving like the shuttered El Bulli did. Some of the cooks are the same. If you drink try the local brew Estrella Damm. Its pretty good.

Grab food in the St. Joseph Market of las Ramblas.EXCEPT AVOID BAR PINXTO it's on the right side when you enter the market. It was a total rip off. It's in a guide book and the guy uses it to make you spend a fortune on not a lot of food.

There is always something going on in the city. The pop of flea markets/coin markets are fun. One is in front of the Gothic Cathedral the coin market is in Placa Reial. It is also a beautiful square to get a drink and watch the crowds.

The Picasso Museum is small and interesting if you like Picasso. It has private art that Picasso gave his close friend.

Cabs are pretty cheap and their metro is fantastic. Have a great time I love BCN.

[hz80408]

Oooh, one more thing, Picasso Museum is free on Sunday afternoons! There was a long line for us, but it only took about 20 minutes and was worth it.

[basilosaurus]

May 18, 2012 10:44:31 GMT -5 @evalolita said:

If you are into food check out tickets. It's a really interesting restaurant that is serving like the shuttered El Bulli did. Some of the cooks are the same. .

You should add that you need to get reservations 90 days out, literally the minute they open up at midnight BCN time. Yes, it's possible to get a last minute table, or you might get an odd time on a weekday, maybe, but that place is incredibly popular. When I went, I looked at their calendar, and only 2 seatings were available in a 90 day period.