Does anyone else NOT like Barcelona?
Jul 14th, 2005, 08:15 AM
#62
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THE "litmus test"..or at least one of them: whether you "liked" (whatever that really means..they didn't smile much, nobody made a pass at you, the food was awful, the streets were dirty, etc., etc.) Barcelona or not...but was it more fun/interesting than the place you live now/than watching FoxNews as a couch potato every night?????
Jul 26th, 2005, 02:06 PM
#63
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My husband and I spent two and a half weeks in Barcelona in September, 2004. We rented a great apartment on Princesa Street, close to the Picasso Museum, in the heart of El Born.
We ate all our breakfasts and most dinners in the flat, which had a full kitchen with all mod cons, granite countertops, etc. There were balconies overlooking the street, which is where we enjoyed our preprandial martinis. There were many markets nearby, with great produce and cheeses, bread still warm in the morning, and wonderful local wines. We found it difficult to adapt to the late dining; at 8:30, we'd be almost alone. However, one restaurant, Lupino, had a great bar where we enjoyed a creative cocktail or two while chatting with the bartender, an art student, before going to our table in the outside courtyard and enjoying wonderful seafood.
A highlight of our stay was the week long festival La Merce, with free concerts, strolling gigantes and acrobats, culminating in the Carrefoc, when there are parades with fire breathing dragons and demons, lots of drumming and dancing. It was like nothing I've ever experienced, very primal and wild.
El Born is a wonderful area to stay in and explore. I agree with other comments about Las Ramblas. The City Museum has a fascinating display of Barcelona's origins as a Roman settlement. On a walk near the modern art museum (MACBA), we saw in a side courtyard recently unearthed Roman architecture.
There is great and quirky art and architecture everywhere, plus the natural beauty of the setting. We enjoyed our excursion up Montjuic in the flying buckets, including visiting the Miro Museum and having an excellent lunch in the restaurant overlooking the gardens. The building is by Sert, a local architect, and I think it is far better than the MACBA by Meier.
Everyone knows Gaudi, and his residential architecture, especially the Casa Battlo, with its dragon-back roof, is amazing. It has tile simulating water, rising from darker to lighter in the inner courtyard. They say that building has no straight lines. I agree that the Sagrada Familia is not his best work, he was insane when he worked on it. The Palau de la Musica, by Montaner, shows Barcelona's form of art nouveau at its best.
We found the local people friendly and helpful, and did our best to speak to them in Catalan. Remember, their language was banned for years by Franco.
Perhaps it helps to settle in a bit and relax, rather than feeling pressured on a shorter stay? Plus, renting a flat gives you a home away from home.
We ate all our breakfasts and most dinners in the flat, which had a full kitchen with all mod cons, granite countertops, etc. There were balconies overlooking the street, which is where we enjoyed our preprandial martinis. There were many markets nearby, with great produce and cheeses, bread still warm in the morning, and wonderful local wines. We found it difficult to adapt to the late dining; at 8:30, we'd be almost alone. However, one restaurant, Lupino, had a great bar where we enjoyed a creative cocktail or two while chatting with the bartender, an art student, before going to our table in the outside courtyard and enjoying wonderful seafood.
A highlight of our stay was the week long festival La Merce, with free concerts, strolling gigantes and acrobats, culminating in the Carrefoc, when there are parades with fire breathing dragons and demons, lots of drumming and dancing. It was like nothing I've ever experienced, very primal and wild.
El Born is a wonderful area to stay in and explore. I agree with other comments about Las Ramblas. The City Museum has a fascinating display of Barcelona's origins as a Roman settlement. On a walk near the modern art museum (MACBA), we saw in a side courtyard recently unearthed Roman architecture.
There is great and quirky art and architecture everywhere, plus the natural beauty of the setting. We enjoyed our excursion up Montjuic in the flying buckets, including visiting the Miro Museum and having an excellent lunch in the restaurant overlooking the gardens. The building is by Sert, a local architect, and I think it is far better than the MACBA by Meier.
