The husband and I are finally getting around to taking our honeymoon there in early April. We're going for a week? Any ideas of what to do?

We also wouldn't mind taking some day trips.

2/21/2015 3:17:53 PM

La Sagrada Famila, obviously... was under renovation/construction when was there 10 years ago. Hopefully done by now...

La Rambla...be careful late night though.

There a cool park that overlooks the city. Can't remember the name though.

2/21/2015 3:27:37 PM

Park Guell
La Sagrada Familia and a walking tour of the other famous Gaudi architecture
Picasso Museum
La Rambla was a waste of time for us, but we aren't really into shopping for cheap shit. If you want good shopping it's a few blocks off La Ramblas in the alleys around the Cathedral of Barcelona. this is just a cool area in and of itself to walk around and escape the sun.
Also do the Gondola ride. Depending on the day it's a bit of a wait but totally worth it.


also make sure you check out the lights/water show at Font Magica de Montjuic. I think on only runs thurs-sunday but it's completely worth it.

2/22/2015 6:29:29 PM

drink a lot

eat a lot

go to the beach

listen to house music til 6 am

rinse repeat

seriously though, check out Can Paixano (La Xampanyeria) - it's a Cava Bar near the beach, you get a bottle of Cava and some tapas for like five euros. very cool place.

find a good spot for delicious pintxos (won't be hard). La Sagrada Familia will always be under construction but it is worth waiting to go inside. super beautiful. Barcelona is the greatest.

2/22/2015 10:53:44 PM

Take in a match at the Camp Nou, FC Barcelona's stadium. There's a museum inside of it as well.

2/23/2015 10:00:23 AM

I was just there in January. Beware of pickpockets and wear a money belt. I got my passport stolen the last day I was there and it was a huge ordeal. Luckily, I got it back, but no matter where you go, someone will be looking to pickpocket you.

If you want good food, check out:

Tapeo by Daniel
Baribau
Cerveceria Catalana

Overall, it's still my favorite city in the world. Just something about it...

2/23/2015 6:13:13 PM

Quote :

"Beware of pickpockets and wear a money belt. I got my passport stolen the last day I was there and it was a huge ordeal. Luckily, I got it back, but no matter where you go, someone will be looking to pickpocket you."

i'm sorry that happened to you...but i heard fear mongering like this about Barcelona for months before I went on my trip. and yes, pickpockets are out but you can spot them from a block away and I never once felt threatened or worried. Even the girls on our trip felt fine after the initial reservation (mostly from hearing how terrible it was, not from anything that actually happened). Where were you when you were robbed? they're all over La Ramblas, by the beach at night, and near the big landmarks. But again, you can point them out of a crowd with relative ease.

2/23/2015 8:01:26 PM

I heard it too. It didn't stop it from happening. I was actually 50 feet in front of my hotel in the E'ixample district in broad daylight. I got to my hotel early and had just checked in, so I walked outside and was going to find a place to eat. I had a heavy winter coat on and don't even remember feeling anyone brush by me. Whoever took it was kind enough to ditch it at the subway station, but not before trying to withdraw 500 euros from three different ATMS. Totally my fault for being dumb and putting them both in my coat pocket, but I was hungry and wanted to eat instead of putting everything in the safe. Lesson learned.

[Edited on February 23, 2015 at 9:20 PM. Reason : .]

2/23/2015 9:08:30 PM

Can you rent bikes for cheap? I want to ride around the city and check it out that way. I always have a better time in a city when I can cycle around, instead of using public transport.

Not into the following: clubbing or shopping, unless it's something specific like fabric.

Thanks for the replies: keep em coming!

2/25/2015 11:17:29 AM

Quote :

"Beware of pickpockets and wear a money belt. I got my passport stolen the last day I was there and it was a huge ordeal. Luckily, I got it back, but no matter where you go, someone will be looking to pickpocket you. "

+1

I was only there for a week and had a number of attempts. Guess we can't all be Magnum P.I. pickpocket spotters like Jeepin4x4

[Edited on February 25, 2015 at 11:22 AM. Reason : I had a pouch thing that hung from my belt inside my pants. arguably better than a money belt]

2/25/2015 11:21:46 AM

TBH, Sevilla is even worse than Barcelona. The narrow alleys in the Jewish Quarter are the perfect place to get robbed/pickpocketed. My friend had his iPhone 6 stolen out of his back pocket when two old ladies brushed past him- in the middle of the afternoon, mind you. Petty theft is out of control in Spain. American tourists are no match for professional thieves with thousands of years of training. You can be cavalier about it if you want, but it literally takes two seconds to get pick-pocketed. By the time you realize you've been robbed, they are probably a mile away. Not trying to scare anybody away from Spain- it's definitely my favorite country to visit. But there's a reason why it has one of the highest rates of petty crime in Europe. Wear a goddamn money belt.

2/25/2015 11:32:52 AM

2/25/2015 11:59:55 AM

Be especially vigilant when using public transit, especially at the stations.

