Advice for Short Barcelona trip

Pollycat

We thought La Sagrada Familia was very impressive and we loved Gaudi's "Dragon House" (Casa Batllo).
Maybe also visit Gaudi's Park Guell.

I did an itinerary of everything we wanted to do/see and then I grouped them together by district so that we weren't criss-crossing the city.

You can find opening days/times by Googling.

poor_johno

momum wrote: »

What dates are you there? The Festa Major del Poblenou runs from Friday 6th until Sunday 15th. Loads of fiesta type things going on. On the Friday night there is a huge open air concert at the top end of La Rambla. All the locals have an evening meal on trestle tables. There are beer stalls with Estrella for 1 Euro. The music is really infectious and goes on until about 2am.
There are loads of other stages at street corners with every kind of music from line dancing to heavy metal.
Plan to be there Thursday 5th until Tuesday 10th. Watch for pink skin with freckles lol.

I actually arrive Saturday 14th night, will it still be on Sunday evening? Sounds great.

Jay_C

Its never too late to go out in BCN it never sleeps. we went out at 1am most nights

martmonk

We always make time for a few hours strolling through the small streets and along the beach in Sitges. About 45 mins by train.

martindow

poor_johno wrote: »

. I'm assuming it'll be a bit late to go further once we've got to the hotel and checked in?

People eat out very late in Spain. Some places are astonished if you wander in before 10pm. There will be lots of people around very late in the evening.

momum

poor_johno wrote: »

I actually arrive Saturday 14th night, will it still be on Sunday evening? Sounds great.

We've never been there at the end of the Fiesta, always aim for the first couple of days but I've looked at a Programme of Events for last year and it looks like there are still musical things going on on the saturday night. On the Sunday, there is the finals of the football tournament and various processions throughout the area throughout the day, from early till late.

There is a Gran Ballada Da Sardanes on at night, which sounds really, really boring but is actually quite spectacular. It is a local folk dance. The 'teams' form circles, the music begins and as the tunes gets higher the arms are held higher. The teams are all dressed in their own colours. It is very serious at first but as the evening goes on they allow anyone to join the circle.

Great to see and a very traditonal Spanish evening

Enjoy your trip

interstellaflyer

Personally, I'd avoid Las ramblas, We did a day trip to Barcelona in September 2011, it was 30 degrees and wall to wall people, we took one look and thought, no way, a few years ago, we did a long weekend to Barcelona, that was early March, a much better time to go in my opinion, it was around 20 degrees and the city was a lot quieter, you could take a comfortable and pleasant stroll down Las Ramlas.

maman

I'd go to El Cortes Ingles (big department store like John Lewis). Thy have a restaurant on the top floor with great views and the food is OK too. ideal for lunch or just a coffee.

slinga

Loads to do in Barcelona even discounting the Nou Camp.

Free Walking tours were great, 3 hours but worth the tip they invite.
Parc Guel, take the metro and then the escalator.
The Roman ruins next door to the cathedral, so much better than those in Bath.

Don't bother with the Picasso museum it's a long queue and only his work pre 20 years of age, nothing spectacular.

You must go to the restaurant '336'. Terrific food, 3 course for Euro 20 including wine, great setting.
Buy the Sagrda tickets online. The interior is much more spectacular than the exterior.

Some nice Tapas bars in Barcelonetta.

The Boquoria market isn't very good. They concentrate on selling cut up fruit.

If you like food markets, which we do, then the one you can see from the road in front of the cathedral , the Santa Catarina Market is great, very friendly, and the tapas bars there are great for a coffee or more if you like.

We saw it but we'd already eaten our fill close by but the Carrer de Blai is a street 400 meters or so long with tables all the way along it from the Tapas bars on either side. We'll definitely go there and eat next time we are there.

The T10 metro ticket is the way to go.

Another place we must try next year is the Tibidabo.
We only saw it from the top of Park Guel but it does look something else.

poor_johno

slinga wrote: »

You must go to the restaurant '366'. Terrific food, 3 course for Euro 20 including wine, great setting.

Great tips, thank you very much.

Where is this restaurant 366?