A four night trip to Barcelona?

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SUE

Start by walking the Ramblas. Start at one end, walk up or down on one side, and return on the other, crossing into the middle wherever you are moved. It's a fascinating street...the shops are cool to poke into...there are little ice cream shops that make the ice cream fresh on the premises, REALLY good! And tons of little cafÃ©s, and restaurants...be aware that they charge about normal prices for food when you sit in the terrazas, (outside cafÃ©s) but they ream you on the drinks...you can't NOT drink, because you will get dehydrated, and you can't drink the tap water...tastes AWFUL!

Next, you want to explore the Barri Gotic, (off the Ramblas), and the Boqueria...one of the world's great markets...there are a couple of interesting buildings along the Ramblas and just off the main drag, there. The Barri Gotic has a great walking tour (you should be able to find something online...print it and bring it with you) that begins at the Cathedral. Full of interesting buildings and historic places. If it interests you, that part of the city was built upon Roman ruins, and lots of people have excavated under their homes...lots of privately owned museums, there.

You should spend one full day doing the Eixample...I found for the first time in my life that the tourist bus was worthwhile for this...it's so vast! Highlights that you should hop off for are La Pedrera (aka Casa MilÃ¡), a masterpiece designed by GaudÃ; Camp Nou, the football stadium; Parc GÃ¼ell (also designed by GaudÃ - you will recognise some of it from photos and movie settings); and, of course, Sagrada Familia, another GaudÃ, his masterpiece, often mistakenly called a "cathedral". It isn't that, but it IS spectacular!

Beyond that, those being the Must sees, you begin to choose things that are your own interests: Monjuic is fascinating...Poble Espanyol, if you are interested in artistry, handcrafts (modern, we were expecting traditional crafts) and Spanish architecture - it's rather like Disney, because they aren't real, they were recreated for a show, there. Also tons of little art museums there. Fundacio MirÃ³, a couple of others, and a lot of the Olympics were held up there, as well, and there's a huge castle, with a museum or arms and armor.

Also, the Picasso Museum (in town). a couple of amusement parks, and tons of small towns nearby if you want to explore.

Montserrat, the monestary about an hour out of town, is worth seeing from a religious and historic point of view.

chicken man

This question comes up periodically, so browse the old answers, too. My thoughts:

Museums: Museu Picasso, Fundacio Miro, Museu de la Ciutat (City Museum). The 2nd is a little out of the in the Parc Montjuic, but is the best collection of Miro's work anywhere.

Architecture: Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, Casa Mila (aka La Pedrera), Casa Batllo, in that order. All these are Gaudi buildings, the first two are must-see, and the 3rd almost is. You can walk down the street Passeig de Gracia from Casa Mila to at least see the outside of Casa Batllo as well as other Art Noveau Buildings.

Music: Palau de Musica. Another Art Noveau gem. Try to catch a concert there (make sure its in the main hall) over the tour. It's gorgeous and the music is great. Buy tickets online.

restaurants: Les Quinze Nits (15 Nights) in Placa Real - get there about 20-30 minutes before opening as they don't take reservations. If you can't get in there, try La Fonda (I hear it's owned by the same people). Both excellent Catalan food at very reasonable prices.

Also try Origen 99.9, a local chain, but good authentic Catalan food. Get there a little before opening because they don't take reservations and often only do one sitting. http://www.origen99.com/web/

Tapas Gaudi of La Rambla de Gaudi (not Las Ramblas, but near Sagrada Familia) is a good tapas place.

nightlife: Clubs everywhere, for a slightly more relaxed and less touristy experience try Placa del Sol or La Cervesera Artesana (http://www.lacervesera.net/eng/indexeng.... best beer in Barcelona, not that that says a lot. Drink wine everywhere else - reds from La Rioja, whites and Cavas from Penedes).

Other: La Boqueria market, Las Ramblas, Barri Gotic, including Cathedral and Santa Maria del Mar. Just wander that area. Sitges for nearby beaches, though the ones in the city are decent if you don't have the time to get down there. More ambitious day trips include Figueras (with the Dali museum) and Cadaques for beaches, or Montserrat for the monastery and hiking. For me, I wouldn't go farther than Sitges for an afternoon if you're only there 4 days.

You probably can't do all that, but pick and choose what sounds good to you. Have fun!

cdk8591

Here are some links which might prove helpful :

http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/?go=jN7uAYLx/oIJaWVQCb4ZU93ygJVYLOpRQdvyIue/wAW6Ddhyhal0Y8JybdczumN4RSbo3CRL94sJBt7u1Kc=

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/

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