Barcelona experiences
 

This is my one of the first trips that I am doing without months of research. I have always gotten wonderful ideas for my trips, great accommodation suggestions and support for all the solo adventures, This time I am meeting up with a friend and we will spend the days enjoying the sights and scenes of Barcelona.

I would like to do some of the following and would love any suggestions:

- walking tours - I have read Runner Bean tours are good but I am open to suggestions
- a culinary experience - either a walking tour or a dinner
- a beach to soak in the sun (we don't' mind travelling to one)
- musical experience - concert, dance
- day trips? is it worth staying overnight at Montserrat?

thanks in advance...I value your opinions

Runner bean tours....Nothing is for free. You end up paying with a tip in the end. These so called free tours are "stealing" from offical licensed guides. They are not officially allowed to operate inside of buildings and they could be uninsured . Maybe they rob from the government too. If no one pays taxes there is no one to pay for the infrastructure of the country.
A licensed guide undertakes a study to be sure they know the subject(s). Those who work for tips are untrained and usually are not locals.
Please read this:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g1...Barcelona.html

musical experience.... when are you going? http://www.timeout.com/barcelona

Thanks for the links - I understand the point.
I forgot about the timeout guides. I appreciate your post.

Lots of people go to the "local" beach in Barcelona. Lots of gays and plenty of others take the train to Sitges for the beaches there.

I was going to say, it sounds like you may not even be aware there is a beach right there (Barceloneta). In fact, I think Barcelona is one of the few major cities in Europe that has a beach right at the city. It even has a metro stop, although you do have to walk a bit from it to the beach, of course. And it may not be as nice as you want. This seems to be a good article and gives some alternatives
http://gospain.about.com/od/spainbea...na-beaches.htm

Concerts will vary depending on when you are there, if you really want big name concerts, you could try ticketmaster.es, you should be able to find local and current entertainment listings in some publications you can get at newstands or the tourist office stands (there is one on the Ramblas, as I recall, sort of in the middle). IN fact, there is a big tourist office at placa Catalunya, then an office in front of boqueria market on the Ramblas, and another office on the Ramblas in the Liceu theatre. Those listings will be smaller venues than the big concerts, and they have both classical and other stuff. I like classical music so look for things in different places than I think you may be looking for. In fact, you can go to their website in the agenda section and get a listing of pop/flameno/rock peformances during the dates you want.

http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/...39/agenda.html

As for Montserrat, I'm not sure why you would want to stay up there overnight. It would certainly complicate your accommodations. I definitely enjoyed it (the small art museum up there is actually outstanding), as well as the views on the way to/from in the cable car or funicular, but I don't know why one would have to stay at night for any particular reason. In fact, it would be a lot more difficult to lug all your travel baggage up and down from Montserrat. If you travel very very lightly, then I guess you could, but I doubt if the nightlife up there is something special (I suspect there is none). I think there is only one hotel up there (Abat Cisneros), if you do want to do that. There are some hostels and other lodging choices at the village at the base of the mountain, before you go up (Monistrol de Montserrat), but you aren't up there, anyway.

Thanks for the links. I thought as I don't get to enjoy beaches much in my cold Canadian climate that I could do some exploring of nearby towns and enjoy a beach too...two for one. I will check out the link. Are there any coastal towns worth a look and a beach day (I am sure they are all worth a look...but limited time). I wish I had more time...but grateful I can do this at all.

How is the Flamenco performances? Has anyone been to one and how was it? Even if it is touristy I would like to see a show.

For a day trip, you might consider Tarragona.

I attended flamenco performances at both the Tablao del Carmen, in El Poble Espanyol, and at the Tablao Cordobes, along Las Ramblas. The performances were excellent at both, but I liked the Tablao del Carmen much better. Seating there was more spacious (one is at tables, and yes, I enjoyed my dinner there, too) and the opportunity to see the performers was MUCH better. There were so many people crammed into the room at Tablao Cordobes that it not only felt a bit uncomfortable to me, but worse, I found it hard to see the dancers' feet, something I want to be able to do when watching flamenco.

@kja that is what I needed to know.

Did you go to Tarragona?

I didn't make it to Tarragona -- not for lack of interest, though! I just didn't have enough time, and so will include it as part of a future trip.

