Barcelona is my favorite “go to” city in the world. It’s located on a gentile sloping area of
northern Spain and sits next to the cool Mediterranean. The weather is cool in the morning but can
get hot in the middle of the day. By
evening the weather cools down and outdoor dining is the norm.
I spent time a considerable amount of time there the last 3
summers and have plans to return this fall.
I am constantly asked about restaurants and things to see and do. With that in mind I have compiled my list of
“Don’t leave Barcelona without”
Let me start by giving the first time visitor some
tips. The city is very compact and it
quite easy to get around. I use public
transportation as I do all over Europe.
There are both A/C buses and subway which is not completely A/C. You need a fare card which can be purchased
from vending machines at the entry area of all Metro stations. I get a T-10 card which cost E9.90 and is
good for 10 journeys on either the bus or Metro. I prefer the bus since its a/c and the city is
quite lovely and worth looking at as you journey. You won’t be able to buy a card on the bus,
but can pay for a single ride to the driver.
You can also buy the T-10 card at the airport outside of the baggage
claim area.
The next tip is get your phone working. You want to use Google Maps. If your stay is for a week or longer and you
have an unlocked GSM phone, go to Vodaphone or Orange and get a 1 month SIM
care for E10. It will come with 2 GB of data which is plenty. Otherwise, call your provider before you
leave and sign up for the $10 daily “if you use” plan overseas.
Barcelona is an outdoor city. This means you should walk anywhere that 20
min or less. It’s a wonderful place to
be and see. You will be amazed as you
walk down a city block how much retail is available and how nice the
establishments are. Plan on dining and drinking at outdoor cafés.
So you’ll need a hotel.
There are the usual large international chains that all have nice and
expensive properties, but I prefer the local variety. I am listing 3 hotels that I am familiar
with. They are all nice as I have stayed
or dined in all 3. They are
geographically in different areas but all are accessible by public
transportation. In increasing price:
Hotel
Villa Emilia
Hotel
Codes de Barcelona
Hotel
1898
What to do??
The first thing I do in any new city is get on the “Big Red
Bus”. This is a hop on hop off double
decker tour bus with a headphone narrative in 8 languages. I don’t get off. I ride the entire route on the upper
deck. In 2 hours I have seen the entire
city from above the traffic and am ready to set out on my own later. This is also a good thing to do after flying
overnight since you will have jet lag.
The father of Barcelona is Antoni Gaudi. His architecture is everywhere but there are
several places that you must plan on visiting.
The most fun is Park Guell, an open air park. This is not like any park
you have ever seen. It is at the end of a
bus ride up the mountain with spectacular views of the city and ocean below. You should go online and book your admission
at least 2 days in advance during the season.
Plan on spending about 3 hours including transportation up and down. I would go first thing in the morning before
it gets hot.
Other Gaudi stops would be the famous Sagrada Familia, a
cathedral, which also requires advance ticketing. You should use the tour here to hear the
narrative. If you take the Big Red you
will have stop here as well as near the Casa Batllo which was a private home
Gaudi designed. You can tour Casa Batllo
as well as Casa Mila across the street and up a block.
If you like music, check the schedule of the Palau de la
Musica and catch a performance. You will
see a Gaudi design music hall as well as enjoy the evening.
There is a group of Spanish guitarist that I see every visit know as
“Barcelona Guitars” that sometimes perform in the Palau or sometime less
expensive an old cathedral in the gothic section. Neither have a/c so dress accordingly.
IF ART is your passion, there are several museums of noted Spanish
artist including Picasso, and Miro. The
Picasso museum is in the gothic quarter.
It’s the old city with narrow streets and many walk in shops. The other 2 museums are the “Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya” and the” Joan Miró Foundation”. These later two sites are
in a beautiful park with is on the “MontJuic”.
Now this is a separate area which you can easily spend a half day
exploring. Besides the two previously
mentioned museums, you should ride the public bus up the hill and see the previous FCB
stadium, Olympic swimming area and the Castle at the top of the hill. Get off the bus and walk around the grounds
of the castle to the ocean view. I
sometimes go there just to sit and take in the view of the port below.
