barcelona in 3 weeks time, any reccomendations

[ihatethecold]

going with a friend for a long weekend, any ideas on the area to get the hotel in. good tips for saving money to see the sights etc

I went for a weekend trip a few years ago. Stayed at the Hesperia Metropol just a v short walk from Las Ramblas (main boulvard-y bit) - staying that bit further away made it cheaper, but still a relatively central location.

Flew Bournemouth to Girona (Ryanair), which is a way outside Barcelona, but even with the 20 euro bus fare (and it is a regular service) we paid £100 all in for flights/hotel.

The tourist buses are a great way to get round and see the sights. You can hop on and hop off as much as you like and usually dont have ti waur more than 10 mins

There is a bar next to the wax works museum called the fairy bar, its amazing, it's like an enchanted forest inside.

The zoo is also really good if you have kuds with you

Avoid eating on la ramblas as its more expensive than some of the nicer places in the side streets

El born is lovely to wander around, nice shops / bars

thanks guys, very useful tips, anymore anyone??
is it easy to get from the airport? espensive. whats the best option, train, bus taxi?

There is a bus that takes you right into the centre, it's just outside the terminal, can't miss it, think it's about 12? return? It stops quite a few places but the main one is the playa de catalunya, which is the main square at the top of la ramblas

Oh and there is a huge department store in this square too corte de ingles, withba fab cafe/restaurant on the top floor with amazing views.

Oh and if you get chance go and see the font du majic, I think it's in a Friday and Saturday night during the winter, it's truely amazing. We got a taxi there which was about 5?

Most of the museums eg Picasso, Miro etc are fab but are shut on a Monday!

La Ramblas are awful - and restaurants are a real rip-off, as well as not very good!

Go to the Guelle park, a Gaudi-designed park - it's beautiful

Look here

We stayed in hotel condes de Barcelona the last time, which was lovely. Have also stayed in 1898 which was £££, next time will stay closer to marina as it's lovely down there

Try hotelconnect for good deals

You can get from the airport to the centre on the RENFE train, fairly cheap and regular (although the taxi will take no more than 20 mins in low traffic and they mostly take credit cards and would be about 30 euros). I think if you do this you need a T10 ticket, this entitles you to use the terminal bus also.

The tourist buses are good and the hop on/hop off tour covers most of Barcelona, I highly recommend the Noucamp even if you are not a football fan, the stadium is an awesome site. Other must do's are: Sagrada Familia, Le Pedera and Las Ramblas - the aquarium and zoo are pretty good too but whatever floats your boat!

Do avoid the side streets, especially on Las Ramblas after about 8pm, Barcelona is a very safe city but it has some crime as all major cities do.

As for eating, most places are quite cheap, go for the cheap set menus for lunch and early supper which will save a fortune. If you only fancy a snack the supermarkets are good - there is a carrefor (I think) at the end of Las Ramblas (heading towards the sea) which is cheap when you don't want much.

If you get a chance take a few hours in Sitges, less than an hour on the RENFE and the monastery overlooking the bay is the most beautiful place I have ever been.
As for restaurants, I love El Convent on Calle Jerusalem, which serves traditional Spanish food at good prices (and always friendly to the children) and for a blowout the Posit de Pescadors overlooking the seafront is amazing, but only for special occasions.
M'encanta Barcelona

thanks everyone, your replies are really useful.

The train is easy and cheap to get from the airport and takes you right into the centre of Barcelona. The metro is very good for gettign about Barcelona and when we were there we bought a 5 day metro pass which worked out very cheap.

Things we saw/did which we really loved were;

The old cathedral in the Gothic quarter - really nice, there's a courtyard in the middle with geese and you can go up o nthe roof for a good view.
Sagrada Famille - fantastic architecture.
Just wondering around all the little shops, streets, tapas bars in the Gothic quarter.
Guell Parc - was nice for a wonder around
We took the train up to Montserrat for a day, there's a cathedral/convent up in the mountains. Was nice.
Went to some Gaudi house where he used to live, the one with lots of funny chimmneys on the roof. Was a good guided tour in English.

We're getting married in July and trying to think of somewhere to go on honeymoon with our twins who will be 18 months old at the time. Sunshine, relaxing (as much as possible!) good food and beautiful....any suggestions? Cheers

At 18 months old as long as there is a splash pool they will be happy.

If Barcelona you need to be down nearcthe harbour.

Alternatively princess yaiza in lanzarote, anthelia in Tenerife? Both have fantastic childcare/spa/food

We were told to go up the cathedral towers, but got there mid-morning and having queued to get in we weren't prepared to wait another 2 1/2 hours to go up to the top. (Main tourist traps were very busy.)
Guell Park was amazing.
Were also told to do a bus tour, but the queues in Catalunya Square were awful too. (We weren't up for dragging ourselves out of bed early to beat them.)
So over the w/end we did 2 tourist things!
Find a nice local bakery. The pastries are beyond delicious. Find an authentic tapas bar.
Cable car from harbour up to olympic park was also good fun.
We're also told to catch a concert, but they were all fully booked. Tourist info on Catalunya Square will help.
Should say we went September time. Was lovely and warm. Good memories.

Also found an amazing restaurant overlooking the beach for our last meal (lunch). Was a trendy little green decked oasis with parasols doing great food (chocolate canneloni for pud). Yum. Yum. Yum

From the airport, you have the airport buses going direct to plaza catalunya and leaving every 5 min. It costs 5 euros. The train is cheaper as you can use a normal underground ticket. One train every 30 min and it stops at Sants and Paseo de Gracia.
This web is quite famous here www.trivago.es write the name of the hotel you like and it gives you the best quotation. For example, a good hotel with pool on the roof is the NH Calderon on Rambla de Catalunya ( not the Ramblas) , but sometimes on this web you'll find the Hotel Majestic at the same price.
I would recommend to take a guided walking tour, it is cheap and you 'll get a real taste of the Old town. They are organized by the tourist office under plaza catalunya.
Be very very very careful with your bag. Keep it always closed and when in a café on your knees.
There are so many great things to do here in Barcelona, nice restaurants on the beach (villa olimpica) , great tapas , so just ask.
Kids will love :1) la Ciutadella - 2) Montjuic and the castle 3) Parc Guell (take the bus 24 on paseo de gracia) 4) feed the huge fishes on the maremagnum bridge 5) the Santa Eulalia Boat - free access with your Museo Maritim ticket 6) the Cosmo Caixa Science Museum 7) casa Battlo ......just everything is amazing so enjoy it. If you have more question

Loved Barcelona in a trip there before kids and am going back with kids and my parents in April.

Bus from the airport was easy and affordable... but as soon as we stepped off it with luggage in Placa Catalunya we nearly had our wallets stolen. I screamed obscenities and ended up nearly pushing assailants (three young girls) into traffic in trying to get them away... So do be really, really careful with your stuff.

Recommend:
La Pedrera (Gaudi-designed building with original furniture), Sagrada Familia, Miro museum, and the hop-on-hop off tourist buses.

Stayed the first time in a crap hotel off the Ramblas that used to be a monastery or nunnery. Horrendous. This time we'll have a flat (found through VRBO) because of the crowd.