My First Trip to Barcelona, Spain

PIN IT!Click here for my map / guide of recommendations for Barcelona, SpainPIN IT!

Here’s my Guide to Barcelona Spain!

FOOD

My three favorite restaurants and tapas bars:

  • SENSI Barcelona – You must make a reservation and just like the map above states, make sure you choose the right location, because there 3 different ones!What to order:Please order the stuffed squid- it’s so much better than it sounds! I also recommend the meat option with the potatoes – that actually is the best most mouthwatering dish I ate this summer. The wine is top notch too, see the picture above. If you have questions the staff is very helpful so ask the servers for suggestions (I had Pietro who is has blonde dread-headed Italian man from Lake Como, living in Barcelona) he’s not pushy, super nice, and honest with all his suggestions.

 

  • La Bouqueria, right when you enter off of Las Ramblas street you cant miss. It’s the first place/restaurant bar in the middle right before you even go deep into the market. It’s always packed but worth grabbing a seat at the little seafood bar/restaurant. I ate here for lunch after my walk along Las Ramblas street to La Boqueria.

 

  • Patron Restaurant and Tapas Bar. It’s closer to the Gaudy Building and I recommend coming for dinner. To my surprise they moved locations but its all good – the food is delicious and the drinks may be even better :). They have live music most nights.

Where I stayed:

Hotel Catalonia Port, Barcelona Spain

I liked the location of the hotel the most. I had some trouble with wifi at times, but this is to be expected. You definitely cannot get wifi at the pool. The small pool area is really nice, and if you’re here in the summer, its even nice early in the morning. It has all the modern amenities that one would want. I may suggest trying airbnb, since most hotel that I looked at were just so-so, that is unless you’re stating at a major resort.

Area I recommend staying in: Barcenoleta is the most popular and can be pricey however there is a huge plus — it’s right next to the water. I took some friends advice to stay in the Gothic Quarter, since its proximity to Barceloneta and the museums etc. I really like the area I chose – (see the map for the highlighted area). I expanded where I recommend based on my trip… meaning you will see the red dot of where my hotel was but I expanded the area I recommend based off of my walks around the city. Just a little further away from the gothic is “La Ribera” area and its really cute too. I might stay there next time. It has many cute little shops and a village like feel. Gothic and La Ribera are right next to each other, so either one would be nice.



Click here to book your stay with Hotel Catalonia too!

Must See & Do

La Bouqueria

This is a must do! It’s like a fish and meat market in all packed in one with a huge variety of vendors to choose from.

Entertainment

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I went to a flamenco performance- YES, YOU BETTER TOO! I opted to have dinner at SENSI then off  to a this flamenco dance performance: “Palau Dalmases”. It was steps from the Picasso Museum, in a hidden little garden like place. The performance was just about an hour and a half with a small group of maybe 30 of us and I would definitely recommend going! There are many available to see, but make sure to do your research to find one you will like.

 

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DGTL:  a digital music concert with many stages (festival stye)! So Much fun.. you should go to if you are staying there in early to mid August : https://www.festicket.com/fr/festivals/dgtl-barcelona/2017/

 

Day Trip outside of Barcelona:

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SITGES! If you have the opportunity to go outside the city on a day trip I highly recommend Sitges. It’s a small village along the ocean and has become a popular place for many locals to go to the beach away from too many tourists.

HOPE YOU ENJOY

Please comment to leave me your tips too!

 

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