lovetotraveltx Posted January 25, 2023 #1 Share Posted January 25, 2023 We have four nights in Barcelona post River Cruise at the end of March. Have never been. What are the must do's/eats? We enjoy local cuisine on our travels. We are staying at the H10 Cataluyna Plaza. We will have breakfast included, looking for lunches, dinners, treats, coffees... Thank you Also, any touring information? What do we need to book in advance? Any good city tours to get an overview on the first day? How do we get to the beach, can we walk? What shouldn't we miss? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mevs904 Posted January 29, 2023 #2 Share Posted January 29, 2023 Hi lovetotraveltx! We will be staying at the H10 Cataluyha Plaza Hotel in April after our Mediterranean cruise and are very interested in any responses that you may get. So far we are looking into Barcelona Day Tours for an overview experience. They were recommended by a poster on these boards and have excellent reviews on Trip Advisor. We also purchased Rick Steves’ Pocket Barcelona guide as a resource. We, too, are looking forward to the local cuisine and we would also appreciate hearing any tips that other posters may have about exploring the neighborhoods of Barcelona, especially near our hotel. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare carlmm Posted January 29, 2023 #3 Share Posted January 29, 2023 A few answers: The hop on hop off bus provides a good overview. You can also use it to comfortably reach further out sights. You should get advance tickets at least for the most visited sights like Sagrada Famiglia, Casa Mila and Parc Guell, and also for any cultural events eg in the opera house or the catalan music hall, both sights in itself. Many other museums offer pre booking, top. Do wander around the old city, visit the cathedrale, a couple more of the medieval churches and the palaces. What are you interested in? A good guide book, not the aformentioned, will help to decide. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare carlmm Posted January 29, 2023 #4 Share Posted January 29, 2023 Depending in where you stay, the beach is in a few minutes walking distance or a short metro or bus ride away. You could combine the beach and eg the museu d' historia de catalunja. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare carlmm Posted January 29, 2023 #5 Share Posted January 29, 2023 Once at least you should feast on tapas, and once at least enjoy a dinner of really local dishes. El Born would be one area to stroll around at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvtravel88 Posted January 29, 2023 #6 Share Posted January 29, 2023 If you're interested in Gaudi, Casa Batllo is a wonderful house to visit. Also the Picasso museum in Bario Gotic is also fantastic. The Picasso Museum is right across the square from the Cathedral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetotraveltx Posted January 29, 2023 Author #7 Share Posted January 29, 2023 3 hours ago, carlmm said: Once at least you should feast on tapas, and once at least enjoy a dinner of really local dishes. El Born would be one area to stroll around at night. Do you have a restaurant or two you recommend for local dishes, pleae? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailing canary Posted January 30, 2023 #8 Share Posted January 30, 2023 How comfortable are you about eating late in the evening? Unless you go to a restaurant catering for foreign tourists - which will not be an authentic experience - dinner will start at 21.00 if that. On the other hand, lunch will start at 14.30!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted January 30, 2023 #9 Share Posted January 30, 2023 As Sailing Canary says, Spain is a country whion ere most locals do not have their dinner until after 9pm. In fact, it is not unusual to see folks going out to dinner at well past 10. In Barcelona, most restaurants do accommodate tourists by being open at more normal times. But many Spainards, who are going out for the evening, will go to a cafe/bar early in the evening to enjoy some libations and tapas. That holds them over until they later go out to dinner. Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinburgher Posted January 30, 2023 #10 Share Posted January 30, 2023 (edited) Do you have a restaurant or two you recommend for local dishes, please? You asked the same question for Bordeaux, and as Barcelona is so much larger and spread out, andTripadvisor Barcelona has over 700 restaurant reviews in all sorts of categories,including steak, fish, vegetarian, vegan, local, Mediterranean, Spanish, Chinese and many more, I am suggesting the same selection process I suggested to you for Bordeaux. Also do you want fine dining, cheaper eats, indoor or outdoor seating etc? And in which areas of Barcelona would you like to find restaurants? An area which might be convenient for your accommodation? (we use online maps to locate dining options close to our accommodation then read reviews of them) or where you might be around lunchtime on a given day, because sightseeing can be tiring and you may not feel like trailing a long way across the city on foot or by bus or metro to reach a particular restaurant and would prefer something closer to