Basics/Barcelona
 

Hi! My husband and I are spending Thanksgiving Week in Barcelona and hope to do it as cheaply as possible. I have a few questions for anyone with experience:<BR>1. We like museums, opera, concerts, urban walking, light day-hiking, people-watching. How can we do some of these activities cheaply? Is there something like a five-day museum pass or public transportation pass? <BR>2. We want to take as few pieces of clothing as possible without looking like the unwashed poor or the slovenly American tourists of years past. (I was told already,&quot;For god's sake. . .no tennis shoes, please!)<BR><BR>Can anyone out there give us a few suggestions ?<BR><BR>Thanks for your help.

One tip; get a ticket for the &quot;routa di modernisma&quot;. You get them in a building in the modern part of the town (I think I posted the address here before- I found it in the &quot;Let's Go&quot; Guide). It gets you into masses of stuff and has a terrific written guide to the city for when you're walking about.

And don't forget the Bus Turistica, an excellent and inexpensive way to see the whole city and you are able to hop on and hop off as you please at all the main attractions of Barcelona.<BR>With a two day ticket (18 Euro) I think, you cover two different routes, north and south.<BR>Enjoy Barcelona<BR>Regards<BR>Maggie

unfortunately a fair number of tourist attractions like the Tram Blau and the funicular only run on weekends now. The gaudi bus on the Ruta di modernisme has stopped running for the year. <BR>If you take the Bus Turistica from Plaza Catalunya on a two day ticket, you get a coupon book good for discounts at several museums. Nothing is free or cheap in Barcelona on the museum end. However, be sure to visit Gaudi's Casa Mila (la pedrera--see July Smithsonian magazine for background) and Casa Batilo. The latter is only open to the public this year. a lot of the modernisme buildings can only be seen from the outside and make a very interesting walk--good routes in Time Out Barcelona). If you can get tickets to a concert at the Palau de musica Catalunya, you can save on the tour price. It is an architectural marvel if you like art nouveau.<BR>as for food, prices are no longer cheap but there are lots of bakeries and delis. several local sandwich chains were leafleting on the ramblas with two for one--Bocanetta was one. they have good hot sandwiches on crispu flutes of bread. lots of coffee shops for the serious expresso hounds around the lower eixample.<BR>Barcelona is a great town for aimless walking--we ended up in the garment district east of the Plaza Catalunya. just relax and have fun.

My husband and I just returned from a week long trip to Barcelona. We were there the first week of November, and it was quite chilly! Bring a coat and scarf, everyone there wears scarves...<BR><BR>We managed to get a ticket to the Norah Jones concert as part of a weeklong jazz festival at the Palau de la Musica. The venue was breath-taking, and Norah was dazzling! We stayed at the Diplomatic, which was about a mile and half, maybe two to Las Ramblas. We were much closer to La Placa de Gracia, which is a more upscale part of town. Much to look at, great shopping (almost as good as Paris, and half the price). I suggest taking some basic pieces, like jeans, some long-sleeved layering pieces, and then buy clothes while you are there! We had to buy an extra bag to fit all of our new purchases in. If you do go shopping, make sure that you get the proper paperwork from the vendor for the VAT refund. My husband and I forgot to the that. <BR><BR> I've read some posters that claim food isn't inexpensive anymore.... Tapas are a relatively cheap way to eat, and there are tons of cute, out-of-the-way restaurants down in the Gothic Quarter where my husband and I ate, and both had a beer each, for 8 Euros. That's pretty cheap to me! Definetly take the Turistic Bus Tour. It's a great way to see the city. We did a two-day pass, and it was just right... one day for the north route, and one for the south. The Spanish Village is a stop that is worthwhile. You can purchase beautiful hand-made silk Spanish shawls there for around 30 Euros. Great souveniers. <BR><BR>I didn't see a lot of sneakers, but everyone there wore flats, or soft-soled athletic shoes. Dark colors, though!<BR><BR>Have a great time... Walk to the sea, enjoy some 8Euro bottles of wine, take lots of pictures and enjoy yourself!...

<BR><BR>I second the comment about the dark colors for clothing. I've never seen people wearing as much black as I have in Barcelona. <BR><BR>Las Ramblas is a free &quot;open air museum&quot;, wonderful for people watching. Gaudi's Parc Guell is also free. Gaudi's buildings cost money, but are well worth it, and are included in the modernisma pass that Sheila mentioned.