Everyone knows Gaudi, and his residential architecture, especially the Casa Battlo, with its dragon-back roof, is amazing. It has tile simulating water, rising from darker to lighter in the inner courtyard. They say that building has no straight lines. I agree that the Sagrada Familia is not his best work, he was insane when he worked on it. The Palau de la Musica, by Montaner, shows Barcelona's form of art nouveau at its best.
We found the local people friendly and helpful, and did our best to speak to them in Catalan. Remember, their language was banned for years by Franco.
Perhaps it helps to settle in a bit and relax, rather than feeling pressured on a shorter stay? Plus, renting a flat gives you a home away from home.
Sep 29th, 2005, 08:21 PM
#64
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Arriving here through Google, searching for "I don't like Barcelona", it seems intuitively really unfair not to like this city -even irrational. But, despite its many assets, of being by the sea, with so many different environments, cool bars, friendly, happy people etc, my gut feeling just does not want to agree with the place!
Maybe it's because there is not a conventional front to the sea, sealed off by the modern port area -which contrasts uneasily with the old quarter. Contrary to what would normally happen in a city with its main waterfront throroughfare, the elegant palm-fringed Paseo Colon does not appear to attract much activity and adopts a purely decorative role, its life sapped by an oddly perpendicular Ramblas; as well as the proximity to the port area (the next 'point of interest' on coming out of the Ramblas, with a ready bridge to access it). This means that the city 'opens itself' to the stroller in a counter-intuitive way. Havana's seafront Malecon, for instance, works much better.
Another big issue I have in Barcelona, is that it is difficult to observe the horizon (which I feel is a human need), and there is no panorama (except, of course, from particular vantage points such as Montjuic, which you need to hike to).
Sure, there is buzz and people, but the Feng Shui just isn't right in the old town, and the Plaza Real exeplifies this. It's just a noisy mess where people are trapped in their transcience. There's a general feeling of enclosure, because of the lack of panorama and horizon. You can feel 'indoors' all the time while in the old town. The streets are narrow and often dirty. The Ramblas is an apparent salvation, but actually just amounts to a river of people anxious in their search for perspective.. There is nothing of tangible character on it that really captures the eye, and the feeling of enclosure remains, with the narrow, tall-faced streets of the old town on both sides. The great Liceu does not even stand out, unlike the Opera in Budapest say.
To this, you can retort that there are so many other options to explore. But the Eixample is also monotonous, and despite flurries of Gaudi amounts to a constrictive pattern at odds with organic urbanism. It is intimidating. The sea-facing part of the city seems disconnected from the rest (Barceloneta, Vila Olimpica, Poblenou, etc), as does Montjuic -which you don't just stumble upon, but need to make a conscious effort to get to. One exception, however, is the Cuitadella park, which acts as an effective 'transition' between the old town and the Vila Olimpica. It is a rest to the senses -offering the perspective and space lacking elsewhere. Unfortunately, it is cut off from a direct relationship with the sea by the railway lines of the Estacio de Franca.
So many different elements, but a lack of coherence. This is perhaps what causes this unease in my mind about this city.
Maybe it's because there is not a conventional front to the sea, sealed off by the modern port area -which contrasts uneasily with the old quarter. Contrary to what would normally happen in a city with its main waterfront throroughfare, the elegant palm-fringed Paseo Colon does not appear to attract much activity and adopts a purely decorative role, its life sapped by an oddly perpendicular Ramblas; as well as the proximity to the port area (the next 'point of interest' on coming out of the Ramblas, with a ready bridge to access it). This means that the city 'opens itself' to the stroller in a counter-intuitive way. Havana's seafront Malecon, for instance, works much better.
Another big issue I have in Barcelona, is that it is difficult to observe the horizon (which I feel is a human need), and there is no panorama (except, of course, from particular vantage points such as Montjuic, which you need to hike to).
