2019 trip: favourite foods, local haunts, top recommendations from others

Tried and true:

  • Baluard Barcelona: loved the pastries and bread here
  • Passeig de Gracia: amazing shopping at stores like Mango, Stradivarius, etc. (all the European brands)
  • Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria: lots of food stalls and places to try local delicacies
  • Bunkers del Carmel: incredible views of the city, especially for sunset. The bus takes you most of the way up here, and the locals bring music and wine/beer to hang out
  • Citizen Cafe: brunch with fresh juices and great coffee
  • La Colmena: candy store where I picked up different flavoured sweets as gifts to bring home
  • Alsur Cafe Palau: great coffee and cakes/desserts
  • Navarro: florist that is massive with so many beautiful flowers and plants

Recommendations I didn’t get to test out:

  • Gastronomica: tapas
  • Casa Lolea: flan and sangria
  • Louro: lobster paella
  • El Quim: fried squid
  • Montserrat: small town nearby
  • Paco Meralgo: tapas
  • Restaurante Loidi
  • Cornelia & Co
  • Pastelerías Mauri
  • Bubo
  • Tutusaus Restaurant: jamon
  • Reserva Iberica: jamon
  • Mauri: breakfast

Other tips and tricks:

  • Picasso Museum: book ahead as they have timed tickets

New observations:

  • There are a lot of 24h bakeries, which is incredible
  • They have huge garbage bins on all the streets, which sometimes obstruct pedestrian pathways

2016 trip: how to hit the tourist highlights in a weekend

Feb 26

  • Airport to city centre by bus (depending on where you go, you can either take the bus or the subway)
  • Parc de Montjuïc
    • National Art Museum on a hill with great views of the city
    • Barcelona Pavilion
    • Arenas de Barcelona
      • A mall that looks like a stadium
  • Compostela for dinner (in city centre)

Feb 27

  • Park Güell
    • Timed tickets; going early in the day made it easy to get great photos and avoid crowds
  • Sagrada Familia
    • Timed tickets as well
    • Would warn that the towers are weather-dependent so we didn’t get in on account of rain that day
  • Camp Nou
    • Not really that interesting if you don’t do the tour; just a big store to walk around with lots of tourists
  • Corte Inglés
    • There are a few in the city; they seem to be standard department stores
    • No idea why they’re thusly named (the short Englishman) and I’d like to find out…
  • Bodega 1900
    • Ferran Adria’s lesser known and less good restaurant but still quite nice
    • Kind of snobby service though food is good (but pricey)

Feb 28

  • Walking tour of the Gothic Quarter
    • Free and very well done, though we ended up tipping 20 euros to the guide anyway
    • Really enjoyed Plaza Reial and how it felt like what I’ve only ever seen at the Venetian in Vegas and Macau
  • Ocean front boardwalk amble
    • Super warm in the sun but super cold in the shade! Wonder how people normally dress here
    • Lots of tourists but still a nice walk; I imagine it must be super nice in the summer
  • Passeig de Gracia and La Rambla
    • Do NOT come here on a Sunday. Everything is closed and it is downright unexciting