Barcelona

[saint]

Originally Posted by KObalto

Carmina for shoes, especially cordovan. Oh, and I hear El Bulli has decent food.

Try Alkimia its Adria's restaurant where he showcases his take on Catalan food. Much easier to get a reservation there than at El Bulli, and quite a bit cheaper. Try the foie gras in a cocoa broth, its incredible.

 

[saint]

El Raco con Fabes is also good, but its about an hour outside of Barcelona.

 

[Alec_Jan]

stay away from ramblas for food

vaso de oro has good tapas (get chorizo).. but it's a really... really thin bar, so be ready to wait or be uncomfortable

lottusse (close to the university hospital) has some nice loafers, not pricey

 

[ville_e]

Santa Eulalia has two stores.. Pau Casals 8 solely for men & Passeig de Gracia for men & women... which one would be better to visit? As I am looking for men's clothing I would assume Pau Casals is the best?

 

[JohnnyCrockett]

Yes -- do stay away from Ramblas for food.

Definitely go to the Gaudi park (forgot the name) -- it is much better than anything else Gaudi in the city (most of which didn't really appeal to me).

I don't think Carmina has a shop there.

FWIW, when in Madrid I went to the two largest Carmina stores in town but neither held a candle to the Carmina store on Avenue de l'Opera in Paris.

If you want good "local" eateries in Barcelona, the Rick Steve's book is quite good. PM me and I can take a look at my book to give you the names of a few places.

 

[ville_e]

Thanks Johnny!

 

[banis]

I haven't seen Carmina's shoes in Barcelona in August.

For the seafood try Botafumeiro restaurant at Gran de Gràcia.

 

[oroy38]

There's a small restaurant in an alley somewhere off of Ramblas that's actually quite good. It's a tucked away little gem and it's called "Menage a Trois." Regardless of the name, the food is excellent.

Worst comes to worst, there's a very large market off of Ramblas that offers fresh everything. Pick up a bottle of wine, bread, cheese, various meats, and have at it.

 

[Star]

Don't do the harbour tour. Barcelona harbour (bar the small area where the yachts are parked) is an idustrial sh!t whole. I wasted my Euro's in 2006 wine in hand (that I also paid for) being driven past a pile of what looked like coal not not once but twice!

The rest of the city is groovy.

If you want Harbour go Sydney or HongKong

 

[ville_e]

Thanks so much everyone for your wonderful suggestions! I will let you know how the trip went when I get back..

I leave on Thursday so if anyone has any more suggestions I'd love to hear them.. will def. visit the Miro, Picasso, Contemporary and Naval museums.. will also visit Bel y Cie and Santa Eulalia for shopping and some of the restaurants mentioned.

 

[feynmix]

Bump. Going to Barca soon and would love some recs for nightlife and things to do. Any particular area where we should look to stay in terms of hostels?

 

[ville_e]

Any new recommendations for Barcelona??

Hotels, restaurants, shops etc.? Advice is most appreciated. Thank you!

 

[lektrix]

lol I'm going to Barcelona in May....

Should I even bother shopping for clothes there? I'm into ZARA and that's all...

 

[Frigiliana]

El Corte InglÃ

s is the large department store in the center, pretty much sells everything from Zegna to Burberry and everything in between , be careful on the Ramblas with pick pockets ,just wander round a bit and you'll find plenty of tapas bars , the bus tours are i thought good value as you can jump on and of and even change routes , a must see is the Segrada Familia unbelievable be prepared to que , i agree about the market of the Ramblas great for food . Have a great holiday i will definitely be going back
PS if you look on youtube there is a brilliant 6 part documentary about Gaudi i think made by the B.B.C UK television i wish i had watched it before i went

 

[lektrix]

How about shopping for the cheap?