Barcelona

[whostolethesocks]

What shouldn't I miss on a short break to Barcelona? Just myself and OH. Any advice?

Parc Guell and Sagrada Familia are my favourite sights

Gaudi's house is beautiful too.

The Fondacion Miro, the Museo Frederico Mares, and at least one of the Gaudi houses (which I much preferred to the Sagrada Familia).

Thanks guys. So excited. Surprise for my OH. Not sure if all the culture is really his scene but really looking forward to the break away.

If it's really hot, I recommend a trip to the museum of barcelonan history or something similar. You go below street level to the Roman ruins and it's very cool.

Similarly, a trip to the mountains, and specifically a day trip to Montserrat, is beautiful and a very easy to arrange day trip.

Last time I went was with work. We were taken to a fixed price lunch (around 30€) at the hotel espanya. Amazing.

Do the hop on hop off bus tour, passed all the main sights.
Also Camp Nou home of Barcelona FC is worth a visit (bus stops there) x

If he's not as fussed by the culture, try an afternoon/early evening at Barceloneta, the fishing area by the beach. Great little streets full of lively bars, and waterfront seafood restaurants...

Also second Gaudi house, Parc Guell. I love Plaza de Real for coffee and people watching. It's just off La Ramblas.

Enjoy. I love Barcelona

I have just gotten back from a fantastic long weekend in Barcelona.
It is hot hot hot.
Pre book your bus tour tickets as cheaper and try to do the 2 day tickets as loads to see.
Book ahead tickets for parc guell as very busy as they only let a set number in every few hours. We would have had to wait 3 hrs !
Lots of fantastic food about.
Cheap shopping.
Barceloneta beach was fab. Weekends were soo busy there so get there early.
The food market of la rambles is wonderful.
Enjoy.

cable car!
Miro museum.
..and everything they said ^^
A long weekend is not enough.

It's dripping in culture, you can't move for it :-) Mirablau bar on Mount Tibidabo has the most amazing views

Another one for Parc Guell, and bear in mind that you need a ticket to get into the fancier part. Or be there early and it's free, nearly empty, and the light is fantastic! Check the website, I can't remember if it's by 8am or 9am.
The Picasso museum is brilliant, they usually have free entry one night per week (Thursday I believe). It's not too big so just the right amount of Picasso to take in.

Cable car ride is a must do and Camp Nou is worth a visit if your OH is into football. The marina area has lots of really nice, good quality restaurants but they are slightly pricey compared to all of the small side street places off Las Ramblas (most of which do great tapas and seafood really cheaply).

A trip to Montserrat is also definitely worth doing!

Thanks for all the advice. Would have loved to have gone for longer. Will have to do it again. Not sure we'll make the Montserrat trip this time unfortunately. What's the best way of getting around. Also getting from the centre to Barceloneta beach area?

You can walk to the beach and you get to see nice bits of town. From our hotel which was at the top of la rambla to the beach was about 30 mins.

We used the city tour bus to get around and that gets you to the beach too.

Their metro system is really good too and cheap, but a lot of places are walkable from eachother too.

I've just booked tickets for Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell (for different days). There seems to be so much to see! I'm thinking about buying the tourist bus ticket for one day (the day we go to Parc Guell) as it makes it easier to get there and we can spend the rest of the day using the ticket to get to know our way around. Any idea roughly how long the bus would take from Plaça de Catalunya to Parc Guell (blue route). Anything else I should book in advance to save queues/money? Thanks for all the advice.

Socks we've just got back from Barca, would say it's about 30 mins from Placa de la Catalunya to Parc Guell on blue route. Remember you will need to factor in queuing time - took us 20 mins to get on the bus initially and then about another 15 to get back on it at Sagrada

Thanks MadMum. Don't want to miss my timeslot for the tickets I've booked!