Barcelona

[Bernard 879]

I just booked a week in June with a handful of friends. Need recs. 

Bernard

[Dr Fear 1,264]

Don't they use a King there?

[VABuckeye 2,472]

I will be there for the Spanish Grand Prix and that will consume most of my time.  Ferrari!!

[Guest Lobo]

26 minutes ago, Bernard said:

I just booked a week in June with a handful of friends. Need recs. 

Bernard

one of the greatest cities in the world.  we spent part of our honeymoon there.  been there a few times.  

What's your fancy?  You talking about daytrips?  Outdoor/beach?  REstaurants?  Book your Sagrada tickets now.  

You're gonna get 50 recs on Las Ramblas.  So let's just get that outta the way.

[Mo Horn 8,680]

I've been several times, but don't really have any great restaurant recommendations. I either ate in homes of people I knew, or quick meals. I will say don't waste your money eating on La Rambla. It's all touristy. A few blocks off will make a huge difference. Hit the big open air market and find real food. Just get a plate of Jamon Iberico and Manchego cheese and you're in heaven. Obviously hit the big places - Sagrada, Guell Park, cathedrals, etc. We really enjoyed the Picasso museum. Tibidabo is nice and gives you a great view of the city. We didn't have time to go to Montserrat, outside of Barcelona, and wish we had. If there is anything else specific, I'll provide what I can.

Our plan, when we retire in 3 years, is to live there for at least a year. One of my favorite cities in the world. 

[Bernard 879]

1 hour ago, Lobo said:

What's your fancy?  You talking about daytrips?  Outdoor/beach?  REstaurants?  Book your Sagrada tickets now.  

Local flavor. Interesting food and drink from street carts to Michelin stars. Scenic views. I like to look at beaches, but not get sandy. Day trips sound good. I like a good hike.  I’m usually more of rent a car and drive all over kind of traveler. Parking it for a week in one city is new to me. I know I’m casting a wide net, but really I’m wide open. I know nada about Barcelona except Gaudi. I had to Google Sagrada. I booked this on a whim when I heard some other friends were going. I’ve been to a lot of places, but never Spain. 

Bernard

[Guest Lobo]

Gotcha.  That’s helpful.  First thing you need to know is…you’re not going to Spain.  You’re going to Catalunya.  
and it’s going to be freakin awesome 

[52-80 18,962]

Barthelona. 

[TxTower 648]

If you’re into soccer, Camp Nou is a must. Nice tour and museum.


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[KingBobo81 524]

On the first day of my trip, I did a walking tour through a company called Sandemans -I think it was free/only tip. I had an excellent guide - it was a great way to orient myself for the week and I saw lots of cool stuff I wouldn’t have known about otherwise.

Carrer de Blai. Try pinchos and Sangria from every place on the street.

Go see a flamenco show. They have an exquisite venue called Palau de la Musica and other more casual places.

Stay away from La Rambla - Barcelona’s version of Bourbon/6th St.

Definitely do Sagrada Familia and book ahead of time - lots of tourists but it is amazing.


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[WBT 20,131]

Go to tons of tapas/pinxtos bars.  I liked this one, just off the placa del pi:

Irati Taverna Basca
https://maps.app.goo.gl/39LAw8mDcZxRQkvm7

Also just sit and have drinks in the little placa cafes in the gothic quarter just off of the ramblas.  I really like placa reial (with the gaudi streetlights) and placa del pi/placa de josep oriol (they overlap).

For something a little different, I liked their maritime museum.

[High Plains Drifter 10,914]

 

There is a monument/statue thing of christopher columbus at the end of the Rambla (the end near the water). You can walk up inside to an elevator that goes up to a viewing room (pretty small) with some pretty good views in different directions. I can't remember but it was either free or very cheap. When I was there 15+ years ago, there was nobody else inside for most of the time I was up there. I guess nobody really knows about it or thinks its really no big deal, and I guess it isn't that big a deal, but anyplace near that area with nobody inside makes it worth it, imo.

 

I don't have any recs because mostly we (girl friend and I) or later just me wandered more or less aimlessly around and stumbled into bars and such.

 

Picasso museum, sagrada de familia, parc guell are all must sees, but will probably be off the charts busy and touristy and you need to book now.

 

 

[We’reTexas 1,467]

El Born is probably the hippest neighborhood right now. My favorite hood is Grácia, near Parc Guell (but has a very non-touristy, local profile). Poble Sec, which used to be pretty run down, is now a pretty hot nieghborhood, and El Raval, which used to be really run down, is really cool. Mirablau on Tibidabo for views of the city. Barceloneta for drinks on the beach. Festival of Sant Joan is late June, so that should be a party. 

[Jive Turkey 12,193]

if you've had a long day and need a nice craft beer from various parts of the world, hit up BierCaB.  i stopped there a few times for a drink since it was relatively near to where i was staying.

http://biercab.com/en/

[Hate 20,037]

I don’t get the hate for Las Ramblas. I loved walking around there, especially down near the Gothic Quater. It’s a great place to sit, have a pitcher of Sangria, and people watch while you plan your next activity.

[Mo Horn 8,680]

15 minutes ago, Hate said:

I don’t get the hate for Las Ramblas. I loved walking around there, especially down near the Gothic Quater. It’s a great place to sit, have a pitcher of Sangria, and people watch while you plan your next activity.