Sure, there is buzz and people, but the Feng Shui just isn't right in the old town, and the Plaza Real exeplifies this. It's just a noisy mess where people are trapped in their transcience. There's a general feeling of enclosure, because of the lack of panorama and horizon. You can feel 'indoors' all the time while in the old town. The streets are narrow and often dirty. The Ramblas is an apparent salvation, but actually just amounts to a river of people anxious in their search for perspective.. There is nothing of tangible character on it that really captures the eye, and the feeling of enclosure remains, with the narrow, tall-faced streets of the old town on both sides. The great Liceu does not even stand out, unlike the Opera in Budapest say.
To this, you can retort that there are so many other options to explore. But the Eixample is also monotonous, and despite flurries of Gaudi amounts to a constrictive pattern at odds with organic urbanism. It is intimidating. The sea-facing part of the city seems disconnected from the rest (Barceloneta, Vila Olimpica, Poblenou, etc), as does Montjuic -which you don't just stumble upon, but need to make a conscious effort to get to. One exception, however, is the Cuitadella park, which acts as an effective 'transition' between the old town and the Vila Olimpica. It is a rest to the senses -offering the perspective and space lacking elsewhere. Unfortunately, it is cut off from a direct relationship with the sea by the railway lines of the Estacio de Franca.
So many different elements, but a lack of coherence. This is perhaps what causes this unease in my mind about this city.
Oct 1st, 2005, 11:34 AM
#65
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I just got back from 18 days in Spain...4 days which were spent in Barcelona. I've traveled extensively throughout Europe and love different cities/countries for a variety of reasons. But overall, Spain didn't capture my heart like the other European countries that I've traveled to had.
I totally agree with you about your comments about Barcelona. If you haven't made it to the Picasso Museum yet, you must go. I really loved it!
I too thought that Barcelona and Madrid were over-rated.
I enjoyed the smaller towns in Spain like Segovia, Siguenza and Sitges.
I totally agree with you about your comments about Barcelona. If you haven't made it to the Picasso Museum yet, you must go. I really loved it!
I too thought that Barcelona and Madrid were over-rated.
I enjoyed the smaller towns in Spain like Segovia, Siguenza and Sitges.
Dec 4th, 2005, 11:36 AM
#66
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I got back from a long weekend in Barcelona a couple of weeks ago and i didn't like it at all. I found it dirty and boring, the food is awful and the service rude. Once I'd seen a couple of Catherdrals and grown bored out of my mind with the Ramblas, i just wanted to go home. I've had brilliant holidays in Paris, Amsterdam, Prague and Venice. Barcelona is the pits - was going to choose Budapest and really wish i had now
Dec 6th, 2005, 06:14 AM
#67
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Yes, it's a shame that the local government is not doing a better job in keeping Barcelona clean.
I made two separate trips there in 1994, and then in '95. During the second trip, I noticed a lot more homeless kids on drugs in the streets, as well as lots of garbage everywhere.
Still, it did not detract me from enjoying the city. Just a shame, that's all.
I made two separate trips there in 1994, and then in '95. During the second trip, I noticed a lot more homeless kids on drugs in the streets, as well as lots of garbage everywhere.
Still, it did not detract me from enjoying the city. Just a shame, that's all.
Dec 6th, 2005, 06:18 AM
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The food can be "awful" and the service "rude" just about anywhere one travels and I'm sorry but paris isn't exactly the cleanest place on earth.
OK..so you didn't like the city..or at least the parts you happened to take the time to see, and that's perfectly OK and I am sure perfectly valid.
It is unfortunate, though, that when someone here says they don't like or didn't enjoy one of the Fodorite "most-favored cities" it is almost like saying you enjoy kicking almost dead babies.
OK..so you didn't like the city..or at least the parts you happened to take the time to see, and that's perfectly OK and I am sure perfectly valid.
It is unfortunate, though, that when someone here says they don't like or didn't enjoy one of the Fodorite "most-favored cities" it is almost like saying you enjoy kicking almost dead babies.
Dec 6th, 2005, 07:15 AM
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"It is unfortunate, though, that when someone here says they don't like or didn't enjoy one of the Fodorite "most-favored cities" it is almost like saying you enjoy kicking almost dead babies."
