Thinking about going to Barcelona in Mid - Feb. My wife gets some time off and we are thinking about 2 weeks with Barcelona as base and maybe rent a car and explore the coast.
Any suggestions? Hotels, restaurants, things we must see / do.

Parking in the old cities can often be very difficult due to old cobbled and narrow streets and traffic. Cost of airfare on local airlines is cheap and dependable; We got roundtrip airfare plus $5 baggage fee one year ago on clickair.com from Granada to Barcelona for 15 euros pp.! Flight took about 75 or 90 minutes and allowed us more time at our destinations instead of traveling. Trains and busses are also cheap, plentiful and dependable. By doing public transport, you could get to some other wonderful spots like Granada or Sevilla!!! In Barcelona, we went to the Sagrada Familia on metro in late afternoon, had dinner and then got to see it lit up at night also. Fantastic views both ways! If you go to Parc Guell (much recommended for the beauty of the park and great hilltop city views), take a taxi, though, as public transport required changes and walking. Enjoy your trip!!!

Hi; We arrived at the Barcelonia airport, had a car rented and did a country side tour. Then dropped the car off and visited Barcelonia for four days. Our hotel had a great location, in the market square, across from the cathedral. www.hotelcolon.es/ Dick P.S Our room was not huge, but had a view of the square/cathedral, rm 306.

Doesn't Fodors have a Barcelona city guide on this website? Seriously, these people have put a lot of work into their guides and you should use them. Do some background research on this website and others because they usually have suggested itineraries, hotels, sights to see, nightlife, etc.

No, I'm not a Fodors house shill.

Using Barcelona as a base to explore the area is in a bad idea if you want to explore by car. Parking is nearly impossible and expensive in the city and traffic can be a headache.

If you want to explore the area outside of the city, then you will need to stay outside of the city, either to the north, along the coast to the Costa Brava, inland toward Vic, or south, into the Priorat and Penedès wine region (www.dopenedes.es/). Cal Llop (the House of the Wolf) in Gratallops would be an excellent base for exploring the Penedès wine region.