Where to go in Barcelona?
Aug 20th, 2005, 07:52 PM
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Where to go in Barcelona?
Where are some good places to go in Barcelona in September? One book said just go there and relax. Sounds great but does anyone have any other suggestions? I do enjoy the water, snorkeling, water sports etc. Is any of that possible there? We will only be there for a couple of days.
Thanx!
Thanx!
Aug 20th, 2005, 11:30 PM
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Hi Linzy!
September is indeed a good month to visit Barcelona weatherwise, also with the Fiesta de la Merce around the 23rd there's a lot going on in the city. It will be quite crowded with tourists though.
As for water sports: Barcelona is a large city, which happens to be situated at the coast. So there are some beaches where you can go with the metro (Barceloneta or Puerto Olimpico or further down the yellow line L4). But these are narrow and quite crowded city beaches. Of course you can go swimming, and in the olympic port there's a sailing club as well. But it's not like there's gonna be much to see under water when snorkling.
But there's so much to see in Barcelona regarding architecture and culture that it'd be a shame just to spend the entire day on the beach, but that's just my humble opinion.
Enjoy!
September is indeed a good month to visit Barcelona weatherwise, also with the Fiesta de la Merce around the 23rd there's a lot going on in the city. It will be quite crowded with tourists though.
As for water sports: Barcelona is a large city, which happens to be situated at the coast. So there are some beaches where you can go with the metro (Barceloneta or Puerto Olimpico or further down the yellow line L4). But these are narrow and quite crowded city beaches. Of course you can go swimming, and in the olympic port there's a sailing club as well. But it's not like there's gonna be much to see under water when snorkling.
But there's so much to see in Barcelona regarding architecture and culture that it'd be a shame just to spend the entire day on the beach, but that's just my humble opinion.
Enjoy!
Aug 21st, 2005, 11:53 AM
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Hey Linzy,
As for places to visit: you can just stroll in the Barrio Gotico, see all the fantastic Gaudi buildings, see the Sagrada Familia (going in is quite expensive and not really worth the money, you can see enough from the outside). If you want to have a picknick, what better place to do it than on the famous Gaudi benches in Parc Guell. Get a nice guide book for more information. I love the diversity of Barcelona: the outdoors hilly feel on Montjuic or Tibidabo, the coast, the modern architecture in the Puerto Olimpico and Diagonal del Mar, etc.
Stroll down las Ramblas, but don't go and sit on a terrace there. Prices are incredible, it's a big tourist scam.
If you and your girlfriends like to go shopping, most of the high street shops are in Carrel del Angel en Carrer Portaferissa, but it's full of funky little and trendy boutiques in El Born and the north side of El Raval.
If you can tell me which dates exactly you'll be going, I can think of an appropriate place for a birthday (lots of bars have weekly special nights so I can recommend you things according to the day of the week). Also, I've lived there for a year, but I have returned home in July last year, and new bars keep on coming every week and others are closing down, so I can't be absolutely sure about the accuracy of things.
Have fun!
As for places to visit: you can just stroll in the Barrio Gotico, see all the fantastic Gaudi buildings, see the Sagrada Familia (going in is quite expensive and not really worth the money, you can see enough from the outside). If you want to have a picknick, what better place to do it than on the famous Gaudi benches in Parc Guell. Get a nice guide book for more information. I love the diversity of Barcelona: the outdoors hilly feel on Montjuic or Tibidabo, the coast, the modern architecture in the Puerto Olimpico and Diagonal del Mar, etc.
Stroll down las Ramblas, but don't go and sit on a terrace there. Prices are incredible, it's a big tourist scam.
If you and your girlfriends like to go shopping, most of the high street shops are in Carrel del Angel en Carrer Portaferissa, but it's full of funky little and trendy boutiques in El Born and the north side of El Raval.
If you can tell me which dates exactly you'll be going, I can think of an appropriate place for a birthday (lots of bars have weekly special nights so I can recommend you things according to the day of the week). Also, I've lived there for a year, but I have returned home in July last year, and new bars keep on coming every week and others are closing down, so I can't be absolutely sure about the accuracy of things.
Have fun!
Aug 22nd, 2005, 07:04 AM
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First of all the good news: September 17th is a Saturday, so plenty of opportunities to go out
The bad news: it's not yet the Fiesta de la Merce, so lots of places might be waiting for some days to have the real special events around La Merce.
Anyway, I think I have a nice place for you to get the birthday party started:
On Carrer Reina Cristina 7, that's close to Plaza del Palau and the Barceloneta metro stop, there is a place called 'Can Paixano', though it's generally known as 'La Champagneria'. It's a cava (Spanish champagne) bar, and it's open from 9 am till 10.30 pm. After 7 pm it's completely packed, but that's part of the charm (unless you hate that kind of things). The great thing is that you can buy the cava by the bottle, ask the number of glasses you want and fill yourselves. It's incredibly cheap (at most 5€ for the most expensive bottle), but you are required to buyat least 2 sandwiches or little tapa plates with every bottle (don't worry, they're not expensive either, at most 2€ for a sandwich or something).
