Barcelona: what to do?

BlaRo

BlaRo

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My family and I plan to visit Barcelona for a few days after Christmas and before New Year's. What's to do and see there? Also, I know absolutely nothing about Spain.

And I really want to see a bullfight. :D
 
Go see the blaugrana play. Also go see the Dali and Miro museums, all of the crazy buildings done by Gaudi and Parc Guell.
 
and of course visit the ramblas, or you're not a real tourist

i didn't buy a thing, but i've spent more than 2 hours looking around in the covered market (or whatever you should call it)
08marketA.jpg


and try to catch a train to gerona, i liked that A LOT more
2006_lloret_de_mar_4_166.jpg

Gerona_Alley_n.jpg

spanje_Besalu_panorama.jpg

spanje_gerona_kathedraal.jpg


http://www.reisimpressies.eu/spanje-costabrava-achterland.htm
 
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I don't think they still do bullfights anymore, right?

Still an awesome city.
 
Unfortunately there are no matches after christmas and before new years. If you stick around there's a match on the first sunday of januari.
 
bone said:
and of course visit the ramblas, or you're not a real tourist
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Be careful, though. Some people "earn a living" there and tourists are usually their most "profitable clients".

I've only been to Barcelona twice so I can't help you too much, apart from the main places everyone visits and that have already been indicated in the thread, I don't know too much about the city.

There aren't too many bullfights there, although the best current "matador", Jos? Tom?s, goes to Barcelona from time to time, but ticket's prices for his "corridas" are prohibitive. Bullfighting is usually pretty boring, especially when the bullfighter or the bull are not very good.

FC Barcelona matches usually have a cold atmosphere (much colder than the typical English game for instance) although there a few excepctions every year depending on the rival (Real Madrid...) or the importance of the game.

I don't know if you like Dal?, I visited his museum, which is in Figueres (Girona) and I didn't like it too much.

You can also visit the Balear Islands (Majorca, Ibiza...) ,which are some German Islands next to Spain, taking a ferry in Barcelona that will get you there, in a few hours (if I'm not mistaken)

http://www.trasmediterranea.es/tras...hlZRwww3XpR4zC4ktVG0qnBhQq!394241432?codidi=2
 
ooh, and when walking over the ramblas...take a sidestreet :shock:

we didn't realy know where to go, weren't realy interested in the typical tourist stuff, and were just walking around. One second you're walking on the pretty boulevard, the next second you walking in between heroin addicts and dealers stareing at you. i've never had such a cultureshock in my life. i realy wasn't comfortable and tried to get out of there ASAP

then we went to the sagrada familia, only to discover it's fucking 10? entrance :shakefist:
a church should be free to visit! period!
 
If you've got the time, I'd plan a day trip to the Santa Maria de Montserrat.
From what I remember, you can get there quite easily from Barcelona via train, and it's a fantastic thing to behold!

Apart from that, I agree that you should try to see as many of Gaudi's structures, like the Sagrada Familia and park G?ell, as you can.

I wasn't particularily impressed by the Ramblas, but the great market halls you find around the city are another nice thing to see.

Also, if you're not afraid of covering some distance on foot, try to walk between spots, especially in the districts like the Barri G?tic, Eixample and Gr?cia. That way you'll take in a lot of small things, details and the general flair of the place that you'd probably miss any other way. And there really is a lot of it in this town.

Anyway, that's what I remember right now from when I visited my sister when she was studying there for some time. :)
 
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this is literally a dozen art museums i would looooove to go see. (what i get for both parents having masters degrees in art lol)

Plus all the Gaudi stuff, including that mindblowingly awesome cathedral and all the rest of the awesome architecture.
 
BlaRo said:
My family and I plan to visit Barcelona for a few days after Christmas and before New Year's. What's to do and see there? Also, I know absolutely nothing about Spain.

And I really want to see a bullfight. :D
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:lol:

Well then, I'm afraid you won't see any bullfights in here (in Barcelona) since all the places where they were held have closed and we aren't very fond of bullfighting. The first thing you'll notice is that every sing you will see will be written in a language different from Spanish since in Catalunya we speak Catalan, a completely different language from Spanish. But don't you worry, Barcelona is probably the city where you will least here spoken Catalan :lol:

There are many many places to visit in the city.

