After a red wine induced impromptu booking session this weekend, looks like I’m off to Barcelona for 2 nights just before Christmas with my good wife. With the spontaneity of it I have done zero research and so have no idea what to see, where to go, what to eat and where to avoid. This is where you lot come in…

So, can anyone suggest what is good, what is bad and what is unmissable? I’m staying about 500m from Arc de Triomf is that makes any difference?

Thanks all.

Olympic Stadium
Ramblas
Tapas

Keep hold of your wallet, otherwise somebody will pinch it.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/barcelona

To be honest you’re best off having no agenda and just setting off for a wander down the Ramblas and see where you end up. You can’t go wrong. Its a bloody fantastic place!

dont go to las ramblas its awful!

Go hang in gracia , go to Tecla Sala or Antoni Tàpies if art is your thing

i lived in Barca for a bit , love that place . have fun!

Haha, I came on with the sole purpose of saying hang on to your wallet, but Jimdubleyou beat me to it!!

Beautiful place, been a few times, enjoy…

Gaudi park is awesome, a bit of a trek out from the centre but well worth it. The views across the city & surrounding hills are stunning. Can only echo the advice to wander, there’s extraordinary architecture around every corner.

[video]https://youtu.be/q0wdxj8-mAU?t=1m6s[/video]

Only been there once for a few days but loved it. Didn’t really have any kind of plan when we went but was just a great place to wander round and stop for something to eat and drink.

Segrada familia (sp) is awesome, as is the barcalonetta.

Can recommend this hotel http://www.grandhotelcentral.com/, expensive but it has a pool on the roof!!

dont go to las ramblas its awful!

this^ thats like going to London and heading straight to Leicester square. are you really wanting to go all that way to stare at an out of work actor spray painted silver standing very still?

Gracia, the Born, Raval, Montjuic are far more interesting.

this^ thats like going to London and heading straight to Leicester square.

Indeed, but if you were going to London just the once, would you not at least walk through Leicester Square the once to see what all the fuss is about?

As well as all the stuff already mentioned , I really enjoyed the docks ,some smart old naval buildings etc plus a good long walk along the prom towards the Olympic village,with regular stops for refreshment obvs.

possibly if it was on the way to somewhere? or if i wanted to eat churros and chocolate at Cafe de L’Opera then i would indeed go to the ramblas, but to suggest it as one of the 3 things to do in that city shows a lack of imagination and knowing very little about the city.
Like saying madame Tussaud’s, Lc’s sq and camden lock as the 3 must see’s in London, probably on the money if you are an ignorant teenager from the sticks.

It depends what you want doesn’t it?

If you want to go to one of the places that defines the tourist experience in a city, then the Ramblas, Leicester Square (or Covent Garden), Times Square, Red Square are the epitome of that.

Just because everybody else does something, it doesn’t invalidate it as an experience.

If you want to have a more “local” experience then I’m sure your suggestions would be fine.

Up to the OP to do his research…

We did something similar in October. Enjoyed gaudi’s houses casa battlo and casa mila, the Joan Miro museum, also Catalan museum of modern art (I think). Had good tapas at a place that was recommended by the property owner (got through Airbnb) did the open top bus tour, went to Sagrada familia but didn’t go inside as too booked up (prebookable if you must go). Had kindle pinched out of backpack whilst on the tube.
Walked down the ramblas as you do, main excitement was seeing the guys selling counterfeit nikes etc legging it from the cops every 10 minutes.
Great city.

Yes but Las Ramblas is still awful 😛

What’s the best way to get from the airport to the city centre?

train, it’s easy.

Thanks

Bus tour to get a feel for the place/Nou Camp tour/Park Guell/Sagrada Familia/chill with tapas and cold beer.
That’s what we did anyway and it was great 😉

What’s the best way to get from the airport to the city centre?

get a T-10 ticket, basically 10 journey travelcard, it will get you to and from the airport and probably all your other journeys on bus/tube for the 2 days.

Open top bus tour is great. Wrap up warm though!

I’m there at the moment. Park guell is really nice. We went in the paid bit first, then bought a sandwich from Guelly Sandwichpark and sat on the picnic benches, with a great view over the city, to eat our lunch.

Parc de cuitadella is right next to the Arc de Triomf. We went there today and there’s a stunning fountain there. A couple of hours wandering around and then we went to the Picasso museum. We’ve also been to the Joan Miro museum and the modern art museum/MACBA. Picasso was the only one we enjoyed tbh.

Gaudi was some kind of genius (Miro stapled a glove to a canvas and chucked some paint on it, Gaudi designed Parc Guell and the staggering Sagrada Familia) so the more you see of his stuff, the better.

Montjuc was nice, we walked up there, saw the castle and Joan Miro museum and walked back, that was about 15 miles, so a bus might have been a better idea.