2/25/2015 12:28:15 PM

La Sagrada Familia won't be done til 2030 but definitely still go

We didn't have any trouble with pickpockets but be vigilant all the same. I think there used to be more Eastern European gypsies than there are now and apparently they were the real threat for pickpocketing. I did carry my wallet in my front pocket and kept my hand on it most of the time though, which actually kind of sucked. It was hard to relax when walking around.

La Rambla itself was kind of lame but La Boqueria just off of it was great. There are a lot of cool shops in El Born, near the Picasso Museum (which is worth visiting itself).

If at all possible, get a dinner reservation at Tickets. They take them a month out, I forget what time. Best meal I ever had in my life by a good margin, and dining is like half the reason I even travel. Tapeo is also really good, and cheap. Buy a ham cone on the street, too.

If you want to take a day trip, I would highly recommend Tarragona, which has a lot of ancient Roman Empire ruins and is generally a very pretty town.

[Edited on February 25, 2015 at 3:11 PM. Reason : .]

2/25/2015 3:09:51 PM

I was in Barcelona ten days and never had anyone attempt to pick pocket me.

Sagrada is amazing. Take the tour to the top.

All of the Gaudi buildings are cool and you can go in some of them.

Don't get Paella off the Ramblas.

Eat lots of tapas and drink cava and mojitos.

2/25/2015 7:49:16 PM

Quote :

"I was in Barcelona ten days and never had anyone attempt to pick pocket me. "

That's great man. Really, I'm happy for you. It totally discounts my own personal experience and all of the other victims that it happens to on a daily basis.

[Edited on February 25, 2015 at 8:15 PM. Reason : .]

2/25/2015 8:15:03 PM

not saying it doesn't happen but it's over-hyped. what happened to you was really unfortunate, it sucks, and I wasn't trying to discount your experience.

2/25/2015 9:47:59 PM

but it's not over-hyped. it happens all the time. it's the pickpocket capital of Europe. i'm not saying it's 100% guaranteed going to happen, but if you have a nonchalant attitude about it, just like I did btw, it's more likely to happen than if you take precautions like wearing a money belt and constantly watching your surroundings.

2/25/2015 9:52:19 PM

do you remember how it happened? like, did somebody bump into you or something like that? genuinely curious. US passports can fetch a lot of money

2/25/2015 9:54:06 PM

read her post above. she tells her story.


I had read some stories about the pickpockets on the beach that hang out late at night waiting for drunk couples to come down and start fooling around. We had dinner ocean front one night at this really nice restaurant and decided to test it out so the 6 of us all walked down to the beach and walked along the water. The girls had had a few and were being a loud and playful. I could see them coming, but the next thing i knew there were 2-3 guys standing back about 30 yards from us just "casually" standing in the middle of the beach watching us. They were waiting for us to put down our stuff and walk into the water. Finally we just started waving at them and bringing attention to them and they turned and ran off.

2/26/2015 9:05:28 AM

Quote :

"it's the pickpocket capital of Europe."

Pretty sure that's Rome.


I backpacked Europe for two months and never felt threatened by pick-pocketers. I kept my wallet in my back pocket the entire time. Don't be a dumb-ass and you won't get your shit stolen.

2/26/2015 9:57:36 AM

^^I'm a guy

Quote :

"do you remember how it happened? like, did somebody bump into you or something like that? genuinely curious. US passports can fetch a lot of money"

There really isn't much to tell. It was my third time in Barcelona and I let my guard down. The sketch factor is a lot higher near La Rambla than E'ixample, so I figured it would be fine to put my Passport and the card that I just booked my hotel with in my coat pocket instead of putting everything in the safe. I honestly don't remember being bumped into, but I'm assuming it was probably a pair of women who worked in a team. When I realized my coat pockets were empty, I ran back to the hotel thinking that I probably just left them both at the front desk. NOPE. The shitty thing was that this was on a Sunday and I had a flight to London the next morning. I had to go to the Consulate to try to get an emergency Passport the next morning, and it was pretty far away from where I was staying. Luckily, someone had turned the Passport in to the subway station and they notified the Consulate, so I was able to get it back a few hours later. I still had to pay an 80 euro change flight fee, which was obviously better than buying a whole new ticket, but I was actually extremely fortunate.

You guys are right in saying that they're easy to spot in the really touristy areas, but remember that it's not always sketchy looking people that are going to target you. It can just as easily be a team of two ordinary looking people that can burn you in a seemingly 'safer' part of town.

^and that's great man. I'm glad you didn't have any problems on your two month backpacking trip. All it takes is one instance of letting your guard down, ANYWHERE, and it can happen. I've done a pretty fair amount of traveling and been to lots of major cities around the world and managed not to have any issues getting robbed, either. Why take the risk when there's a pretty simple solution to protect yourself? Keeping your wallet in your back pocket is incredibly stupid, and it's exactly how my friend had his iPhone 6 pickpocketed in Sevilla. Congrats on not getting robbed.



