Finally booked Barcelona. Anything we 'must see' or do?

joerugby

timan914 wrote: »

How far is this Monserrat place? Is it definitely an all day thing or can it be done in half a day?
Can you guys that have been to Barcelona before speak any Catalan or could you get away with speaking Spanish?
I think we would like to do some less touristy areas but with our lack of language skills maybe it wouldn't be the best or safest idea.
Any tapas places you could recommend? We love tapas but don't want to get the bog standard 'tourist tapas' that we could jus get over here in places like La Tasca etc.

Thanks again everyone. Some wonderful ideas being mentioned here.:beer:

You'll get by with Spanish, no problem at all.

Tapas is not really a local thing. You will find it but mainly in the tourist areas. The best local dishes include fish (of any kind, served fresh), lamb, pork and cured ham (bellota). I'm feeling hungry just typing this!

I fully endorse Sitges as a day trip by the way. If you want to eat lunch there I've got some recommendations.

timan914

Somewhere in my brain I have a couple of Catalan words and maybe a few more (but not many) Spanish words. This holiday is going to be fun! I know I will be stumbling over what I want to say and will mix up Spanish and Catalan phrases and won't understand any replies but its all part of the fun!

jonesMUFCforever

2 things I really enjoyed - the Cathedral even though I'm not even a little bit religious and the Nou Camp stadium tour.

Enjoy the Ramblas but as others have said look out for the pick pockets.

RichandJ

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

2 things I really enjoyed - the Cathedral even though I'm not even a little bit religious and the Nou Camp stadium tour.

Enjoy the Ramblas but as others have said look out for the pick pockets.

Which cathedral ? The old one (outside which they still dance the Sardana) or Gaudi's incomplete Sagrada Familia ?

No-one seems to have mentioned a trip up Tibidabo either, well worth the walk to get to the train.

I'd also definitely recommend getting up Montjuic and taking whichever walking route down appeals, the one thru the park is lovely.

Boqueria market also gets a +1.

It's a great city, try the Catalan for general terms like hello, goodbye, thanks etc rather than Castilian Spanish as well, they do appreciate it. Enjoy it.

getmore4less

was there a few weeks ago

big budget it's not cheap.

daveyjp

Oh yes, don't forget to go to Caracoles.

http://www.loscaracoles.es

A truly amazing experience. Go at lunchtime and have a lazy afternoon there. Have a drink in the tiny bar, get a table next to the kitchen, eat in awe of what is going on around you, then ask for a tour of the place.

Take a camera!

totallybored

Monserrat is nice. No idea how to get there by train as I had a car but the cable car up is worth the trip. Beautiful monastery (and I'm not a religious person). There is free wifi just outside the monastery too if you need it.

You'll be fine with a bit of Spanish. Watch out for the pickpockets though. I saw a woman steal someone's watch off their wrist. Pickpocket capital of the world so if someone bumps into you or tries to talk to you hang on to you stuff.

janthemum

PARC guell is a must.

Caroline_a

Was there last weekend, first time I've been, absolutely fantastic! Great food, wine, and very reasonable. Tapas place at the top of the old cathedral square is really good.

Do have breakfast in one of the patisseries, and try the hot chocolate with the doughnut swirls (churros) - a million calories a sniff, but just fab!

Voyager2002

jimmy_81 wrote: »

My one warning - and talking of common sense, this was a severe lack of it I guess! - if you do use the Metro; make sure you always hold onto your pass/ticket!!

We "used up" the last of our travelcard on the last evening coming back from dinner, having had a few glasses of wine, and like a complete muppet after we'd gone through the barriers I chucked the card in a a bin.

Needless to say, that was the one & only time they were checking everybody's ticket getting onto the Metro platform...

A very unpleasant half hour ensued as none of the ticket inspectors spoke English. Eventually we worked out they were insisting we pay E50 fine each right there & then, or E100 each at the ticket office the following day! :eek:

It ended up working out OK - when we went into the travel guidance office the next day the assistant gave us a really funny look and said "But... they didn't take any of your details!" - apparently this renders the fine slips invalid so she advised us not to pay! :rotfl:
!

What a lovely end to the story: only in Spain...

Yes: I once boarded a train near Malaga without a ticket (I had not managed to get the ticket machine to work). I asked the inspector to sell me a ticket: he looked at his paper-work; decided that processing a payment would be too much trouble, and so gave the ride for free.