Spot on, Intrepid1! Thank you for stating this.
Spot on, Intrepid1! Thank you for stating this.
Dec 6th, 2005, 08:15 AM
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I've been on here in the past few weeks trying to escape the inevitable pickpockets that are going to ravage my 2 days in Barcelona. I love architecture, and really would like to see Park Guell and other gaudi buildings. But I think after gaudi, i am starting to feel there really isnt anything that is going to change my life here. Maybe a day trip to montserrat instead? Oh dear, was hubby right - should we have gone to Italy? these boards can really make you question your decision (although they are most helpful as well...)
Dec 6th, 2005, 09:12 AM
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Baron: Don't worry about your decision. If you like Gaudi's architecture (or Art Nouveau in general), you will love Barcelona.
Yes, there are unpleasant aspects of the city, but there are great, interesting parts also (including Parc Guell, Casa Mila, Casa Battlo, the Art Nouveau music hall --whose name and architect escapes me at the moment-- the Picasso Museum, Joan Miro museum...)
Also, it is a great walking town, easy to maneuver around. Just be sensible as you would in any other major city and you will have a great time!
Yes, there are unpleasant aspects of the city, but there are great, interesting parts also (including Parc Guell, Casa Mila, Casa Battlo, the Art Nouveau music hall --whose name and architect escapes me at the moment-- the Picasso Museum, Joan Miro museum...)
Also, it is a great walking town, easy to maneuver around. Just be sensible as you would in any other major city and you will have a great time!
Dec 9th, 2005, 04:44 AM
#74
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We didn't dislike Barcelona, but we didn't find it particularly intriguing or interesting either--not really worth flying across an ocean to visit, at least not any more so than dozens of other OK cities in Europe. Pittsburgh is a nice city with some good art museums and restaurants and it has shed it's polluted steelmill image, but I wouldn't particularly recommend it as a prime tourist destination either.
Now Florence I actively dislike.
Now Florence I actively dislike.
Dec 9th, 2005, 06:03 AM
#75
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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder for sure. DH and plan to go to Barcelona this spring-I hope to add my two cents to this based upon first-hand experience! RufusT, you should be getting lots of feedback about Florence!
Dec 9th, 2005, 08:04 AM
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My wife and I really enjoy visits to Spanish cities but we prefer Seville, Madrid and Valencia to Barcelona.
The problem we find in Barcelona are the number of beggars and dodgy characters that hang around which the authorities turn a blind eye to.
Loved Parc Guell and the Gothic quarter and enjoyed the meals we had.
Have had much lousier food in Paris.
The problem we find in Barcelona are the number of beggars and dodgy characters that hang around which the authorities turn a blind eye to.
Loved Parc Guell and the Gothic quarter and enjoyed the meals we had.
Have had much lousier food in Paris.
Dec 9th, 2005, 01:15 PM
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I was there a few years ago, and really enjoyed it. Granted, I don't have many other European cities to compare it to. Someone mentioned not liking La Sagrada Familia...I thought it was great. It's funny, someone else mentioned that they had a great Thai meal there. We had some of the best chinese food on Las Ramblas...I think it was near Gaudi's house (walking down toward the water on the right-hand side). anyway, my 2 cents. Picasso museum was cool, too.
Dec 9th, 2005, 09:53 PM
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Well...
Since this thread has gone on for more than a year, I thought I'd keep it going with my two cents.
We visited Spain for a week 2 years ago. Went to Barcelona & Madrid. Definitely preferred Madrid but Barcelona was not bad, in our opinion. The tapas at Cal Pep were unreal. I would have enjoyed the city more had we been able to get tickets to an FC Barca game!
Since this thread has gone on for more than a year, I thought I'd keep it going with my two cents.
We visited Spain for a week 2 years ago. Went to Barcelona & Madrid. Definitely preferred Madrid but Barcelona was not bad, in our opinion. The tapas at Cal Pep were unreal. I would have enjoyed the city more had we been able to get tickets to an FC Barca game!
