Barcelona Travel Guide

A lot of the current construction work is happening inside so its a bit of a building site, but in a way it is interesting to be able to watch a bit of it happening. The columns inside are another example of Gaudi being influenced by nature as they are designed like trees with a long trunk and then thick branches at the top. My favourite thing...

The first thing you see when you enter the park is the ceremonial staircase that leads up to the Sala Hipostila above. The stairway is dominated by two brightly coloured fountains in the middle. One is a salamander - which symbolises alchemy - with water dribbling from its mouth and above it is the serpents head [symbolic of the Greek god of...

Casa Milà is one of Antoni Gaudi's architectural wonders of which it is located along the intersection of Passig De Gracia and Carrer De Provenca. It is also known as La Pedrera of which it was built between 1906 to 1912 by Gaudi for businessman Pere Milà i Camps and it was the last known civil work of Gaudi before he was struck by a passing tram...

For about the last 10 years, we only have one favorite tapa bar/restaurant, we take our friends, relatives and specially for ourselves. It is called CERVESERIA CATALANA. THE COMPLETE ADDRESS IS: CALLE MALLORCA NUMBERO 235 CORNER RAMBLA CATALUNYA. If you were to take the metro. Take the GREEN LINE / or Linea 3 and get off on DIAGONAL. WALK 3...

March 2014. Very surly waiter and, at times, quite rude. Extremely miserable Maître d who also, I might add, had the endearing habit of rolling his eyes whenever you asked for anything! We had to ask for a glass in order to drink our beer – twice! – then once the glasses eventually arrived, we had to ask for a clean one!. Again, had to ask for...

Visiting Picasso's hangout was a thrill for us. The restaurant was really full of character but the waiter service was extremely rude to the point where you think there must be some sort of scam going on. I ordered red wine from the menu (pointed it out) and it was 16 euros, showed the waitress exactly what we wanted and when she brought the bill,...

Along the Maremagnum Mall at Port Vell are a number of clubs that are open quite late. Tequila and Fiesta are two that I remember. We didn't go into any but we did walk by them and they looked like fun. We were tired of all our walking and the great meal at Mandongo Restaurant. Dress to have fun!

We found this place because it was recomended to us by an great portuguese guy that served us at restaurant Les 4 Gats (Mario). L'ovella negra its a local students place to have a few drinks. We found it to be very nice because the only foreign people you see are the students from around the world that came to study in Barcelona. It´s truely a...

Another trendy place I USED (please note the past tense!!) to like: CDLC (Carpe Diem Lounge Club), in the seafront, close to the Arts hotel. But it has became way too "void fashion" to my taste on their best nights.... and just a cheesy place full of tourists (and not the most elegant ones) on their worse nights. However, it could still be an...

The Metro System in Barcelona works well. It doesn't get you to every area you may want to see so there might be a bit of walking you will still have to do. We probably used the metro once or twice in a day. So, we did not buy a loaded metro pass. We just bought tickets as needed. A single ticket in 2015 cost 2.15€. Keep in mind the time frame it...

We arranged for a cab from our hotel to the airport for the morning of our departure. The driver was prompt, helped us with our luggage, and was patient with our language barrier. All of that does not really help me forget the nearly vomit inducing ride to the airport. Once we hit the highways, our ride turned into a NASCAR race - in traffic....

if you fancy to go to Montjuic hill and have a walk around and see that attractions such as Montjuic Castle and the views around the hill, you can head to Avinguda Miramar, where there is a cable car station where you can take the cable car up to the top of Montjuic Hill and to the Castle ( the only problem is that it is a 2.5 kilometer walk from...

what is Bloomingdales is to the Unites States, Harrod's to the United Kingdom, Galleries Lafayette to France? they are the premier department store of their respective countries! El Corte Ingles is the premier Department Store Chain in Spain. This department store chain has several branches in Barcelona of which the Largest is along Plaza...

Well, the Boqueria market needs to introduction, everyone who visited it will take this amazing experience with him, but after visiting the market at least three times over the last 5 years, I can tell you that from each visit I've learned something new and exciting about the market - a new kind of sweet, the best place to buy ham, a new vendor of...

This is a shopping center at the coast at Port Vell. It's located at the end of Las Ramblas. We did not go inside because it, technically, is a mall. I don't like to spend my time shopping while on vacation but to walk out towards it was very interesting. You see the marina with boat and yachts. There is a walking bridge. We also saw a number of...

If you're in Barcelona on a Sunday, try to see the people dancing the Sardana, the Catalan national dance. Try near the Cathedral. When I saw people doing the Sardana it was in the afternoon in the park across from La Sagrada Familia.

The locals flock to get all they can of the ham and pasteries that abound around the city. We saw the real store that only sold the jamon, and yes; it is expensive no matter how you cut it, or how thin it is cut.

Catalunya is a bilingual community. Everybody in Catalunya do speak Spanish (or Castellano as we prefer to call it here), but in fact NOT everybody do speak Catalan (about 60% in Barcelona, less in some industrial cities, and more inland Catalunya and smaller towns). Correction, not 100% of people in Catalunya do speak Spanish. I would better say...

