Barcelona February 2006 TIPS & ADVISE

Dumbledore55

Ooh, fountains sound good and I am there over a weekend.

Jamp

Girona itself is very pretty and might be worth a day of your time to look around the old town. I was there for a few days in Jan, also took the train to Barcelona for the day. Hotel Ciutat de Girona was nice, modern and well located but not very cheap.

Bus tour of Barcelona was well worth it. Entrance to the old cathedral was fairly pricey but views from the roof were great. I didn't go into the new cathedral but enjoyed seeing it from the outside because it looks wicked! And I'm not usually one to enthuse about cathedrals! I wasn't really fussed by La Ramblas but I suppose it was January.

ChemicalBrother_2

Too late for the OP but I recommend going to Collserola Tower near the Tibidabo fun park. It overlooks Barcelona and as well as the city, you can see mountains and the med! Best thing about it is that despite it being clearly visible from the city, not many people know about it. I guess most people think it's just a TV transmitter or something (it does that as well!).

This time last year I was up on the observation deck completely on my own. It was mad, it's got views way better than the Eiffel Tower, plus it's indoors and there's plenty of seating (handy for an impromptu snack!).

Montjuic was good too, as was anything Gaudi. A tip for the Casa Milà (La Pedrera) and Sagrada Familia is to get there early to avoid queing! Both are fairly near each over but Casa Batlló is nearest to La Pedrera. No one seems to know about Batlló and it opens earlier than Pedrera so go there and enjoy an amazing place without any other toursists (should take about 30 mins) and head straight to Pedrera and get in almost immediately as it's just opened and all the other tourists are in bed or still eating b/fast!

I stayed in Hotel Bonanova in a nice part of town (all department stores, embasseys and international hotels). It's a bit out of the way (ten minute walk to metro and it's uphill on the way back) but it's a very safe part.

I hated Las Ramblas and much of the old city as the narrow streets and dark alleyways are all either completely crowed or nearly deserted - it makes for a very unnerving experience! Lots of con artists, crooks and other tourists!! argh!

Party_Animal

Casa Mila is well worth a visit. You can walk from Sagred Familia, which as people have said. just view from outside. You don't need to book for the Football stadium tour. I also like the cable car upto the olympic swimming pool and I love the Ramblas, never had a problem with pickpockets, but I always keep my stuff safe and take care wherever I am. Its a great city, I've stayed there and I've also done it by train from Girona, dead easy.

fatboyonadiet

Dumbledore55 wrote:

Hi

I am going to Barcelona in April and wanted to pre-book the trip to Camp Nou - does anyone know a website I can book through - its a surprise for my son's birthday so would prefer to pre-book,

thanks

Did this last year, rung them up 14 days before the game and got tickets no problems, the person on the phone told me they release tickets every few days as to beat touts and we just arrived a little early for the game and got them. Plenty of touts about but booking direct is the cheapest and safest option. You can also book from their website too. They say they speak english on their phoneline but don't, luckily a friend is fluent in Spanish. The ticket part of the site is in Spanish too but fairly easy to understand. HTH.

fatboyonadiet

Also stadium is amazing, and they play like no-one else!

ChemicalBrother_2

FWIW the hotel I recommended is just a short walk to Camp Nou. TBH I didn't go there as I was busy fitting in other stuff (I'm not a footie fan so it wasn't a priority) but I could see the large El Corte Ingles (10 mins from hotel) and Camp Nou from that tower on Tibidabo and they were very close by (Google Earth backs this up!).

MrSmartprice

Just back from Barcelona and we did the Camp Nou tour. There is no need to book, there's plenty of room. Get the metro to Collblanc on line 5, and walk to gate 9 of the stadium. You pay at a booth and walk across the car park to start the tour. Everywhere is signposted, and you just follow the trail. You get in the changing rooms, the tunnel, the dugout, the president's box, the press box, the museum, and of course the superstore! It really is an amazing place. They were relaying the pitch while we were there.

For the metro, get a T10 ticket. It costs E6.65 for 10 journeys, and can be used by more than one person; just stamp it for each one.

Restaurants are plentiful and can be excellent value. Look for the "menu del dia" which is the cheapest way to eat well. You can get an excellent 3 course meal with wine for under E10 in lots of places as long as you aren't on Las Ramblas!

loobs40

We have just returned from Barcleona after a 4 day break.

Best Things
1) Renting an apartment in Gracia away from the tourist throng. Mostly a residential area, cheaper restaurants , bars and pattiseries and great transport links to anywhere.
2) We bought a T-10 ticket for day to day travel (about 7 euros) and it was worth every cent. We used both buses and Metro, but preferred the buses which were regular, clean and meant you could enjoy the view.
3) Menu Del Dia in the restaurants. We never paid more than €9 each and it was fantastic value, and good local food. We made a point of not eating in the more tourist areas
4) Sagrada Familia, Guell Park, Cable car ride across the bay, Aquarium and Nou camp tour.


Worst things
1) Las Ramblas, very over-rated
2) Sore feet after all that walking

Tips:
1)Rent an apartment. Ours was €250 for the three nights. (2 bedrooms + sofabed, 2 bathroom) The owners were very pleasant and helpful.
2) Take the airport bus to and from the airport. Dead easy.
3) Left luggage lockers at Passeig de Gracia Renfe station for €4.50. We used that on the last day after we left the apartment as our flight was not until 8:30 pm
4) Take very comfortable walking shoes or trainers !
5) if you want to pay by credit card take your passport with you, we were asked for it both times
6) Use your Nationwide flexaccount for currency. Just looked at my bank statement and I was getting €1.46 for each £1 by getting money from ATMs in Barcelona, including the airport

starkiller

Loobs

Can you advise me as to who you booked your apartment thru??

Me and the fella want to take his mum in the summer, an apartment could be the perfect solution.

Thanks
Starkiller :j