I’m pretty excited about our upcoming trip to Spain (and a sliver of Southern France). I’ve already contacted some friends regarding their favorite places in Barcelona. Stephen sent me the following (I hope he doesn’t mind me putting this up here):
1) Barcelona’s Cathedral – When I tried to visit Sagrada Família I was put off by the long line, but the Gothic cathedral was easy enough to get into and a whole lot cheaper. You can take an elevator up to the roof and you get a great view of the entire city (including Sagrada Familia). I don’t think anything inside the cathedral was particularly amazing on its own, but the view from the roof is worth the entry.
2) Museu d’Història de la Ciutat – I think this is the best museum I’ve ever been to, just because I really liked its organization, but also probably because I’m into all the topics it covers. You enter and take an elevator down several stories and walk through an excavation of Roman ruins of the city, and ascend through exhibits back up to the modern era.
3) Espai Mallorca – This is a bookstore/market/art gallery/cafe that specializes in cultural and culinary products from the Balearic Islands. I was really impressed with it. If you go make sure to taste some herbes (tasty liquor from the islands).
4) El Xampanyet – This is a bar near the Picasso Museum that only serves cava to drink. It’s very atmospheric and tiny and the decor is from the 19th century, i believe. I remember when I went that it opens at 7pm in the evenings. My friends and I got there a little early and decided to walk around and got back at 7.15 or so and it was already packed with people and we had to stand awkwardly, so if you do go, just wait until it opens and then grab a table.
I think those were my favorite things by far. I enjoyed walking around a lot in the old city, just wandering and seeing where I got to. I never got to a lot of the modernista stuff, but everyone loves that generally, so that’s probably worth seeing.
I hope all this helps!
- Stephen
Filed under: travel
