the sights in Barcellona
 

My husband and I are planning our own trip to Barcellona in May. Any input on what it'd like there; sights, food, weather. Thanks for help

Barcelona is wonderful. Just walking around the Gothic area is fascinating. Don't miss the CATHEDRAl or the Sangria Familia cathedral. The Gaudie (sp) museum is very fascinating. May is a great time of year to be there. Just comfortable weather. <BR>Have Fun.

Judy, <BR> <BR>Barcelona is among the most beautiful cities in the world. It's energetic, vibrant, and a perfect blend of the old and the new. The weather is great for most of the year -- it's lovely in May. The food is fantastic, particularly "tapas" snackfood. <BR>I strongly urge you to buy a city guide (Fodors and Lonely Planet ate excellent) to get a good sense of the things to see and do. <BR>I wouldn't know where to begin to describe the city's charms, but here's a tip: the Bus Turistic is outstanding. This is a bus service that starts and ends at the Placa Catalunya and takes in all the important sights. There's helpful commentary in several languages, and you can get on and off at will. <BR>Another suggestion: try to stay as close as possible to the Barri Gothic, the lovely old city with cobbled, winding lanes. My favorite place to stay is Hotel Continental (hotelcontinental.com) on La Rambla. <BR>Have a wonderful time in Beautiful Spain. <BR>Cheers, <BR>Bobby

Barcellona is indeed a wonderful place to visit. I was there in July and took a highlight tour of the city. I would highly recommend it if your time is short. Although I didn't have more time there, it would have been nice to go back to spend time at the more interesting sights. I would also caution you, this is a big city and there are many team pick-pockets. Please read up on this negative factor and protect yourself. Otherwise, it will be a great trip. <BR> <BR>Good Luck!

We were in Barcelona this May, excellent time to go! The weather was beautiful and the crowds not too bad. <BR> <BR>My favorite spots in the city were Parc Guell, Gaudi's fabulous park that was originally designed to be a housing project, and Las Ramblas, the main shopping street where it seemed at times like all of Barcelona was hanging out. You should also see the cathedral and Sagrada Familia (don't need to go in unless you want to walk to the top, the interior was never completed). There is a Picasso museum, which I'd only recommended if you're already a Picasso fan, and the Maritime museum is nice if you're interested in that sort of thing. If you have more time, you can explore the Olympic Village or take a day trip out to Montserrat. <BR> <BR>There were some excellent tapas bars on Passeig de Gracia, a little north of Las Ramblas. In case you're not familiar with tapas, they are appetizer size portions of food, you can order several at each meal and try a variety of different dishes. <BR> <BR>We stayed at the Gran Via hotel which was close to Passeig de Gracia and to Las Ramblas and thought it was an excellent location and not a bad deal at $75 per night. We had trouble finding a hotel at the end of May because of a convention so I'd recommend booking your hotel as soon as your plans are set.

Judy - It was rainy, windy and chilly when I was in Barcelona for a weekend in late April several years ago (but you've got to account for global warming!). The city was also surprisingly dirty. But there are some must-sees: <BR> <BR>Others have already mentioned the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's organic cathedral still under construction. I would recommend walking past his other buildings. I don't remember their names but any guidebook or book on Gaudi will list them. It's so rare for a major urban architect to have such a distinct, non-urban style. The "regular" cathedral is also impressive and a good contrast to Gaudi's sinewy, melty forms, plus there are regular displays of regional dancing in the small square out front. <BR> <BR>Also, Barcelona has one of the best museums in the world: the Picasso Museum. If you're thinking, I don't like paintings where all the features are on one side of the face, fair enough, but Picasso was a child prodigy and lived a long life, plenty of time to master several different styles of art including very realistic drawings as a 12-year-old. (My apologies if you know this already.) It's a beautiful museum. <BR> <BR>And as for food, I have one word for you: PAELLA. You can't go to Barcelona and not eat paella (seafood and rice dish, again, sorry if this is unnecessary information).

If you will be in Barcelona on a weekend, go to the Gothic Quarter around 5:30-6:00pm on Saturday or Sunday. There will be a brass band set up on the steps of the cathedral, and the locals will be dancing the Sardana, the national dance. It was truly one of the highlights of my stay in Barcelona.