The sandwich thing is a good rule, as it prevents you from getting too drunk. Also, it feels so great and a little decadent to be drinking champagne while you're having a sandwich with for example chorizo (big Spanish sausage).
If this doesn't sound like your kind of place, tell me what you DO like. Also regarding tasts in music for going out.
The bad news: it's not yet the Fiesta de la Merce, so lots of places might be waiting for some days to have the real special events around La Merce.
Anyway, I think I have a nice place for you to get the birthday party started:
On Carrer Reina Cristina 7, that's close to Plaza del Palau and the Barceloneta metro stop, there is a place called 'Can Paixano', though it's generally known as 'La Champagneria'. It's a cava (Spanish champagne) bar, and it's open from 9 am till 10.30 pm. After 7 pm it's completely packed, but that's part of the charm (unless you hate that kind of things). The great thing is that you can buy the cava by the bottle, ask the number of glasses you want and fill yourselves. It's incredibly cheap (at most 5€ for the most expensive bottle), but you are required to buyat least 2 sandwiches or little tapa plates with every bottle (don't worry, they're not expensive either, at most 2€ for a sandwich or something).
The sandwich thing is a good rule, as it prevents you from getting too drunk. Also, it feels so great and a little decadent to be drinking champagne while you're having a sandwich with for example chorizo (big Spanish sausage).
If this doesn't sound like your kind of place, tell me what you DO like. Also regarding tasts in music for going out.
Aug 22nd, 2005, 08:08 AM
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Regarding the Sagrada Familia, admission is 8 euros, and an English guided tour is an additional 3.5 euros. Personally, I did think it was worth the price of admission. It was fun to climb up the stairs in the towers and get a close up view of the church, as well as a nice view of the city. See www.sagradafamilia.org for more info.
Aug 22nd, 2005, 11:55 AM
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Ok, a little bit about going out and partying in Barcelona, especially for you: the 'local' people normally have dinner around 10 pm, go to bars around midnight (but there's usually not that much dancing going on) and when those close (around 3 am) they go to clubs.
The best clubs have quite a high entrance fee, but if you're lucky you can find flyers for free or discounted entrance in 'cool' shops and bars
For great food at great prices:
Quinze Nits at Plaza Reial. If there's a queue on the square, it's for this restaurant. Waiting times are normally like half an hour, they don't take reservations. The food is great and the prices are incredibly low, hence the cue. Worth the wait, you can do some people watching in the mean time.
Some of my favourite bars:
- Cafe Royal, street on the lower left of Plaza Reial, jazzy lounge bar
- La Fianna, C/Banys Vells, Born area, great Moroccan style cocktail bar with big pillows to sit on
- Danzatoria, on Tibidabo mountain, you need a taxi to get there, but it's a great club style bar in an old villa
Some great clubs:
- La Paloma (in old ballroom)
- Razzmatazz (very big, including best rock/indie club)
- Discotheque (very fashionable, electronics)
Check www.salirenbarcelona.com for addresses (site in Spanish but you should be able to navigate)
But the city is really full of bars and places and when walking around Plaza Reial and Las Ramblas around midnight - 1am, it's full of people giving out flyers for free entrance to bars and clubs. And if you really want to head for the touristy places where you can dance from dusk till dawn:
Maremagnum and Puerto Olimpico: pop charts, r&b, 70-80-90's, a latino cocktail bar here and there
I hope to have helped you with this!
The best clubs have quite a high entrance fee, but if you're lucky you can find flyers for free or discounted entrance in 'cool' shops and bars
For great food at great prices:
Quinze Nits at Plaza Reial. If there's a queue on the square, it's for this restaurant. Waiting times are normally like half an hour, they don't take reservations. The food is great and the prices are incredibly low, hence the cue. Worth the wait, you can do some people watching in the mean time.
Some of my favourite bars:
- Cafe Royal, street on the lower left of Plaza Reial, jazzy lounge bar
- La Fianna, C/Banys Vells, Born area, great Moroccan style cocktail bar with big pillows to sit on
- Danzatoria, on Tibidabo mountain, you need a taxi to get there, but it's a great club style bar in an old villa
Some great clubs:
- La Paloma (in old ballroom)
- Razzmatazz (very big, including best rock/indie club)
- Discotheque (very fashionable, electronics)
Check www.salirenbarcelona.com for addresses (site in Spanish but you should be able to navigate)
But the city is really full of bars and places and when walking around Plaza Reial and Las Ramblas around midnight - 1am, it's full of people giving out flyers for free entrance to bars and clubs. And if you really want to head for the touristy places where you can dance from dusk till dawn:
Maremagnum and Puerto Olimpico: pop charts, r&b, 70-80-90's, a latino cocktail bar here and there
I hope to have helped you with this!
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monica_pileggi
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