Barcelona

Dun

I'm heading to Barcelona next week for a week, with a couple of friends, and was wondering if anybody has any tips/advice, what to see, what not to see?

Oh, and if anybody knows of any good rock/alternative music bars, clubs etc. I'd appreciate it if you shared

solice

first thing that you have to do is go to "les ramblas", its a really cool street that brings you from the center of barca to the harbour. its really beautiful.

then it all depends on what you want to do. the "barri gotic" is the old quarter of the city with lots of really amazing churches and stuff like that, real medievil like. the "barri xines" then has all the pubs and clubs and such.

you should definitley go to the "sagrada de familia", we have all seen pictures of it but it can really only be truly admired in person. i have to say i was well impressed. Gaudi was amazing. and for spectacular views of the city climb the steeples. im not sure if its free but if you have to pay it will be well worth it.

go to the olympic stadium and swimming pool. you can go for a swim in the pool. (how often can you say that you swam in an actual olympic pool)

for a day out outside of the city go to "port aventura", its about an hour south of barca in "salou". its a reall cool theme park. lots of mad rollercoasters and the like.

apart from that all you can do is find a nice bar, have some tapas and and have some of that really nice spanish drink (i cant think of the name right now, its red and is made of fruit and vodka or rum or something) and admire Gaudis architecture, its everywhere.

public transport in the city is very good and really easy to get around. the metro is simple and quite reasonable. you can buy a five day pass for all zones

apart from that, have a great one. hope the weather is good and enjoy it

cerebus

Lots of great suggestions from Solice there.

All I would add is to consider spending a day on the tourist bus - it is one of those hop-on/hop-off deals. We found it a great way to get around to all the sights, as some of them are quite far from the city centre.

Make sure you get out to Parc Guell - another bit of Gaudi wackiness.

Also, if you're a football fan, then getting to see FC Barcelona play should be high on your list of things to do. Check if they are at home that week. Otherwise, there is always Espanyol who play in the Olympic Stadium up in Montjuic.

Zaph

Take a trip up to Tibidabo (I think that's the spelling), it's the mountain overlooking the city. You get a great view of everything from up there and there's a funfair on the top of the mountain. It's a few years since I was there, but I seem to remember it only taking an hour or so to get to the top. A guide book or tourist office should tell you exactly how to get there.

At the very top of the Ramblas there used to be the Zurich Cafe. Assuming it's still there, it's a great place to sit outside with a beer and watch the world go by.

The Olympic Port area near the bottom of the Ramblas has plenty of trendy bars and cafes. It was all rebuilt for, unsurprisingly, the 1992 Olympics. The Olympic stadium Solice mentioned is in Montjuic, which is a park and is a really pleasant place to sit in the shade on a hot day.

Have fun.

Lukin Black

Was reading in the Independent at the start of the week (in one of those In Brief columns) that floquet de neuw (sp.) or snowflake, the world's only white gorilla, is dying of skin cancer in Barcelona zoo, so last chance to see him probably.

Walter_Sobcek

**** - he was really cool - when I was there he had this weird habit of craping on his hand and throwing it at the glass.

Anywho....theres a great resturant off Las Ramblas called "Les Quinze Nits"

Very famous place with incredible food at really good prices (cheap as chips)

Ichiro

Just got back a week ago
Great Place, a real buzz about it,
Salgada Famillia is brilliant think it was €8 for students
well worth it. Also Playa Espanya is good for a walk around and up to the art museam with the view of the city.
Mind you did'nt find the bars as cheap as i thought they would be
Great city Great Buzz
You'll have a blast
Also do the Cable car thing near the olympic city a real buzz
Les Quinze Nits is brilliant but there is a queue but it flies so dont let that put you off
Enjoy your trip