Second what kja says about flamenco in Barcelona. Both Tablao de Carmen and Tablao Cordobes are excellent places. Many tourists, but only top of the shelf artists perform here.

Flamenco is of course Andalucia, but also a great flamenco culture in Barcelona, much due to earlier immigration from the South. In fact, many of the greatest artists on the current scene are from Barcelona and surroundings. And the greatest of them all, Carmen Amaya (1917-1963), grew up in a poor neighbourhood close to the Barceloneta beach where - as she said - the waves taught her to dance.

Her grand-niese Karime Amaya often dances at Tablao Cordobes right on Las Ramblas, one of the most famous tablaos (flamenco restaurants) in the country. Her career is taking off right now: http://www.tablaocordobes.es/es

Clip of Karime Amaya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CklXLAvSIyc

Tablao de Carmen (yes, the same Carmen Amaya) is also excellent. It's on the site where Amaya made her public debut in front of king Alfonso XIII during the World Expo in 1929. http://www.tablaodecarmen.com/

One of my favourites, El Junco, in Tablao de Carmen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sENoCuTQYPs

Also excellent concerts in intimate El Dorado a couple of Thursdays almost every month. Here the audience will be mostly local aficionados. http://eldorado-sfb.com/

Wonderful Belen Maya in El Dorado (she comes in at about 4 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJVqifHGK04


Here is the greatest dancer on the current scene, Rocio Molina, doing her tribute to Carmen Amaya on the Amaya monument a few meters from the Barceloneta Beach. An almost magical experience. The Queen is dead, long live the Queen!: https://vimeo.com/68734588

Trailer to a recent documentary about the flamenco culture in Barcelona: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BibV3tYo0U

The greatest flamenco artists perform in Barcelona theaters all the time. The program is updated here: http://www.deflamenco.com/conciertos...barcelona.html

If you are willing to rent a car (easy in Barcelona), one of our most memorable experiences outside the city was a visit to the Dali museum in figueres (~140km, 90 mins). Then on the way back we took an overnight stop in costa brava (Begur). An amazingly beautiful area.

Ohhh that sounds like it might work Atlchx - my friend doesn't mind driving. I will look that up.

@kimhe Thanks for that amazing information and the links. It is something I have always wanted to see. Top of the list for entertainment.

Kelsey - if you fancy some classical music, the Palau de la Musica is the place to look for, and even if you don't go to a concert, the building is lovely and worth the price of the tour that they do:

http://www.palaumusica.cat/en

We liked the beach, which was a friendly place with lots of locals - I fell into "conversation" with an older leader who was there with her grandchildren; I say "conversation" because her english was only slightly better than my spanish, but that didn't stop us trying to communicate.

We also liked the numerous tapas bars [an excellent one near the Picasso museum I seem to remember] and the food in general. We're not great Gaudi fans but even without that, we managed to fill 4 days pretty easily. Sadly we didn't get to the Tablo de Carmen but the Poble Espagnol was much better than we expected and we had a very good meal at one of the restaurants there.

<tapas bars [an excellent one near the Picasso museum I seem to remember]> was most probably Tapeo. Had some outstanding tapas here in March, and now firmly on the must list for future visits. http://www.tapeoborn.cat/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tapeo-barcelona-3

The Coca de sardina tapa was to die for: http://www.tapeoborn.cat/tapas-menu/...ardina-en.html

And Tapeo is five meters from famous El Xampanyet: http://www.timeout.com/barcelona/res...s/el-xampanyet
http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-xampanyet-barcelona

You don't need to rent a car to go to Figueres -- you can take a train.

kimhe - the one I was talking about was el-xampanyet, but the other one looks wonderful too.

another reason to go back!

annhig,

Yes, one of many good reasons to go back ;-)

so am I to be pleased I will like this trip :)

Kimhe recommended Tapeo to me last month and I agree with the recommendation. Everything we had was fantastic. I especially liked the raw salmon mixed with wasabi and potato.

@annhig - so good to hear your suggestions! You have given me many great suggestions in the past. I can't wait to go to the Palau de la Musica. Sadly, there is only one concert while I am there. I will do the tour though.

I am gathering my "must-dos" now.

Has anyone ever done a wine tour while in Barcelona?

I also have a quick question regarding the weekends. Would going to Montserrat on a Sunday work? Is transportation less accessible over the weekend?