In the center of the city there is a large plaza known as
the Place de Catalunya. This is the
busiest space in the city. On one side
of this the 9 story department store known as El Corte Ingles. The largest store in BCN. The ground floor is a gourmet food center which
reminds me of Harrods’s. IF you take the
elevator to the 9th floor, there is a lovely Buffett and nice dining
area with a view of the Place and good place to meet and relax.
Walking away from the Place in another direction you will
find yourself on the La Rambla. This is
a mile long pedestrian only boulevard which sloops down to the port of
Barcelona. It is the busiest and most
crowed street in BCN. The number 1
tourist destination in the city. It also
has the distinction of the highest pickpocket rate in Europe. No exposed jewelry or watches please. No valuables in back packs and wallets in side
or front pockets only. I’m not kidding. These
people are pros.
When you get to bottom of the hill, you can cross the street
and walk down to the Marina. In front of
you will be the ferry terminals and the tourist boat rides. Not to miss, there is a pedestrian bridge in
to the marina which leads to a shopping mall with some nice outdoor areas.
In a completely different environment,and if you have time, you can catch an hours’ train ride to the
Montserrat Monastery which is on the side of a mountain N of Barcelona. It’s fascinating but you will spend 6 hours
of your day traveling and taking a funicular from the train station up the
mountain to the Monastery. It is considered
one of the must see attractions, but you need to time. The train leaves from the Sants station.
What to Eat?
Let’s talk about food in Barcelona. It’s important that we get something settled
up front:
Barcelona is not known for fine dining. The food is plentiful, not very expensive but
not very exciting. The atmosphere and
the wine is what you remember. Not your
taste buds. There is only one place that
I will recommend at the end for a long, relaxing, quite dinner. Most of time you are snacking on small plates
or pintxos or tapas as the Portuguese refer to it.
For breakfast, every restaurant opens around 8 or 9 and will
serve café and croissants. The coffee is
excellent; the croissants are not up to French standards but will suffice. The city is blanketed with many small café’s; at least one on every block. Granier is a chain of coffee and pastry shops
that I am loyal to. They are everywhere.
The pastries are appetizing. I
will eat a ‘bikini” which is a pressed ham and cheese for a little substance.
The Spanish dine around 2-4 for their mid day meal which is
the biggest meal of the day. Don’t
expect most restaurants to open before 1 and expect to spend an hour for any
table service. There are several ready
to eat counter restaurants but I could never find one that I thought was worth
a return visit.
Most of the streets above the Gran Via comprised an area
known as L’Eixample which is the nicest area to stay and walk around. Many good restaurants can be found in the
area. Some of my favorites were:
La Muscleria a muscle/frites specialty café with a lovely
outdoor corner dining area. Paella can
be found throughout Barcelona. My
favorite was the paella, bread and wine special at BCN Gusto. Located on a side street near the Palau, it’s
where I have dinner before a show. There
is interior design studio which opened quite a nice restaurant called Beriestan
Interiors. This is good for a leisurely
lunch. If you are into empanadas, and
the Spanish are, take a journey down the Grand Via to Rekon’s who will have 10 different
varieties of empanadas. I get two with a
salad and it is very filling. If you
must have meat, and it is not as good as the US, there are a couple of steak
houses specializing in imported Argentinean beef. I had a nice meal at Buenos Aires Restaurant. The ambiance and service are very nice. The
steak is acceptable.
For a nice piece of fish or Lobster, go down to the board
walk near the beach in the Barceloneta area and dine outdoors at El Rey de la
Gambia. There are two of them, a half
block apart. I like the #1.
Most people enjoy cerveza and vino with many pintxos for
their evening meal. You will have no
difficulty finding this. However, if you
want to go where locals go, I suggest Taktika Berri or Cerveceria Catalana as
these are full every evening with locals.
Plan on waiting about 30-45 minutes to get in the door and then you will
stand at a bar and grab the food as it comes out of the kitchen. You can also go for lunch and usually walk
right in. If you are in the mood for some action and crowds, there is a pedestrian
only street that is about a mile long called Carrier de Blai. They set up tables in the street and its’
full of students and locals enjoying vino, cerveza and 1Euro pintxos.
You should also plan on getting away from the crowd
and enjoy a cocktail and the sunset from a rooftop bar. My favorites were the top of the Hotel Condes
de Barcelona and the 1898 Hotel.
Have fun and feel free to post any findings that you discover!