hand. it is either a case of doing a little pre-trip "homework" or taking pot luck walking in to one you like the look of at the time. Using the filters will help you narrow the number of restaurants you might want to consider, because the bigger the city, the bigger the number of choices and the more time you need to search through them to find which might suit you best. Once you find some restaurants of interest to you, do try general internet searching for reviews of each as there are sites in adition to Tripadvisor, although that is usually a good starting point Hoping you used the same advice to find Bordeaux restaurants and that you found few of interest to you. Edited January 30, 2023 by edinburgher 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetotraveltx Posted January 31, 2023 Author #11 Share Posted January 31, 2023 On 1/29/2023 at 1:52 PM, carlmm said: A few answers: The hop on hop off bus provides a good overview. You can also use it to comfortably reach further out sights. You should get advance tickets at least for the most visited sights like Sagrada Famiglia, Casa Mila and Parc Guell, and also for any cultural events eg in the opera house or the catalan music hall, both sights in itself. Many other museums offer pre booking, top. Do wander around the old city, visit the cathedrale, a couple more of the medieval churches and the palaces. What are you interested in? A good guide book, not the aformentioned, will help to decide. Do you think we should get a guided tour of the Sagrada Famiglia? Or, is just the audio on your own OK? Not much into art museums. Do like old buildings, love to eat where locals eat. Enjoy hop on/hop off buses. Really like walking tours. Would like a cooking class and/or food tour. Love to stop for a coffee in the afternoon. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetotraveltx Posted January 31, 2023 Author #12 Share Posted January 31, 2023 17 hours ago, sailing canary said: How comfortable are you about eating late in the evening? Unless you go to a restaurant catering for foreign tourists - which will not be an authentic experience - dinner will start at 21.00 if that. On the other hand, lunch will start at 14.30!! We are OK with eating a late snack and/or coffee and a treat and eating when the locals eat. At home I don't eat quite that late, but we aren't early diners either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinburgher Posted January 31, 2023 #13 Share Posted January 31, 2023 an OOPS! on post#10 i had a senior moment when posting and said this : you found few of interest to you. it should of course have read you found A few of interest to you. Astonishing that the omission of a one letter word could give the very opposite meaning of what was intended.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailing canary Posted January 31, 2023 #14 Share Posted January 31, 2023 21 hours ago, lovetotraveltx said: We are OK with eating a late snack and/or coffee and a treat and eating when the locals eat. At home I don't eat quite that late, but we aren't early diners either. Eating when the locals eat ..............not sure what you mean by that?? The 'locals' will be having Lunch 14.00/14.30 Dinner 21.00 - not unusual for people to go out for dinner at 22.00 Also not sure what you mean by 'late snack/coffee and a treat. Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleobella Posted February 9, 2023 #15 Share Posted February 9, 2023 Seeing the highlights in Barcelona is easy: Guell Park, Las Ramblas, National Catalonia Museum of Art, La Pedrera, Sagrada Familia. A hop on hop off can help get you around but is slow, much is walkable or a short taxi ride. With 4 days you can also book a tour out to Monserrat to see a gorgeous Cathedral on a mountain, and view the famous Black Madonna Statue, stand in the courtyard on a spot said to be a healing vortex. We also went out to a Cava Winery which was very fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mskaufman Posted February 10, 2023 #16 Share Posted February 10, 2023 Monserrat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sverigecruiser Posted February 11, 2023 #17 Share Posted February 11, 2023 We like Can Paixano. I don't know if that is genuin or food for tourists but we like it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare marazul Posted February 11, 2023 #18 Share Posted February 11, 2023 On 1/25/2023 at 1:35 PM, lovetotraveltx said: We have four nights in Barcelona post River Cruise at the end of March. How do we get to the beach, can we walk? What shouldn't we miss? You should miss going to the beach. In March the water will be frigid and beach facilities will be closed. The Med is not the Caribbean. Barcelona is about the same latitude as NYC. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs f. Posted February 13, 2023 #19 Share Posted February 13, 2023 We used Spain Day Tours. Went to Montserrat in the morning and a lovely small family run winery in the afternoon. A great day 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJCM Posted February 18, 2023 #20 Share Posted February 18, 2023 Montserrat and Gaudi definitely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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