You have all of Gaudi's masterpieces: La pedrera, La Sagrada Familia (go to the top of the towers if you can), El Parc G?ell and la Casa Batll?.

Then you have the city center with "La Rambla" (where you should be VERY careful with your bags, specially if you stop somewhere to take a drink or eat. Always have your bag in the front ;)), "El portal de l'Angel" and "El Passeig de Gr?cia" (where all the shops are), "El Port Vell" etc.

The you have the beautiful "Barri G?tic" and "La ciutat Vella (old city)" where you'll be able to visit the medieval Barcelona with both "Santa Maria " and "Catedral del Mar" Gothic Cathedrals, the city hall and Government buildings, and many interesting streets to get lost (in a good way of course).

Then you can also get out of the city and visit Montserrat (like shad_68 said) or rent a car and enjoy some of the greatest roads you yill have the opportunity to drive to.

Back to Barcelona you can also visit some of the great museums the city has like:

-MNAC: The national museum of Art from Catalunya, with some of the best collections of art since the remanic period.

- Picasso Museum

- Museu Mir?

- Etc.

And many many more. I hope this info is of some help. If you need anything else just PM me and I'll see if I can help! ;)
 
I will ask my father in law; he is usually in Spain 3-4 times a year. I know he has been to Barcelona and the ilk many times.
 
ooh, and what you also should do, is park your car in one of the private car parks.

apparently, you have to leave your car at the entrance, and the owner goes put it in place. all next to eachother. if the owner of the first car comes to collect it, the garagemen first has to drive all other out of the way before he can get it out.

we didn't know, and just drove in...resulting in catalan swearing in our direction :D


i must say, it was the ONLY indoor carpark i've ever seen without ANY marks on the walls left behind by bumpers...that guy knew how to handle a car in a small space!
 
bone said:
ooh, and what you also should do, is park your car in one of the private car parks.

apparently, you have to leave your car at the entrance, and the owner goes put it in place. all next to eachother. if the owner of the first car comes to collect it, the garagemen first has to drive all other out of the way before he can get it out.

we didn't know, and just drove in...resulting in catalan swearing in our direction :D


i must say, it was the ONLY indoor carpark i've ever seen without ANY marks on the walls left behind by bumpers...that guy knew how to handle a car in a small space!
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See also : Italy.
They REALLY know how to park, but they're kinda mad if you come back sooner or later than you said you would.

Because now they have to move 28 cars to get yours out...
Know that flash game where your car is boxed in and you have only 1 space and have to move everything around to get your car out. That's based on those parking lots, only much easier
 
jayhawk said:
I will ask my father in law; he is usually in Spain 3-4 times a year. I know he has been to Barcelona and the ilk many times.
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And now I won't because incidentally, he left today for Spain and will be back in three weeks.
 
So it's 11pm here and we're flying out at 7 in the morning tomorrow, and I wanted to reflect on what I've seen.

We went to La Rambla a lot and found ourselves in the Barri Gotic every time, it's a magnificent place. I was able to check out the antiques market in front of the Cathedral which was a lot of fun, and pissed off every single vendor there by taking pictures of old typewriters. Got hosed for an expensive dinner the first night, but thankfully the chicken paella was worth it. Visited the Picasso Museum and loved it. Went to the Parc G?ell and La Sagrada Familia, discovered how much of a weird genius Gaudi was. On the Passeig de Gr?cia, La Padrera was too busy so I got some pictures but didn't wait two hours in line to visit the top. And I made my way to the waterfront a few times, and up and down Eixample.

Yesterday we rented a car (Opel Corsa 1.2 FEEL THE MOTHERFUCKIN' FURY) and drove to Cadaques, two hours north and within spitting distance of the French border. We ate lunch, took pictures, watched my dad plow into a staircase because he can't drive manual as well as I can :D, and got lost along the beautiful winding mountain roads, the only way into the town. Expect a writeup on the Smoking Tire soon.

Thanks for all the advice! I'll be back in 2030, when they finally finish building the damn church. :wheelchair:
 
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