We were pretty excited about Barcelona. To be on the safe/comfortable/stress-free side, we took a cab from the airport to our hotel. When we book hotels, we never like to spend a lot of money. For us, a hotel's a place to do your three S's (shit, shower, shave) and sleep. So I want it clean and quiet and in a good location. If its nice and cool, then its an added bonus. I chose Hotel Denit because it fit all of the above descriptions. Its a mini boutique hotel that didn't cost an arm an a leg. The rooms were out of an Ikea catalog and it looked fresh and fun. Its location was excellent - its a 2 minute walk from the Ramblas and a 1 minute walk from the Catalunya metro station. Its not directly on a major street so you don't get much noise.
We spent our first (half) day walking from our hotel down Ramblas to the waterfront. I'll be honest with you: Ramblas was very underwhelming. It had large crowds and so-so looking restaurants and the typical European street mimes/performers that seem to target tourists. As far as architecture or things to do, there wasn't anything directly on Ramblas other than walking and people watching. We didn't really get the hype. But as far as being a major and lively street you use to see Barcelona's attractions, its neat and relatively easy to find. But yeah, I wouldn't commit much time to walking it or seeing it.
The best part about Ramblas, though, was La Bouqueria, Barcelona's food market. Every city should have a market like this - fresh produce, cut fruit, restaurants, butchers. It was cool to walk through. We made a note to visit one of the tapas restaurants that was there and we ventured towards the water.
This is how we feel about Barcelona: travelers say that its one of the coolest places on earth, and I will admit that its neat and its nice, but I could only spend 3 days max there. You spend a lot of time walking and looking at buildings and, by day 3, you've kind of had enough. It all kind of blends together. Yes, this isn't popular opinion, but screw that. There are more interesting cities in Europe and once you've seen Barcelona, I don't think there's a need to rush back.
The first night, I booked a splurge dinner at Cinq Sentits. The reviews looked great and their tasting menu had non-seafood options for me (I don't eat fish or seafood. Yeah, tough to do in Spain). This dinner ranked as one of the top 5 meals I've ever had. We had the tasting dinner paired with wine and the wines chosen were unique and exceptional. I would definitely suggest Cinq Sentits as a high-end dinner if you wanted to treat yourself. After 3 hours of dining, we walked back to our hotel stuffed and drunk. Not a bad way to end your first night.
We spent the rest of our time doing what most people do in Barcelona: we looked for various Gaudi buildings and wandered around the different areas/quarters. I'll give a quick breakdown of what we saw and what we recommend.
Sagrada Familia: it cost, I believe, 15 Euros per person to go inside. Once inside, you will spend 10 minutes max looking around. The church is constantly under construction and, while its impressive and beautiful, its not worth spending the money for admission for such a short visit. You can appreciate its beauty from the outside and at night
Park Güell: Gaudi's masterpiece. Its an interactive park that you get to via the metro and a 15 minute walk. Photographs don't do it justice; its a gingerbread land and LSD trip in one. Its a lively, busy, crowded park that also has a good, elevated view of Barcelona. Its a shame to not visit this park if you plan on visiting Barcelona. A must. We did not spend the entrance fee to enter a few of the park's buildings. If you're on a budget, you can definitely enjoy the park without paying the entrance fees.
Casa Milà: another Gaudi work. Entrance equals admission fees. That starts to add up. Ouch. Again, we decided to enjoy this from the outside and not wait in line (and pay) to roam inside
Casa Batlló: more Gaudi, more admission fees. I wish we went inside, since the pictures make it look quite impressive.
Cathedral of Santa Eulalia: nice Gothic cathedral, but once you start to see 1 church, they all look the same to me.
Jewish quarter: it was relatively interesting and there were some nice shops around there
Parc de la Ciutadella: I wouldn't go out of my way to go there. And yes, it is out of your way. The cablecar up closes early and you're stuck walking down in the dark or taking the (infrequent) bus. It gives you a view of the city, but honestly, it just looks like one big city surrounded by water. It wasn't a spectacular site.
Food: be careful. There's either high-end and high-priced (and spectacular) food to be had, or there are a lot of places that target tourists. Choose your food wisely. I used chowhound.com for planning and suggestions. Its a great way to not have a bad meal while vacationing. I strongly suggest waiting and having a seat at a tapas resto in the market. We chose Pinoxos (sp?), which was a great experience and incredibly tasty.
Drinks: I would skip the Spanish beer. Its not so hot. I would spend all of my time drinking Cava. It goes down really well on a hot summer day. just be careful and don't let it get to your head.
What I did right:
- not paying entrance fees for most museums, houses, etc. That will kill you financially
- spending only 3 days in Barcelona.
- having a splurge meal and eating in style
- trying the food at one of La Bouqueria's "restaurants"
- planned our day by using the Frommer's walking guide to seeing Barcelona
- got lost a lot. Its an easy city to get lost in. Just be careful at night
- perhaps we were a little to cheap re: not paying admission to most places.