Cerveseria d’Or on Carrer de Valencia near the junction of Carrer de Pau Clark’s is probably the best tea we’ve had so far. Nothing fancy, just good value, tasty tapas with plenty of choice and good service. The Luis Canas rioja they serve is lovely.

Brush up on your Catalan so you can take advantage of the little tapas restaurants that are on every street corner.

Oh, and get ready to eat lunch at 3pm and tea at about 10pm!

Take a walk around the Gracia area some great food ,music and beer
Stay away from las ramblas ,ravel and placa real ..u may get turned over here
Do the the Olympic stadium,montijuic …
PARC guell ..take a packed lunch and chill
Watch Barca or Espanyol
Have food in la bouqeria market halfway down las ramblas on the left
Great metropolis you will love it

get a T-10 ticket, basically 10 journey travelcard, it will get you to and from the airport and probably all your other journeys on bus/tube for the 2 days.

Well that’s handy, I have two T-10 1 Zona tickets in my wallet, each with 5 journeys left, given to me by a colleague who was there in May.

Happy days 🙂

I don’t know if it’s still there but a good few years ago on one of god knows how many trips for work I’ve done there we went to the archery bar. Like a British pub with darts only a Spanish bar with full on archery. It was great fun.
It’s a nice place and we do more shows there than any other city in Europe, It’s always popular for good reason.

Go to the café at the top of El Cortes Ingles in Plaza Cataluyna. Fantastic Views. Tramvia Blau up to the funicular and up to the old funfair on top of Mont Tibidabo is nice too. You can get up to the tram on the metro. Very last stop and its across the road. Great place. Never had any hassle in the 6 times we’ve been. Hoping to retire to the area in a few years.

The lizard is very small.

A gentle bump to see if there are any other ideas!

Have visited there many times and my daughter lived there for 2 years.

Have a quick amble up Las Ramblas so you can decide for yourself, don’t spend too much time there though – an hour ?
Likewise a stroll along the beach from near the Marina / Hotel Arts. I don’t particularly like the Marina bars and restaurants but others do and there are a few boats to look at

La Sagrada Familia is amazing, I first saw it 30 yeats ago and its wonderful to see it coming alive. Gaudi park above the city is worth a stroll around for the views and sculptures/buildings etc

Many good restaurants and barsdotted around. My favourite is sea food specilaist Botamfeuro – full menu or sit at the bar for a quick plate (empty at 9pm packed at 10.30 and still going at midnight)

If there is a football game on while you are there find a popukar bar to watch it in, they are bonkers mad on football

been a few times including a couple of times in December, first time being spent mainly doubled up on a marble bathroom, floor fluid jetting from both ends, in a hotel by barri gotic (recommended). As a romantic weekend this was bit of a washout.

Anyway, go to the beach. The mistral can kick up a fair old swell and on my second December visit I hired a board for some sunny surf (also not entirely conducive to a romantic weekend, but a surf’s a surf.)

In a weekend I’d not look to do much more than Miro Museum, Parc Guel, shopping (which is good) and bars.

The Casa Batllo is worth a visit, too – another bit of Gaudi architecture. The Ramblas is OK, something you “ought” to visit but don’t expect too much of it. You can then walk back up through the Barrio Gotico.

If you’re feeling efficient you could book restaurants through El Tenedor, you usually get a 30-40% discount on the food.

And who really thinks that people visiting London would head to Leicester Square? Trafalgar Sq, Big Ben, the British Museum – definitely. Even Madame Tussauds. But Leicester Square???

Well worth a walk down the ramblas, if you’re going to a back choose the ones after the harbour for a bit more peace and less condoms floating in the water.

I enjoyed the cable car leading up to the Montjuïc and walking down through the gardens.

Font màgica de Montjuïc are fantastic as is all of it around there, some stunning buildings.

The picasso museum isn’t super but maybe worth a visit if you’re into that.
Book all your tickets online by the way. And if you eat in a nice square it will cost twice as much.

Sagrada familia of course, also a trip up to Park Güell and/or torre de collserola for some fantastic views.

Its a great city to walk about it, especially at night. Plaça reial is a great spot for a drink.
Keep your wallet safe but don’t walk around scared. I never feel a threat there.

Barcelona feels a lot safer than it used to. Don’t eat in the places on Las Ramblas – poor and expensive. The cable car is good. Barri gotic is the place for a night out.

Ramblas is nice, eastern european thieves are not.

Edited, Oh and don’t get arrested, I watched a handful of coppers take a bloke down an alley and give him a proper ‘life on mars’ talking to, just meters off the Ramblas. Parked the meat wagon across the entrance to the alley to shield the view a bit.

Avoid:
Buying 2 pint jugs of beer on Las Ramblas (€20 each)
Harbourside for food unless you want formal dining
The cable car across the harbour

Do:
Spend time in El Born for tapas & cocktails
Walk around the old town
Visit the bit up on the hill by the observatory
Enjoy the laid back atmosphere!