Barcelona

So is it worth a visit?

Any hotel recommendations?

I'm contemplating a weekend break and I've not been to Spain so I
thought Barcelona might be a good place to start.

 

It's well worth a visit by bike - the road from Toulouse through
Andorra to Barcelona is fantastic. I've not stayed in Barcelona for
over 30 years though & it was a right shithole back then. It seems
pretty highly rated these days though.

 

I find the place not that pretty compared to say Rome or Paris, but the
atmosphere is awesome. Well worth a visit, IMHO.

 

Very much so.

I stayed in the wronmg hotel. Close to the Ramblas, but in the one
area round there with Graffiti.

Yes, agreed, just avoid the Irish bars with sad Brit and other
colonial binge drinkers.

There's also a bus that does a city tour from Plaza de Catalunya
[IIRC] you pay one price for an all day ticket with hop on, hop off
type tour and an audio guided tour via headphones.

In addition to Ramblas, you have Sagrada Familia, Passegio de Gracia,
Port, Market, Estadio Montjuic, cable car, etc.

Los cojones.

 

Paul Corfield
wrote:

Went there 2yrs ago & stayed at the Ramblas Hotel, on the main street
(also called the Ramblas!) Most of the hotels on that street seemed pretty ok,
The Oriente was nearby & being refurbished, so might be worth checking it out.
The City Bus Tour is worth doing, as you cover a huge area & can hop on/off.
Gaudi`s Cathedral is well worth a visit, especially if you can make the climb up
one of the towers, for a fantastic view. The shops are good too, all the ones
we have back home, plus many Spanish ones too. Even in December, it was
fairly sunny, not that warm, but pleasant.

 

Paul Corfield emerged from their own little world to say

It has been recommended to me.

The Catalans won't like you calling it Spain!

I've not been to Barcelona but in Spain I try to book a Solmelia hotel.
They are a bit like the Accor chain in France - a range of hotel grades
with a consistent level of quality.

I've just booked a week in their hotel in Salou at Easter. The sprog has
been hassling to go to the Port Aventura theme park for ages.

They have 2 in Barcelona plus another at the BCN airport.

http://www.solmelia.com/sol/reserva...ged=no&pagination=&moneda=USD&goToFechas=HOME

The 4* Tryp Apolo gets a good review here:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187497-d231530-Reviews-Tryp_Apolo-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

Expedia.co.uk was quoting good rates but I booked in a local Thomas Cook
(they used Seligo) as they were able to get me seats on a charter flight
at a good price too.

 

Paul Corfield secured a place in history by writing:

Madrid. It's much more 'real' Spain, They're both fantastic cities, but
Barcelona is much more European, Madrid has much more real Spain about it.
Find some non-tourist flamenco bars, at 3am they're just the most exciting
[1] places in Europe I've ever experienced.

[1] Raw, charged, edgy, different...not sure of the words I'm looking
for....

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, wessie
<> typed

(Barcelona)

Easyjet fly to Barcelona. They go from Luton (and probably others).

Paul, if you find yourself wanting to fly out or back from Luton at an
odd hour, there's a spare room here you'd be more than welcome to.

--
Nigel - Manufacturer of the "Champion-105" range of rearsets

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
ZZR1100, Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"

 

Barcelona is nice for a couple of days - Seville is much nicer, sort of
like a warm friendly Shrewbury with the inquisition.

 

I was speaking arcitecturally. Or something.

 

Nigel Eaton emerged from their own little world to say

Easyjet fly to the proper Barcelona airport. Don't let Ryanair hoodwink you
into flying to their "Barcelona" which as actually Girona 60 miles away.

 

I'd imagine it would have been fascinating in the early 70s, still under
Franco's dictatorship. That may also have had some bearing on why it was
a shithole.

 

<sigh> The Pyrenees. Yep, you just may never leave them.

 

Barcelona is pretty cool actually, on of the few places I would be prepared
to get on a plane to visit.

Plenty of hotels along the Ramblas, and the marina complex has some superb
seafood eateries and nightclubs etc.

Also, the Gaudi cathedral is deffo worth a butchers as is the head office of
Chupa Chups [1], another Gaudi building which sort of resembles a skull.

[1] A lollipop company, in case you didn't know
--
Dan L (Oldbloke)
My bike 1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr
M'boy's bike 2003 Honda NSR125R
Spare Bike 1990 Suzuki TS50X
BOTAFOT #140, DIAABTCOD #26, BOMB#18 (slow)

 

My main memories are being attacked by bloody huge hornets everytime I
stepped outside, & sitting on the beach watching a dead pig bobbing
around in the water. I wasn't in a hurry to go back for some reason.

The only other time I've stayed in Spain (rather than just passed
through) was for the Valencia GP a few years ago. I managed to find
another shithole to stay in - Ghandia. Yee gods was it manky. We even
had an earthquake to add to the fun. It was the year Biaggi fell off on
the first corner on the warm-up lap though, so well worth being there

 

Simon Atkinson wrote

<AOL>, and a darn sight warmer

 

Went last year, wonderful time. Bus service from airport to city centre
brilliant. Apart from the tour bus, two routes which are really worth
doing on the first day cos it gives you a good feel to the city, the
underground is good. But using those flat things on the end of the legs
you get to see and feel so much more.

Brian

 

yes- in addition to everyone else's recommendations, I would recommend
you get yourself a copy of the Rough Guide. That way you get to see
some of the non touristy, but still interesting, parts of the city.

As said before, rail and metro systems are very easy to navigate.

I would also recommend the fountains in Montjuic (although very
kitsch),the olympic stadium (reminds me of the old wembley) and if the
weather turns shite the aquarium in the harbour is great and has cute
penguins.

Shopping is good as well..

I stayed in one of these: http://www.husa.es but it is off the
Ramblas, so if the football is on when you go, take some earplugs.

One word of warning- La Ramblas is a pickpockets paradise with
everyone standing and watching the street entertainers.

Enjoy..

 

You could ask Domenec. He's from up that way.

--

Paul.
CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird
BOTAFOT #4
BOTAFOF #30
MRO #24

 

....and they speak spanish.

Oh, and don't consider driving in Madrid.
--

Paul.
CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird
BOTAFOT #4
BOTAFOF #30
MRO #24