So what's good to do in Barcelona?

[ckay87]

Thrilled to learn that I'll be visiting Europe for the fist time ever sometime during the next few months (date of trip hasn't been set - tagging along on a work thing with DH). Anyway, main destination - Barcelona. Looking for absolutely any tips, points of interest, activities, etc. Anything.

 

[SMD]

I used the hop on, hop off bus to get to La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell (which is still quite an uphill hike.) Otherwise the tour itself on the bus wasn't that great. It would depend on how many sites you'll actually get off the bus to see. It did come with coupons for buy one, get one at McDonald's where we discovered that they had potato wedges instead of just fries. I highly recommend those. Plus they had the best free WiFi in all of Europe. You should check out cruise critic, Barcelona is a popular port for Med cruises and they have threads there with good tips.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

We loved having the HOHO bus passes! There are 2 main companies there, but both will take you to the highlights. We used http://www.barcelonacitytour.com/en/ Just looking at the list of all the places it stops should give you ideas of the highlights of the city, and you can pick what you want to tour.

We went at the end of a cruise for 3 days and I wished we had more time. I was not expecting to love Barcelona as much as I did. You want to hit La Sagrada Familia as well as tour Casa Batllo. One thing we did that we all LOVED was walking into a tapas place and just ordering a little bit of everything- we had no idea what we were really eating, but it tasted so good! Although on Day 3, we did hit the Hard Rock Cafe so we could drink real fountain soda with ICE. If it's warm enough, you can also hit the beach. We did see a flamenco show, and I could take it or leave it.

We stayed right in Placa Catalunya on Las Ramblas. There are a lot of street vendors at night and it's an interesting place to people watch.

 

[Briarmom]

Pick up a Rick Steves guidebook. It's always been so worth it to me to know what to do and when to do it. Some things need reservations, museums are closed certain days...it's just good info to have.

He makes a 'Best of Europe' that has lots of different cities if you're hitting a few different countries or just a Spain book if you're going just there. The books have helped me plan countless trips!
Enjoy!

 

[Gigi22]

We learned that Barcelona is the skateboard capital of Europe, so while sightseeing remember to be on the watch for skateboarders zipping down those cobbled streets!

For the Sagrada Familia, which is crazy busy, pre-purchase your tickets online so you can go in the faster lineup at the back of the building.

We went on a wine tour, which I highly recommend. I ordered cava (sparkling white wine) everywhere. If your not sure about the wines on a wine list, order cava.

 

[PigletsPal2]

We did the usual tourist things like La Sagrada Familia and I think it was in Barcelona that we took a cable car up the mountain (I forget the name of the mountain - it was 35 years ago!) Our favorite thing was to stroll up and down Las Ramblas, peeking in the shops, stopping at sidewalk cafes and having churros to dip in cups of hot chocolate as thick as melted Hershey bars, and just people watching. Tapas-hopping was also great fun, visiting a bunch of bars and sampling their assortments of nibblies. My favorite was the shrimp in olive oil.

Barcelona was my favorite city for years, until I visited Sydney, but it's still high on my list. Have a wonderful time - I'm jealous!

Queen Colleen

 

[EmJay2001]

My husband is there right now . Not for fun though, he just had spine surgery 1 week ago. So not only is it a fantastic tourist spot, they also have a world class neurosurgeon there .

 

[firecracker725]

I used the hop on, hop off bus to get to La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell (which is still quite an uphill hike.) Otherwise the tour itself on the bus wasn't that great. It would depend on how many sites you'll actually get off the bus to see. It did come with coupons for buy one, get one at McDonald's where we discovered that they had potato wedges instead of just fries. I highly recommend those. Plus they had the best free WiFi in all of Europe. You should check out cruise critic, Barcelona is a popular port for Med cruises and they have threads there with good tips.

Oh for the love of everything holy, please just take a taxi to Park Guell. The Hop on/Hop off bus takes forever to get anywhere, and it is well worth the cost of a taxi to just get there quickly. You can metro or bus back easily (or just take a taxi). Don't forget to reserve your times in advance for La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell.