I am heading over by myself from Sept. 30 to Oct. 8th to Barcelona. Would like tips of which hotels/areas to stay, which restaurants are best and top places to see/visit. I am 35 and active so willing to walk/hike or explore other areas outside of Barcelona as well.

A moderately priced and well-located hotel on one of the cities major streets, just a block from the beginning of the famed Rambla, would be the Gran Via. It's an old colonial style, smallish rooms (ask for one in the back of he hotel..very quiet). Rates should be in the vicinity of 100E's, and possibly less depending on the time of year. We enjoyed the ambience, excellent staff, and a staircase harking back to the days of grandness in Barcelona. The Placa Catalunya is five minutes away, and from here the life of the electric, energetic city spews forth.
The Barrio Gotic is also closeby, and the Gaudi buildings are on the next block on Passeig Gracia, the most upscale section of the city.
Tip: Before you do anything, take the Bus Turistica all around the city, hopping on and off whenever you wish to visit the sights. Ths way you'll get a good overview of the city.
Stu

I highly recommend Maribel's guide, available at http://maribelsguides.com/

Maribel used to post here frequently and is highly praised for her knowledge. We used many of her recommendations in Barcelona and were never disappointed.

Barcelona is a great walking city; you might consider taking one or more walking tours, particularly of the Barri Gotic.

You should be aware that not everyone recommends the Bus Turistica. We had a bad experience with it and felt that we wasted quite a bit of time; others have said that it helped them a lot.

If you go to the destinations section of this website, you will find hotel and restaurant recommendations, and sample sightseeing itineraries.

For a restaurant with terrific food and a young, hip crowd, go to La Dolca Herminia at Magdalenes 27--2 blocks towards Ramblas from Plau de la Musica. Very resonable prices and high quality food.

Hi, one thing I suggest is to hop on the red and blue buses, one price, hop on and off. You will get a great overview of the city and then go from there. The square near the Hard Rock Barcelona (buses start there) is the place to be centralized and a hotel I stayed at the Mont.... (montaque maybe) or something is great for location and price. I will try to find the name exactly and write back.

To visit: definitely Sagrada Familia as well as the more traditional gothic cathedral and the Gothic Quarter; Las Ramblas just to view the swirl of humanity, bird sellers, flower stalls, shell games, living statues and all else.

Metro can be a GREAT way to get around, especially if you buy one of the ten-ride tickets; stations are ovens when it is hot but trains are A/C'd; watch your pockets on the Metro.

A great daytrip would be up to Montserrat...wonderful art museum as well as the church and you can do plenty of walking around as well.