8 nights in Barcelona--stay in the city, or outlying areas?
 

We've never been to Spain before, and will be in Barcelona in early June. I'd like to stay in Barcelona for 4 or 5 nights, but then get out of the city for a few nights. Any recommendations? A particular town along Costa Brava? Montserrat sounds like a better day trip. And since we don't want to stay in more than 2 different hotels, I'd like to pick just one other place--charming, with good hotels and food, and perhaps offering scenery/attractions different from Barcelona. Also, do you think it would better to begin or end the trip in Barcelona? Thanks so much for any advice you could offer!

I spent 2 nights in Girona and absolutely loved it. It's a small city with a well preserved medieval quarter, beautiful church and one of the best preserved Jewish quarters in Spain - and lots of stairs! It's a little quiet at night - plenty of tapas bars and things to do but not wild like Barcelona which was fine with me. Girona is only an hour away by train with frequent service to Barcelona. It's very doable as a daytrip also.

Another option would be to spend a night in Cadaques. It's a quaint seaside town witht he Dali home nearby. I visited in September and it was perfect but it may be a bit crowded in June.

8-nights in Barcelona for someone who's never visited Spain before is 'overkill' in my humble opinion. A weekend in Barcelona is fine, but there is so much more to Spain that you can reach from Barcelona by train or plane: Madrid, Sevilla, Bilbao, Santiago de Compostela. You could do a very mice tour of Northern Spain from Barcelona in 8-nights.

I am a big fan of Barcelona, and I find there is much to see and do there with amazing food. I suggest a day trip to Montserrat, and I also like the suggestion to visit Girona for a totally different experience, plus it is not that far away from Barcelona, that you will be spending a very long time in travel.
I do not know what your interests are, but if you are interested in Art and Architecture, Barcelona has much to see and enjoy. You can do an entire day walking along the MODERNIST Route in the Eixample area, visit all of the Gaudi famous buildings without rushing. Of course Parc Guell is a must, the Miro, Picasso Museums, and there are others to see. Many people enjoy visiting the beach town of Sitges which is outside of Barcelona.
Their is a wonderful assortment of Tapas and restaurants in Barcelona and some very fine restaurants as well, if you look forward to the eating experience. Pick up Time Out Barcelona which has some interesting information.

About Girona--is there a bus that goes there or just the train? Would a day trip be easy to do? Wondering if there would be a lot of walking from the train or bus into town or would there be taxis nearby. This town sounds interesting.
Am concerned about too much walking as we are 'older'. No problem handling the towns themselves though. Just looking for an easy commute. Perhaps as SadieM says, would this better to stay overnight.