I was travelling with my two 13 year old daughters. We were on holiday in Barcelona. When we tried to enter the Plaça d'Espanya station I used my T10 ticket but there was only enough to pay for two journeys, for my daughters. I paid for one single ticket for myself and the three of us entered the station. I threw away the T10 ticket into a rubbish...

This is an old scam. A man stands beside a tape recorder playing music. There are some small dolls that jig up and down to the music. When he stops the music they stop dancing. The trick : there is some invisible fishing line attached to the back of the tape recorder, the tape recorder is rigged to move this line up a down and make the dolls...

We were waiting for the 104 bus to Palma Nous one night when two women in their late twenties came over to the bus stop.One of the women bent down to look at the bus timetable in a Miley Cyrus twerking pose.The other woman who was facing us giggled and was (we later learned) signalling to two men who were standing directly behind us. As I turned my...

I'd read that this square was really nice and while parts of it ARE it just feels very seedy still. A lot of graffitti and homeless people lying in corners. There are a bunch of cafe terraces and it seemed fairly busy but I think there are prettier squares that feel safer

We stopped to have a pita sandwich at a shop and at the door the price in bold numbers was 4,9 euros. Not cheap but not outrages, we went in ordered two pitas and two sodas. The catch NO PRICE ON THE SODAS. Fountain sodas were more than the meal at9.2 euros. Always ask the price of everything from water to sodas to salt,pepper etc. They are a...

If a 20 euro Messi jersey sounds too good to be true, it is! Avoid purchasing the cheap jerseys on Las Ramblas, unless you're buying it for someone who you don't really like, haha. The jerseys are cheap replicas and the player name and number will rub off after one wash! If you are a fan and really want a Barca jersey that will last, buy a real...

A big handbag which doesnt keep falling off your shoulder! Not only is it a pain, it also isnt safe from bag snatchers. Bag should be big enough to carry camera, papers, travel guide, water, juice, a thick shawl/sweater for when it gets chilly later in the day, a sandwich for when the only food you can find is expensive and not that great -like in...

COMFORTABLE shoes. Let me say it again--Comfortable shoes. Barcelona and Porto have serious cobblestone streets that will do your feet and body in and kill any form of shoe with a heel!!!!! Two pairs with plenty of socks--'cause focused tour freaks like us will go for hours and those tootsies get sweaty. (Did Rome with only one good pair and I was...

This depends on the length of your visit. Summer clothes takke up less room and are also lighter in weight. September/early October in the city can still be fairly hot in my experience, but arrive prepared for changes in the weather. eg - a couple of fine sweaters/jackets (linen is good if you are partial to it, and dosn't matter about the...

The Black Madonna is the star attraction of this Basilica. We had to wait a few minutes for our turn to view, it is protected so it cannot be touched, however we had approximately a minutes to view, and were only inches from it.

You can get to Tibidabo with your metro ticket and a little bit of walking. Take from Passeig de Gracia the train S1, S2 or S5 to Peu del Funicular. Here change to the funicular to Vallvidrera-Superior. It is all included in the metro ticket. From the station Vallvidrera-Superior turn right and follow the street until you reach a dirt road that...

Take the train (RENFE, blue line) to Blanes, You may buy directly a combined ticket for Lloret. After your arrival in Blanes, take a bus to Lloret departing from the train station (1,80 Euro a ride). After leaving Blanes, it will pass the access to Santa Cristina Beach. One stop further you have to leave the bus to go to Sa Boadella Beach. Behind...

We took the metro out to the home of F.C. Barcelona - Camp Nou. We did not do the tour. We just had a look around the bits that are open to the general public. Actually it was well worth a visit as there were plenty of background posters to photo or be photoed with. There was also a club shop and it was perfectly acceptable to take photos in there,...

The Olympic Stadium was built for the Olympic Games of 1936 that never took place because of the civil war. They kept the neoclassical façade and built it again for the 1992 Olympic Games and it’s the home of Espanyol, a much smaller team than Barca that happens to win Barca from time to time! It’s much more easier to find tickets for a football...

Lots of people come to Barcelona, city by the sea, and expect to find great beaches to relax on between touring the city's cultural and historical sites. Then they find out they were sadly mistaken. It's not that the Mediterranean isn't beautiful, but those who go to one of Barcelona's many public beaches should be aware that they will have their...

Las Ramblas is a 1,2 km long pedestrian promenade situated between plaza de Catalunya and the harbour. It is made by six sections. For this reason its proper name is Ramblas; plural. Each section of this street has a name. The first, coming from placa de Catalunya is named Rambla dels Canaletes; then we find Rambla dels Estudis; Rambla de les...

My best trip so far has been to barcelona and I came back home very happy. Apart from the prized presence of Gaudi in every bit of the city, this is how I would sum up my impression about this magical city. Please look at the pictures for a better understanding

There are many places where buying advance tickets to see a place or take part in an event is essential in Spain. My experience with La Sagrada Familia was this was not necessary based on how quick the line moves. We arrived at La Sagrada Familia on a late April Sunday afternoon at just past noon. There was a long line that ran around two blocks....