My husband and I spent several days in Barca last fall and loved it. You just have to take the usual big-city precautions--money belt not purse, be aware, stick together. My wallet stolen from my purse on the train platform in Chicago (where I live) many years ago, so these things can happen anywhere if you're tuned out.

In Barcelona, don't miss the Boqueria market if you love food and spectacle. You can buy a picnic, walk down to the beach or a park, and just take it all in.

Have a great time!

ditto the boqueria market. i have never seen such beautifully displayed fruit. and so much in take-away perfect protions for the traveller or worker.

a lot of nice bars in there , too, making fresh tapas on the grill in front of you.

good mid-morning breakfast/luxury snack place!

missypie, All nighters! I went in July for my sister's 30th birthday and I was surprised by the party scene! We ate dinner every night at 10pm and then went out and partied until 6am, slept for 2 hrs and started all over again with the sightseeing, etc. It was a wonderful trip. Exausting, but in a good way! Have fun!

It's been 3 years since we've been, but it was absolutely our favorite city in Spain. You MUST climb the Sagrada Familia (not take the elevator); there are so many nooks and crannies to look out, you can get up close and personal with the mosaic tiles on the spires as you walk the catwalks, and there are fabulous views. The sculptures carved into the facade are also fascinating; it doesn't matter that the interior is unfinished - you'll never miss it! Also, the La Pedrera is not to be missed, especially the roof; we also loved the park and all the other Gaudi sites. These are truly unique to Barcelona. Enjoy!

I'm having difficulty posting, but I'll take another stab at it.

Be extremely watchful in La Boquería!

It was in La Garduña restaurant in La Boquería that my sister was relieved of her purse by an extremely clever thief posing as a waiter.

The food was very good, by the way.

Back to your original question about surprising you in Barcelona....Things that surprised me:

1. I found that the sites I thought were going to be great were underwhelming and those that I didn't expect to be as good were fantastic. For example, I did not love Park Guell. Sure the Gaudi building was great but it was so crowded and not very green for a park (i know that sounds strange but it is true), that if you have limited time I would skip it. La Sagrada Familia is fun to see from the outside and interesting on the inside to see the columns and other architecture up close but I wouldn't bother to take the elevator up because you can't see anything due to the current stage in construction (or at least that was the case in May 2006 when I was last there).
On the other hand, pleasant surprises - touring the inside of the buildings on the "block of discord" (i forget the street name), i.e., Casa Battlo and La Pedrera). They are incredible on the inside. I think Casa Battlo has not been open to the public for very long so it isn't in some of the older guidebooks but itis incredible and worth the wait however long the line.

2. Shopping is great. Lots of small unique stores with funky clothes and jewelry.

3. I was surprised at how many tourists are in Barcelona. I was there on a trip to Barcelona, Madrid and Seville and Barcelona seemed to have the highest concentration of tourists by far.

4. The beach is really nice and a lot of fun. I loved how the beach is so accessible to the city. I live in Boston and even though we are on the water here, there is no beachfront immediately accessible to the downtown. If you are there in the warm weather, throw your bathingsuit in your bag so you can go swimming if you want. you can buy a cheap towel and change in the hotel bathroom along the waterfront, if you are tempted to take a dip.

I really enjoyed the Picasso Museum. The shopping was great and all the Gaudi architecture was amazing. We had a great time at the beach, especially watching the people.

Now to the part I didn't care for. A girl in our group had her wallet lifted from her purse by a young boy in the restaurant we were eating in. She chased the boy down and grabbed his arm and got her wallet back.

I was approached in the hallway one night outside my room by a woman?? and her two friends who wanted to know if I was interested in some lesbian fun. I laughed and said noo... and they precided in trying to push their way into my room. I got in the room and locked the door. They continued to try all night long to break into my room, yelling things and pounding at the door. I was in the room by myself and I can tell you I was frightened. I called the front desk three times asking someone to please check it out. The front desk treated me like I was crazy. Needless to say I didn't sleep all night. The next morning the same group had tryed to break in to the room of teenage girls with our group. They also had called the front desk. I again tried to talk to the front desk and they said no one had called to complain the night before. I guess they forgot about our calls. Again they acted like I was crazy. As I was going to breakfast I saw the Woman?? who tried to break in my room. Our guide was having her picture taken with her?. Come to find out she? is some big Spanish tv/movie star. Then it all made sense the front desk was trying to protect her. By the way this was a nice hotel. I would gladly go back to Barcelona. I wouldn't let one bad experience cloud my judgement of the city. But boy; do I have a story to tell about the night the famous Spanish she/he tried to break into my hotel room!

If you currently imagine that Barcelona will be the greatest city you will ever visit, you will be disappointed when you get there. If, on the other hand, your expectations are low, then you will probably be pleasantly surprised.

i´m curious as to the name of this famous WOMAN?

I'm curious too....LOL

kende.. do you think we can convince her to tell?? come on.. we are DYING here !! LOL!!!!

Pleaseeeeee, pleaseeeeeeee, pretty pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeee LOL

Could it be that it was Antonio Banderas in disguise ?

tall.. short.. blonde, brunette.. short hair..long hair.. come on! at least give us some details to try to figure it out..

man/woman doubt? that narrows it down.

Yes, some clues won't hurt...I'm getting nervoussssssssssssssssssss LOL

Well who else but Antonio can get two women and still want a third one! It has to be him in disguise. Just kidding.

ohhh, comfy, you know very little of the Spanish "fauna" Antonio is such a good boy ...

I know Spanish fauna rather well, believe me. I was merely being facetious, Kend.

I just saw your posts. Sorry, I don't remember her? name. She was really tall and had long dark hair. This was in the summer of 2005 so who knows what she looks like now. I wasn't the only one who was in question of her gender. I forgot to say that the man with them, I was told had a tv show on every night, and they both were very popular. Needless to say, I was disquised. Not by them asking, but by them trying to get in my room all night. We were staying at a hotel out by the tv stations. I didn't go into the whole story. But we have had a laugh or two over how they asked me for some Lesbain fun. How it was said to me that is.

1. How vibrant,crazy,beutiful, barcelona is.
2. Some of the best ladies at the topless beaches I have seen in europe.
3. How incredibly good and cheap the food is.
4. High crime, I hate to mention it, be smart and you'll feel safer then most cities in the states.
5. Visit the markets incredible.