Barcelona

[FridgeHalfFull]

We're staying one hour from Barcelona and planning to spend most of our time on the beach :)

We are planning one day in the city. We can get there by train (from Tarragona which also sounds fab!)

What shall we do on that day? DCs are 5 and 8, love to travel and are pretty adventurous eaters. Must see sites? Good place for reasonable priced lunch?

Just walk around the centre, and eat pretty much anywhere that is NOT on las Ramblas!

My kids love science museum ( out of the centre though) and the cable car ride up to the castle ( we walked back down) and the Acquarium anx Parque Guell was nice but gets busy ( so go early or avoid)

i asked my 15 year old what he enjoyed best and he said nou camp (big football stadium), the big cathedral (we only went round outside as queue too long fo inside) and tapas.

We went to acquarium but didn't do the science museum or cable ride. the cathedral is the iconic barcelona thing. otherwise i would wander down the ramblas, walk along the marina and then have lunch in the born district

To get the most out of one day I would suggest getting there as early as possible and taking one of the bus tours. you can then hop on and hop off to see the things you want to. you have to see the cathedral. cable ride is pretty spectacular as well. did not like las ramblas at all. completely over hyped no real street entertainers just lots of shifty people constantly bumping into you. be really, really aware of pick pockets here. have been all across Europe to major cities and never seen so many people that had been done.

thanks, great tips. bus tour, cable car and cathedral sound like priorities. mummymeister, will check out El Born.

have done absolutely no research and leaving on Weds...

The Barcelona Trip Adviser forum is excellent. Lots of tips for a one day visit. I agree that one of the bus tours would be good. I'm going later in the year and that forum has been invaluable for advice!

Checkout the Hop on Hop Off bus tours before you go. Some sites have a pre-booking price which can be much cheaper than paying on the day.

We took ours on a boat trip in Barcelona. Nice way to see the city (and a chance to sit down and relax!)

La quince Nits just off las Ramblas in one of the squares, do very good menu del dia lunch time menu, the food is very good and reasonable, then you can sightsee in las ramblas without being ripped off!

I just visited Barcelona for the first time and it was wonderful! Don't miss the Segrada Famillia, Gaudi's cathedral. It's breathtaking. Nothing could have prepared me for it's beauty. The bus tour is really fun, a great way to get a quick overview. Definitely avoid La Ramblas, it's grotty. Have a brilliant time!!

Just watch for pick pockets if going to La Rambles or using the metro. My brother lives in the city so took my son alot when he was young . They use them as a distraction technic . They work in pairs and one will knock into a child so your distracted by looking after the child while the other dips into your bag. The last time it happened to us we were waiting to get onto the metro, the train had pulled up, my son was in front of me and one knocked him so my focus was on grabbing him. I felt the other try and dip into my bag which was over my shoulder . Luckily it had in internal concealed zip so I grabbed her hand and she had no choice but to come onto the train with us. She had an uncomfortable journey to the next stop and she could not get off quick enough. It's a great city but like else where has it's fake beggar and pick pocket problem