Ideas for things to do in Barcelona?

[aubchic]

My husband and I are going to Barcelona next month for a week. We really want to explore all that Barcelona has to offer. Any tips about restaurants, museums, day excursions would be very helpful.

Thanks!

[kyshel]

Lots to do!! FOOD!!
You can tour all the major Gaudi buildings. The Hop on/off Bus (known as HOHO) will get you close but you need to walk to each attraction--very few are right on the routes. The cathedral is $$ but it draws oodles of people. Sadly, they have erected barriers so that you can't take many photos of the facade w/out paying to go in.
Wow--food?? Watch out for the tourist places near the market--they have good food prices, but then a beer can be 8 euros. You can buy food there and take it for a picnic at the public seating areas. There is a great spice/herb vendor near the main entry--best buys would be smoked paprika (aka ahumado) and cumin seed (if you have a grinder) If you like HOT get the hot paprika--it IS HOT HOT HOT. Sweet (dulce) is really a bit spicy but yummy! We only spent a few days; maybe more folks here can assist. Beaches are quite nice. They have the typical tourist crap like cable cars and such at the port for the cruise people--not my thing at all. BTW--food and taxis are very $$.

[danielboldea]

So many great places to visit! Just a few suggestions aside from all the wonderful recommendations a good travel book will offer:

Make sure you visit the magical fountains, all of Gaudi's creations, the Picasso Museum | The website of the Barcelona City and the chocolate museum (very small but has a few interesting chocolate sculptures).

For a beautiful view of Barcelona take the cable car up to Montjuic. Plenty of museums and various things to see up there. Not a good place to go if you have limited mobility (unevenly paved paths).

For the best chocolate croissant that I have ever had, and I have had quite a few, go to Avinguda de Gaudí, which is a pedestrian walkway that starts on the north corner of the Sagrada Familia block. Just a few hundred meters up on the left you will find a patisserie that very few tourists ever get to. They serve Illy Coffee and have an Illy sign up on the front of the store. Follow the aroma, as the bakery products are made in house, and you are bound to find it. That is how I discovered it! Like I said, not touristy at all. The staff does not (did not) speak English and the place is full of locals.

The layers of wonderful pastry dough are not only filled with chocolate but are covered in chocolate flakes as well!

Safe travels and enjoy all that is Barcelona!

[kyshel]

I like the way you eat, Daniel!! Must be the Romanian? (Hubby is second generation)
With that recommendation for pastries, I guess I'll have to go back to Barcelona.

[schumaster]

If you love fine dining, a trip to Girona maybe (it's just under 100 kms from Barcelona)? They have the no.2 restaurant in the world!!!! El celler de can roca (it's a 3 Michelin starred restaurant)

[LL_Travelfan]

Speaking of fine restaurnats, try Cinc Sentits Barcelona - Cinc Sentits restaurant in Barcelona
and also this description:
"Cinc Sentits
When Cinc Sentits opened in May 2004 it fast established itself as one of the top places in town – both in terms of quality and price – to sample modern Catalan cooking from Jordi Artal, a self-taught chef who grew up in Canada, but returned to his roots to open the restaurant in Eixample Esquerra. The minimal decor provides a great frame to his elegant, new wave cooking based on local, mostly organic and wild ingredients. Dishes such as Catalan caviar with smoked sturgeon and poached quail's egg, tomato sorbet with garlic "bubbles", and chocolate mousse with arbequina olive oil ice cream and roast macadamias form the foundation of the oft-changing tasting menu. He picked up a well-deserved Michelin star in November 2008.
• Carrer d'Aribau 58, +34 93 323 9490, cincsentits.com, tasting menus €49-€69. Open Tue-Thu 1.30pm-3pm, 8.30pm-10pm, Fri-Sat 1.30pm-3pm, 8.30pm-10.30pm"
We ate there last November while visiting Barcelona and staying at the W Hotel with a LL package. We decided on Lunch rather than Dinner and had the "Menu de Degustation" for 69Euros paired with Spanish wines for each course of the tasting menu. This was probably one of the finest meals we had in Spain. The restaurant is small, only 10 or 12 tables. The atmosphere was very pleasant and unhurried. We couldn't recommend the restaurant more if we tried.
We also had a leisurely dinner off Las Ramblas in one of the square in the medieval section of town. I don't remember the name, but I remember the wonderful appetizer of freshly grilled anchovies and cherry tomatoes arranged on puff pastry, and the great, freshly grilled fish. Off Las Ramblas is a wonderful food market - very colorful.
We took the red line of the hop-on-hop off city tour bus to get an overview of the city and then proceeded to tour the city, the gardens and museums on our own.
To avoid the long entrance lines at the famous Sagrada Famillia Church by Gaudi, you can get reserved tickets right out of any CAIXA bank automate in Barcelona. In addition to money, you can also get your reserved tickets to Gaudi's church. Or you can try this this link: Sagrada Familia, Skip the Line!
Good luck!

[jimmyadam]

There are plenty of things to do in Barcelona like La Palau de la Musica Catalana, Picasso Museum, The Passeig del Born, Medieval Palaces On Carrer Montcada, Cocktail Bars of El Born, Chocolate Museum, Arabic Baths, Seafood at La Paradeta, Santa Caterina Market, Santa Maria del Mar and many more.

[shanelee]

The first exciting thing there is the football match.The clubs of Spain need no comments because these are considered the best and stylish clubs in entire world.So first entertainment in Spain is the foot ball match and the second this is the Bull fighting.To see the Bull fighting match in their national stadiums is also one of the dangerous adventures in world and if you are a bull fighter then it is more tough than mountain climbing.
byron bay resort accommodation

[LL_Travelfan]

Yes, football is undoubtedly a great sport in Spain and Barcelona has a wonderfull football stadium high up on the hill. Here is the website: Official FC Barcelona Web Site - Barça | FCBarcelona.com
As to bullfighting, bullfighting in Barcelona was banned on July 28, 2010, with the ruling coming into force on January 1, 2012. I believe you can still see bullfights in Madrid.

[copahc]

Park Guell is my favorite attraction I think.