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

timan914

I don't think 5 days is going to be enough! There are so many great suggestions and recommendations that I want to do all of them!
We definitely want to eat some churros, they are fantastic with that hot chocolate you get with them. Deep fried and served with chocolate is probably a doctors nightmare but not gonna worry about the calories on this holiday!

Did anyone buy any tickets to attractions or train/bus tickets before getting to Barcelona online or did you purchase them when you got there?

Also that 10 ticket thing for the metro. That is the cheapest option? They dont do an unlimited one? Jus wondering as when we went to Madrid last year that is what we bought and we must have done 6 single journeys most days so would need 3 lots of 10 tickets whereas if they did an unlimited ticket then we are sorted for the days we are there.
Can you pay on the buses or do we need to buy another advance ticket for those too?

DJS1988

I was there earlier this year, and loved it and couldn’t read this thread without giving some recommendations!

As others have mentioned, the open-top buses are a great way to see the city, especially the Gaudi designs – we found it really helped us get our bearings for the rest of our trip also.
Would also recommend the Camp Nou tour, I dragged 3 non-football fans along with me, and they really enjoyed it. The sheer scale of the place is pretty breath-taking and you get some brilliant photos.

Tapas – Don’t miss out on a visit to Ciudad Condal, genuinely one of the best restaurants I have been to. You may have to wait for a table, but it is well worth it. Extremely reasonable prices too. A group of 7 of us ordered a LOT of food and we were stunned when our bill came.
If you are drinkers, a 5/10 minute walk from here is a brilliant bar called Espit Chupito’s. It’s tiny, and you won’t want to spend much more than half an hour in there, but it was really fun and set our night of clubbing off in a great way.

I heard some really alarming pickpocket tales before I went, but didn’t have any issues – just be vigilant, wear bags that zip up and cross your body and you should be fine.

Metro – We were only there for 3 days and bought a 3 day unlimited pass, which I think was around €20.

I want to go back now!

Voyager2002

timan914 wrote: »

I
We definitely want to eat some churros, they are fantastic with that hot chocolate you get with them. Deep fried and served with chocolate is probably a doctors nightmare but not gonna worry about the calories on this holiday!

Don't be disappointed: I found the churros absolutely disgusting, although I like most Spanish food. The hot chocolate is wonderful, however, and usually you can get some decent croissants and pastries as well.

Coraline

totallybored wrote: »

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.

Trains run hourly in either direction from the big station in the Centre of Barcelona (Placa Espanya) to either the Funicular/tram or the Aeri (cable car) station--it's all included in that ticket I mentioned. If you're not used to navigating through really large train stations it's worth mentioning that it can be confusing to find the right track--you have to find Line R5 headed towards Manresa.

The other important thing...make sure to be down from the mountain before the last train departs for Barcelona in the early evening!!

Otherwise you might have to camp out with a lot of stray cats

timan914

Ciudad Condal sounds like it must get a visit from me. Just the type of place we are looking for to get some food. Think its definitely an advantage that we do tend to eat earlier than the locals!
Im definitely think that Monserrat is worth a visit too. If we don't get to do everything on this trip then we are just going to have to come back. Oh well!
Yeah I went on one of those open top buses when I last went, about 10 years ago and fell asleep on it as we had been out clubbing the previous night and I had had about an hours sleep!
This time though there are only 2 of us and neither of us are big drinkers, we have literally one or two drinks of a night. Just want to enjoy the atmosphere of an evening in some nice places.

maman

getmore4less wrote: »

was there a few weeks ago

big budget it's not cheap.

Go to El Corte Ingles: a department store a bit like John Lewis. They have a restaurant on the top floor with fantastic views and the food's not bad either. Ideal for coffee or lunch.

moneysavvy35

I love markets also - I visited El Cants market - probably similar to El Rastro Market in Madrid if you went thier. Typical Flea market where you can find some good stuff, but also cheap tat!! Well worth a look - can't remember what days they open though!! You get the metro to Glories. Theirs also a decent shopping centre thier also. Been to Barcelona a couple of times now and its one of my favourite cities, also went Madrid twice but much prefer Barcelona. I also chose to do a walking tour of the old town - that was brilliant booked up through the tour office. Have you looked at http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowForum-g187497-i44-Barcelona_Catalonia.html?

Have a fab time!!

albionsarah

Just got from Barcelona last week, you'll have a lovely time!

A couple of tips:

Download the Barcelona metro and offline map app before you go. Helped us loads when we were out and about and doesn't use your phone Internet.

Go to the science museum, it's really good! It's about 4 euros to get in and we were there for hours!

If you are going on the metro and it's crowded, keep your phone, purse etc in your bag but hold your bag in front of you. We saw lots of people with back packs on their fronts, it was only when my partner got off the tube minus his iPhone, that we realised why they have their bags like that! Someone stole it from his front pocket of his shorts and he didn't feel a thing.

There's a burger place called Kiosko which is highly recommended. I'm not a burger person but it was awesome.

Oh and the Magic Fountain show is meant to be really nice, we missed it as it's only on Thursday to Sunday.

Hope you have a fabulous time! Xx

Coraline

I'll say from experience for more worry free travels, leave your phone at home (can't think of a reason to walk around in a foreign country with a smartphone, but this is just me).

Don't carry a wallet/purse/bag at all, and bring an under the clothing money purse for a debit/credit card and a couple large bills.

Learn how the locals dress, and do as they do.

Don't stand around reading maps/guidebooks out in the middle of the street.

Read up on common tourist scams--the same ones played 30 years ago are still alive and well.

Keep small bills in your front pocket for spending money. Better yet, in a zipped inside pocket in a travel vest.

Always be vigilant anywhere you go, don't keep your bag if you're carrying one off contact from your body. This goes for London as much for anywhere else, when you're off guard and relax is when you'll get hit. I spent a long time in South America and Eastern Europe with zero problems. Yet 5 days after hanging out in Montreal and chilled out with my paranoid security travel system, I got picked of my cash and camera at a billiards hall. Point is, it can happen anywhere.

Less stuff on you = less worries = more fun to explore without worries and stuff.

timan914

Coraline, u have been great on this thread with so many good suggestions on where to go and what to do. Thank you so much. Im from London and still managed to get caught about 8 years ago. So annoyed with myself but it can happen to the best of us.
Albionsarah, we do both like burgers. An option if we want a change from tapas! We had to go to El Rastro in Madrid. An awful lot of tat but some gems too. I got my friend a casual bag from the market as it caught my eye, it was purple her fave colour and it was only a few Euros. She loves it and its been well used and hasnt fallen apart. Wish I had got myself one! So El Cants on the list too!
Have a feeling this trip is going to be a lot more expensive than Madrid last year! Not doing much Moneysaving at all!:rotfl: