Epicurean Barcelona

Epicurean Barcelona

"Barcelona, as nowhere else, has always understood that culture was not the butter on the bread of life..but the bread itself!" —Robert Hughes

For music lovers: Musical events in Barcelona are worth advance planning. Check schedules for the Liceu opera house, the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Auditori, or the many churches (especially Santa Maria del Mar) that hold concerts. Performances of Handel's Messiahat Christmas and Mozart's Requiem at Easter, sometimes performed by top international ensembles, must be booked well in advance.

For Foodies: Reserve well in advance for Barcelona's top gourmet restaurants, including Àbac, Comerç 24, Neichel, Drolma, Moo, El Racó d'en Freixa, Alkimia, Caelis and, especially, Santi Santamariá's Can Fabes outside of town in Sant Celoni and Carmen Ruscalleda's Sant Pau in Sant Pol de Mar. Ferran Adrià's El Bulli, in Roses, is generally impossible to book, serves dinner only from April through September, and, while an otherworldly experience, is a pilgrimage for only the most devoted gourmand.