Hello,
We arrive in Barcelona around noon. I was just looking for input on what to do on day 1.... with jet lag. someone advised us to go to the Blue Lagoon in Iceland on day one and it was the perfect way to deal with some jet lag. So I thought I'd pick your brains.
Thanks

Check out Barcelona Street Style Tours ... they have two different free walking tours, one leaving at 2 p.m. and the other at 4:45 p.m. Will keep you on your feet, exercising, and a pretty enjoyable tour as well!

https://www.barcelonastreetstyletour.com

Good idea @travelhorizons. And they have a free walking tour in our neighborhood! I'll check it out.

Roam Las Ramblas, visit a market or two, go to Parc Guell (consider making a reservation for the monument area), stop for tapas....

When? If the weather is nice just walk the beach promenade.

@kja, I thought walking the markets might be a good idea

@traveler nick Dec 22

If you've any interest in taking a tapas tour, I would try to find one starting later in the afternoon so you don't have to wait for the Spanish dinner hour to eat, and therefore can go to bed early if you are terribly sleepy. Actually, I would just do the research and create my own "tapas tour" without going on a paid tour.

Also, I would research at least one or two indoor activities in case you end up arriving in weather that makes a lot of outdoor activity problematic. If you enjoyed the Blue Lagoon, maybe you'd like a day spa in Barcelona. It's probably possible to find something memorable with a little research.

We always like to do a walking tour on our first day. A nice intro and it keeps us moving and awake. We were in Barcelona last month and we did this one: https://www.discoverwalks.com/tour/b...ours/old-town/

Thanks @massimop and @pat in mich, walking and eating....you can't go wrong!

As for markets, many people love La Boqueria. I thought it colorful, if impossibly crowded with tourists; I preferred the Mercat de Santa Caterina.

Enjoy!

@kja well Mercat de Santa Caterina is in the neighborhood we are staying! So we will certainly check it out!

I'm going to take a rare contrarian view from by virtual travel buddy kja and recommend avoiding Las Ramblas and La Boqueria on your first day. Both are known as two of the most pickpocket-prone tourist attractions in Barcelona. Even with an under the shirt money belt/pouch, I would not want to be walking around those areas on my arrival day when I'm a half zombie and my defenses are naturally down. Save those for another day. I like the idea of joining a walking tour-both for the exercise aspect of it as well as the "there's safety in numbers" advantage.

MinnBeef makes a good point!

I stand by my recommendation of the Mercat de Santa Caterina -- enough off Las Ramblas to have a very different feel than La Boqueria, and if the weather it good, I still think Parc Guell would make a great place to walk on that first jet-lagged day. Of course, JMO.

I hadn't thought of park guell, good idea.

I tried to get my husband to go on a walking tour the first day, and he said NO WAY! So we ended up walking the Ramblas and the Boqueria. No problems with pick pockets. Both were very cool places to walk. We went back to both on our last day there.

As noted upthread, if you plan on Parc Guell, you might want to make a reservation for the Monumental Zone. No guide is necessary, IMO -- I thought the audio guide quite good.

Excellent, thanks everyone for your ideas!