jahlie

I'm thrilled to be spending five nights at the Hotel Pulitzer in Barcelona this September. I've been to Barcelona - only a couple of years ago - and love the city. This time, I'll be staying in a more central location and want to know if anyone has some tips on good, cheap places to grab picnic food near my hotel? Any good, inexpensive cafes close to the Pulitzer? Any and all advice is welcome.

Robert2533

You might take a look at Maribel's Guide to Barcelona. She has a fairly decent listing of places to eat in the area around the Pulitzer.

BarcelonaNative

The Hotel Pulitzer is in Placa Catalunya, the most important square in Barcelona centre. There you have El Corte Ingles, our major department store, which has a full supermarket in the basement along with a bakery which sells prepared sandwiches. A couple of blocks down Las Ramblas is the Bouqueria, another market where you can also find prepared foods and cafes. I hope this helps. If you require further assistance drop me an email or view my website at
www.BarcelonaNative.com

Nikki

This is the website for Maribel's Guide, referenced above: www.maribelsguides.com.

For picnic food, the Boqueria market on Las Ramblas is a great place.

jahlie

Hi Robert2533 and Nikki, I have downloaded Maribel's guide and it does have a lot of restaurant information. I know it will come in handy. The one time I went to the Boqueria, I have to admit I was very overwhelmed (delightfully so) with the sights, sounds, smells - it's enormous, colorful and a tourist destination in its own right. That, and maneuvering Las Ramblas crowds might make me hesitate dropping by to pick up a few things for a picnic.

BarcelonaNative, I like the department store advice. I always seek out department stores in Europe for two things - the basement deli/groceries and cheap souvenirs. I've never experienced bad take out from a department store - I'm sure there must be, so I guess I've just been lucky. I'll be in Barcelona with my husband, son and daughter-in-law, so grabbing some sandwiches on our way to wherever will be fast, easy and cheap. I'll email you if we need anything - nice website.

We're looking forward to some great restaurants and I know they'll be expensive. Whatever we can do for lighter meals to help with expenses is on the agenda. I also look for grocery stores for snacks, wine, beer, water - whatever I might need that will be far cheaper than what the hotel charges. Besides, that usually puts me in contact with a few more locals than the usual tourist haunts. I like that.

BarcelonaNative

jahlie, about two blocks from your hotel is a Carrefour Express, which is a large inexpensive supermarket which is a great place to buy bottles of wine, water, beer...stuff for your room or a picnic. It's on Las Ramblas, as you head down, on the right. You can't miss it. They actually sell one of my favorite cheap wines (about 4 euros/bottle)...which i recommend on my website, www.barcelonanative.com

jahlie

The Veranza tinto? BarcelonaNative, you're my kind of guy.