Agree with the people watching, and if that's all you order that's good. The food, not so much. Sit for an hour, watch, drink sangria, then go a couple of blocks away and find great, authentic, food.

As I said above, just go the the huge market. You could eat  every meal there, and get something different. 

Edited March 31, 2022 by Mo Horn

[Beantown Express 2.0 6,488]

So i am heading to Barcelona for work on Friday.  I was bringing my wife as its basically an all expense paid trip to Barcelona and staying at the W hotel for 5 days.  She is now freaked out about the Covid rules that if she tests positive she will be forced to quarantine in Spain for at least 7-10 days.  Anybody know anything about this like are you locked in a room?  What hotels do you stay at if you test positive?  She wants me to cancel her flight and I was hoping to get some input from people that may know about this kind of stuff.  

[52-80 18,962]

47 minutes ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

So i am heading to Barcelona for work on Friday.  I was bringing my wife as its basically an all expense paid trip to Barcelona and staying at the W hotel for 5 days.  She is now freaked out about the Covid rules that if she tests positive she will be forced to quarantine in Spain for at least 7-10 days.  Anybody know anything about this like are you locked in a room?  What hotels do you stay at if you test positive?  She wants me to cancel her flight and I was hoping to get some input from people that may know about this kind of stuff.  

Her body her choice bro

[VABuckeye 2,472]

FORMULA 1 PIRELLI GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA 2022

I will be there on May 22nd.  In Barcelona from May 20th - 24th.  I'm excited beyond belief.

[Beantown Express 2.0 6,488]

25 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

Her body her choice bro

[Grimas 652]

Rent an ebike- can take the bike path north along the beach as well as get to all the sights all over town. (There is a lot of elevation in and around town...) Great way to spend day one....  I second the outdoor food market - one of the best in the world...

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12,301]

On 5/4/2022 at 3:52 PM, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

So i am heading to Barcelona for work on Friday.  I was bringing my wife as its basically an all expense paid trip to Barcelona and staying at the W hotel for 5 days.  She is now freaked out about the Covid rules that if she tests positive she will be forced to quarantine in Spain for at least 7-10 days.  Anybody know anything about this like are you locked in a room?  What hotels do you stay at if you test positive?  She wants me to cancel her flight and I was hoping to get some input from people that may know about this kind of stuff.  

Tell her to stop being such a pussy and go enjoy an all expense paid trip to an amazing place.

[Beantown Express 2.0 6,488]

We feel much better now that we are here and the head guy of our tour company told us not to worry about testing positive.  They will make sure it’s negative.  So I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.

 

[YChang 3,365]

Dining in the US seems  so over priced... this was ~$63 Euros.

Pickled leek with a hazelnut sauce
Smoked mackerel in a pickled carrot sauce
Toast with cod fish, snow peas, black mayonnaise
Croquettes with cuttlefish and sausage
Shrimp on fried chicken skin
Spanish ham foam with spring asparagus and mushrooms
Beets
Gnocchi with red fish, aioli, and spinach
Fish carpaccio and rice
Lamp shank and mash potato
Chicken, apple, and pine nuts
Strawberry, ice cream, and almond
Almond pudding cake type deal and more ice cream
Some sort of pistachio cookie to round it off

[brownboy 45]

Went for the first time 2 months ago after getting off a transatlantic cruise (I'm old but this was my first cruise)

Renting an e-bike is a great way to see the city.  I did a guided tour via https://barcelonaciclotour.com/en/ which was great especially cruising easily up Mount Juic.  Met a young lady from Hamburg (no pics, didn't score but dreaming of the future).

I'm not a foodie and don't care about expensive restaurants but the average restaurant away from Las Ramblas is great and I ate several times at the big mercats.  The middle eastern quarter had good food too.

Short Catarmaran tour on https://barcelona-orsom.com/ was decent and less crowded than Las Golondrinas

Amazing architecture obviously and I'm just mentioning things that others didn't say as much about.  Get your tickets for Sagrada Familia now.

If you're looking to use Chase points, Midtown apartments was nice and good for families (I was solo).  Pool was closed for winter but rooftop was still decent.  Great location.

The Banksy exhibit had mostly recreations but was much better than I expected.

BierCaB is great and if you check in there on Untapped you'll see your name on the beer menu screen.  Am sure mom would be proud.  CocoVail beer hall had a hot bartender.

Next time I'd like to take a train to Ocata or something.

Looking forward to returning.  I appreciate the surly perspectives on travel.  Some of the best content here.  I'm just a solo drunk looking for fun bars.

[alphahydro 332]

easy to find good food in barcelona, as long as you stay away from the restaurants full of tourists. 

this is my favorite restaurant in the city.  https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d14962029-Reviews-LAB_Restaurant-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

avant garde, so if that's not your thing, skip it.  

for example, the dessert will be like cauliflower, strawberry sandwich, pearl onion.

or, the opening dish when i was last there was a deconstructed taco - the taco meat was actually ground up chicken bones, and the taco shell was lettuce.  it was great. 

i know it sounds pretentious, but it's actually not, you sit on ikea chairs.  it's just a creative chef and an amazing bargain.  wayyyy better than disfrutar, for example, imho, though disfrutar has a much nicer interior--and again, you have to like avant garde dining.  but if you do, imo, it's fantastic.  

[Keef 717]

Any chance there are any Surly regulars that live in Barcelona or near it?