To ask what what you do if you had 24 hours in Barcelona?

[Littlefluffyclouds81]

I'm going to Barcelona for the weekend with my bf (first child free weekend in 3 years!). We arrive pretty late on the Friday and fly back Sunday lunchtime so really we only have Saturday to do stuff.

We don't know the city at all (or a single word of Spanish for that matter!). Any recommendations of things to do or places to go/eat would be great. I'm a vegetarian but my bf isn't.

TIA.

Open top bus tour, see all of the sights & get on & off wherever you fancy.

Don'y worry about the Spanish, they speak Catalan

Parc Guelle, Sagrada Famillia, Cafe de l'Opera on Las Ramblas, Barre Gothic area for breakfast cava. All spellings are my own!

Definitely the open-top bus tour.

My Catalan is about as good as my Spanish .

As for food, for lunch graze your way around La Bocqueria market.

Do you know where we need to go to get on the bus tour?

Parc Guell
Sagrada Famiglia - if you only see one thing, make it this one. you'll see why when you get there.
Barrio Gothic
Las Ramblas

Also what's the best way of getting from the airport to the city centre? Sorry for all the questions!

Sagrada familia and parc guell. Barcelona isn't that big so you could do a fair bit in a day. Las Ramblas is also good for a wander down but id see the Gaudi spots first as they are so uniqur

I think you get it at the Plac de Colon at the bottom of the Ramblas. The open top buses have their own website, you can book ahead, there are two different routes on the one I looked at. As well as the places also mentioned I like Montjuic Hill where the Olympic stadium is, it has a cable car and amazing views. It's also easy to get around on the Metro but obviously you see more on the bus. The football ground tour is great if you're into football, but won't be open if they have a home game that day.

But yes, if you do one thing make it the Sagrada Familia.

Be aware that a lot of the Gaudi spots (Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera, Parc Guell) do timed tickets for entrance so you'll need to book them in advance to make sure you can get to them at the time you want.

Cool, our hotel is on the Ramblas so we should be ok to find the bus.

Sagrada Familia will go on the definite list then, not that I have a clue what it is. It will be a nice surprise hopefully.

Taxi or train to the centre from the airport, it isn't far.

Depends what you like to do really.

There are some lovely places to eat in Mare Magnum in the harbour.

Parc de la Cuitadella (where the Arc de Triomf is) is lovely for walks/picnics and has the natural history museum, the zoo and another museum adjoining it. Just across the street from the Arc is a very good Japanese buffet restaurant, think it's just called Wok Janponese. Huge variety of food including veggie and a teppenyaki grill where you chose what you want and they cook it freshly for you. Reasonable price and good quality.

The Gaudi houses are worth a visit if you are into his slightly mental style, as is the Sagrada Familia.

Second everyone who has said do the open-top bus tour as well, you get a 24-hour ticket and a choice of 3 routes but just be a bit careful cos there are 2 providers and your ticket isn't interchangeable on them.

Montjuic is good too, you can get up there by bus, cable car or funicular railway which is part of the metro system. There is a castle (fab views) and a massive art gallery, and the Olymic stadium if you are into sporty stuff. El Poble Espanol (Spanish Village) on the way down the hil is worth a visit too, but check cos they sometimes have special events and concerts on that are ticket-only, especially in the evening.

If you like live music check what is going on on your date as there are some great venues covering lots of different genres. www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/search/event/upcoming-events/#

I love Barcelona, can you tell?

Casa Batllo is my top choice. Wonderful house - like a dream.
As others have said, the Sagrada Familia is properly amazing. If you go to the Park Guell, the last cafe on the left up the hill before you go in (iirc) serves the most delicious creme brulee I have ever tasted.

sagrada famiglia is a monumental catholic cathedral designed by antonio gaudi.
it is a staggering piece of architecture that dominates the city sky line.
it has taken decades to construct and is still not complete.
walk around it.
go inside it and go up one of the spires.

do not miss it -
that would be like going to sydney and not bothering with the opera house.

Sagrada Familia is an eyesore. But Google it and see if it's your cup of tea Littlefluffy .

I'd second La Boqueria market for food, it is about halfway down the Ramblas. About level with it, on the opposite side, is Cafe L'Opera which is lovely.

Parc Guell is beautiful, but they have stared charging to see the famous mosaic lizzard and the wobbly benches (I'm sure there is a proper name! ), giving you a set time, too. I tjimk it is worth it.

As far as I recall, all the tour buses pass through the main square Placa Catalunya, at the top of the Ramblas. You get great views of everything up there.

Bars come and bars go, so can't advise on nightlife, although Razzmatazz was always great (google to see if they've got anything on).

A great tapas restaurant, proving it is still there, is Cerveceria Catalana: Rambla Catalunya (which runs parallel with Paseo de Geacia, and starts from Placa Catalunya), go up about 5 blocks from Pl Cat and turn left onto... I want to say Mallorca Street. I'll search it. It is right on that corner. Really really nice good, full of locals.

If anything else pops into my head, I'll post it

Yep, Mallorca street, but just left off Rambla Catalunya - that's a lovely street for a stroll, too.

I wish we'd done a bus tour. First time ive ever said that about a city but we had 24 hours and 2 children in August with little clear idea what we all wanted to al do.

We intended to do so but at the last minute thought we would carry on by ourselves. We did have a great day and saw loads but a get on get off bus tour would have been more relaxing.

If you know what you want to see the Metro is very easy, underused and air conditioned. If you dont know use a bus service and city guide, then you can decide on the day.

La Sagrada Familia is certainly not to everyone's taste, but it is amazing, and we don't get to see many cathedrals built these days, I was in awe.

We did a helicopter tour which was expensive, but we saw lots. The helicopter was near the port.

Watch out for pick pockets - my friend was caught out last weekend with a 'bird poo' scam!
Have a great time

We booked a half day tour with Viator which did a guided bus tour of the city and included a queue jump into the Sagrada Familia. I think you could also book a whole day tour which also included Parc Guell which is probably the second most visited tourist attraction. Both these things were amazing. My daughter went and spent her time on the beach and drinking cocktails at beach front bars!

Don't do a bus tour, take a bike tour! Great fun, gets to all the little corners of the city, and hugely informative.

Don't bother with Las Ramblas - tack central.

Oh you are all making me sooooo nostalgic and homesick - even though it was only home for a year. I was nostalgic even when I lived there; it's that kind of place. God, I have to go back.Have a wonderful time OP, and if the champanerias down in Barceloneta are still going, get yourself down there and down a bottle of cheap cava.