Barcelona - top tips

[bluesky]

top tips of must sees in Barcelona please, have never been and am due to spend two days there soon, thanks.

go up the cable car to the top of the mountain where a castle is (can't remember what it's called!)

sagrada familia.. amazing!

other bits and bobs of gaudi stuff.. parc guell is really nice

Fantastic city went there for 3 days for my 40th. Go to 'Las Ramblas' a posey shopping strip with lots of street entertainers, cafe bars and cool clothing stores. A must see is the Gaudi 'Sagrida Familia' which is magnificent. My top tip would be to get a decent street map and wander down different streets everytime you go somewhere. Most places are within walking distance. The 'Picasso' museum was good and the 'Salvidor Dali' is a must see but I ran out of time. For food the seafront is a must if you enjoy seafood fantastic view of the harbour and very romantic. The old gothic quarter is nice to wander around at night and there are some 'Times' recommended tapas bars particularly Talla de Tapas. Have a great time.

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We went over New Year. The open top tour buses are good for getting your bearings and seeing what you might like to explore further. Have a lovely time.

montjuic yes! i was VERY upset as the fountain wasn't on

and i didn't know the chocolate museum either! argh

there is also an erotic museum which is quite amusing, but expensive to get in!

oh and make time for a boat trip too!

If you are taking kids - the Aquarium by the harbour is great. Cable car up to Montjuic excellent. The Olympic stadium looked very small !
Just wander the streets, its a lovely place !

i got a postcard with them on! lol

i was pregnant at the time and really got tired with all the walking we did... would like to go again, although now we have ds to contend with! lol

haha! that must've been fun!
main problem i had over there is that i am vegetarian, and i don't think the spanish really "do" vegetarian!

Ha ha, no starlover, I'm afraid in Spain they tend to think it's vegetarian if it only has ham in it Although you can't go wrong with a fab tortilla sarnie, you can't be eating that and nothing else all day!

Parc Guell is well worth a visit, esp with kids, as is Tibidabo (sort of bizarre fun fair / cathedral complex on a hill behind Barcelona). Cable car across the harbour and up to Montjuic is fun, you don't have to do it all, it starts in Barceloneta which used to be a godawful part of town now utterly transformed since the Olympics (as indeed is all that area of Barcelona's beach front. I remember going to the beach and sharing it with a bunch of junkies, which was nice, nowadays it's clean family beaches as far as the eye can see).

I'd definitely recommend one of those circular bus tours as well, as I recall, you can then use the buses all day to hop on and off.

I'm very fond of the Poble Espanyol on Montjuic, sort of a 'miniature' village (only the houses are full size, they represent examples of architecture from around Spain). Lots of bars and restaurants in there, and often relatively quiet, so nice to get away from the hordes.

I just had my honeymoon there! I'm veggie and I had the best food I've ever had in any European city.

If you are looking for a romantic restaurant go to the beach (Barceloneta) and there is a row of them. Look for the one with the Buddas outside. You can see some amazing bed/sofas where people are practically laying down and eating. All very decadent. Would have been fantastic for flirting with my new dh if ds hadn't have been with us. Very sexy!

Sorry but beware pickpockets though. We were warned about this and still managed to lose our camera (with all our wedding photos on it!! Doh!!)

really beansprout? we must've been looking int he wrong places! lol

also, visit the cathedral... that's beautiful and you can go up onto the roof for fab views across the city

Yes we went to the Poble Espanyol - very odd ! Quite pricey to get if I remember but a lovely place to wander round. Also anything Gaudi is cool !

Yes, forgot to mention that. I tried to get my work phone stolen on the Ramblas by talking into it loudly whilst walking along but no takers alas (work were really annoying me, I even said to one bloke "if I suddenly stop talking it's because the phone's been stolen" to reinforce the point).

Also beware dodgy folk at the funicular - up to Montjuic I think, who pose as policemen asking for id, then take your wallet.

I don't know if Barcelona's any more crime-ridden than any other big city, but it attracts a lot of tourists and so this kind of stuff tends to happen. I'm always very careful on the Ramblas (except when trying to get stuff stolen, obviously) - again, back in the day, the Barrio Chino on the left hand side of the Ramblas was considered too dangerous to go into, even in the day. Now it's fine, apparently.

Beansprout - I think you mean a really cool place called Shoko - a restaurant that turns into a club! And yes, there is a VIP area with lounging bits - fab!

Also would add a warning about the thieves - especially round Ramblas (don't walk the gothic quarter at night), also Port Olympic - my BF got her bag snatched there - There were literally a dozen or so young guys just hanging about by the taxi rank eying up women who weren't being too careful about how they carried their bag. Make sure it is over your shoulder and hang on to it tightly!.

Another fun place if you want a bit of clubbing is the Bahai Beach Club (just along from Shoko) - complete with bikini clad and speedo wearing staff and speedboats and jet skis on the walls!

thankyou guys, i log on to 22 messages, sounds like there is loads to do, love the fountain idea, harbour, fish restaurants, chocolate, definitely avoid the football, save that for if we go with our 2 x ds's!

Had been warned about the pickpockets.

anymore ideas let me know, and i will report back!

take the train along the coast to sitges (about 25 mins). Lovely little resort.

Central, cheap hotels are very noisy - loads of hen nights coming back all night long. We checked out of ours after the first night and stayed at the Victoria Apartments (near the underground station at Nou Camp stadium), which was gorgeous.

In the food market just off las Ramblas there are some of the best tapas bars in the City - definately worth a visit!

The tour buses are very good as recommended below!

There is a model spsnish village on one of the tours that is definately worth going to.

My top tip is to avoid eateries on the ramblas - overpriced and not very good ime. Go up the Passeig de Gracia (north of Placa de Catalunya) and check out the tapas bars up there. Bar Bar Ree Bar is very good. Taller de Tapas is also good - there's one in the Carrer d'Argentario (iirc).

The Palau de la Musica is a must see. For about 8 euro you can buy tickets for a guided tour (in english every hour). It's a magnificent building and if you can get tickets to a concert there, do so!

The Seu (the cathedral) is also a wonderful sight.

The Parc de la Ciutadella is lovely for a walk on a Sunday afternoon. The zoo is there and natural history museum and you can hire one of those bike cart things to whizz about on. Or you can row on the boating lake.

Have a granissat or a horxata - there's a good place just off the Placa de Catalunya on the road that runs parallel with the ramblas.

Camp Nou is well worth a visit - it's an awesome sight even if you're not into football!

Sagrada Familia is a must as everyone else has said.

If you get the metro to the olympic village, look out for a restaurant called Marina Moncho - v v good (about 70 euro for 2 with wine).

Do use the metro, it's cheap and easy to use and air conditioned. Get a 10-ride ticket - you can use it for any number of people.