[Edited on February 26, 2015 at 10:11 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on February 26, 2015 at 10:12 AM. Reason : .]

2/26/2015 10:06:32 AM

Your friend was probably an idiot. They target certain people, and your friend probably had a big bullseye on him.

I had one of those stupid waist-wallets for about two days at the start of my trip. Threw it in the garbage and just paid attention for the rest of the trip and was fine. If I was about to jump on a bus or subway where I was going to be surrounded by people, I would put my wallet in my front pocket. Other than that...just be aware of what's going on. I met hundreds of young adults during my travels and only had a pick-pocket encounter (in Rome). Pick-pocketer bumped him on a bus and took his wallet. He noticed it right away, called the dude out on the bus...and when the guy refused to give his wallet back, a couple massive Aussies beat the shit out of him on the bus and got his wallet back.

2/26/2015 10:38:35 AM

http://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/Spain/Barcelona-Pickpocket-Capital-of-the-World

http://www.traveller.com.au/what-is-the-worlds-worst-city-for-pickpockets-10ndou

When was the last time you were in Spain? Just wondering. Was unemployment 20% like it is now, or was this during the early 2000s when the Euro was crazy strong?



[Edited on February 26, 2015 at 10:47 AM. Reason : jbrick is invincible]

2/26/2015 10:45:20 AM

RAWR RAWR RAWR I'M SUPER INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL GUY AND I NEVER GET ROBBED! ONLY STUPID PEOPLE GET ROBBED.



[Edited on February 26, 2015 at 11:13 AM. Reason : Give it a rest people.]

2/26/2015 11:13:12 AM

I was there in 2012. I always had at least one person or a group with me so I never felt unsafe there. I traveled to Rome by myself and that felt way sketchier to me. I got totally swindled by a taxi driver and there wasn't shit I could do about it. Southern Europe in general isn't as safe as Western Europe.

2/26/2015 12:18:51 PM

I was there in '09. I, too, got royally fucked by a taxi driver. But that was in Skopje, Macedonia...easily the "scariest" place I was at in my travels. The Balkan nations bus stops were sketchy as fuck.

2/26/2015 2:51:31 PM

This is my only real European "bad experience" (more of an inconvenience than anything).

I went to Europe for a summer for study abroad in Prague and went early by myself to check out Amsterdam and Rome. Flight majorly delayed and the airlines lost my bags in the unscheduled layover in London. My checked bags were lost so all I had was my carry on. After fighting with the airlines about the bags for a couple hours, I discover that the train from the airport to Amsterdam is delayed another hour because somebody committed suicide by jumping on the tracks.

I get to my hostel in Amsterdam after telling them I'd be coming in late do to weather delays, train delays, etc. They don't answer the door and it's 1am in Leideseplein. I try to find a hotel and everything is sold out. Finally come up to this one hotel and the guy is like "are you sure you want to stay here?". I was exhausted and had been awake 24 hours due to layovers, train delays, baggage loss, etc. so I had no other choice. It was literally a mattress on the floor with used sheets, standing water in the bathroom, no light in the bathroom, etc. it was a hooker motel. I used my airplane blanket and pillow. End up finding a better hotel for the next two nights.

Go to Rome - still wearing the same clothes that I left in walking around in 95 degree heat the whole time. I thought things couldn't get worse and then a bird fucking shit on my head as I was walking around the Old Republic. Decide that I too defeated to keep walking that day so I take a cab. From my map it looked like the landmark I wanted to go to was pretty far but it only turned out to be a few blocks. The cabbie is chatting it up with me about Miami and American girls, etc. and I notice the meter wasn't on and immediately knew I was about to get fucked over. After like a 2-3 minute scary ass cab ride I ask him how much and he says 30 Euros (about $45 at the time) and all I had was two 20s. He claimed he didn't have change. Ended up paying US $60 for that half mile ride through Rome.

Also ended up having to buy a set of clothes including shoes (I wore Sperry's on the plane for comfort and they destroyed my feet with all the walking). My bags were at my hotel the day after I made it to Prague a week later.

[Edited on February 26, 2015 at 4:32 PM. Reason : .]

2/26/2015 4:30:55 PM

Ok, as far as my valuables, I'll whip something up to hold my valuables, like a shoulder holster or something. Shouldn't be that difficult.

2/27/2015 10:28:10 AM

I usually carried something like this http://tinyurl.com/mxt3qeo and a dummy wallet just in case.

2/27/2015 10:32:53 AM

^^or just travel with the bare minimum. no jewelry, cheap watch, small clutch bag.

You'll have a great time. Enjoy, take lots of pictures, and go to the fountain show

2/27/2015 12:31:48 PM

No problems thus far since Sunday. We did Montjuic, La Sagrada, Jardin Botanique, Park Guell, Le'Xiample, Barrio Gotico, horseback riding in the mountains, biked around the city, the beach, the markets, shopping. (P.S. La Sagrada isn't slated to be finished until 2026, according to our guide).

I came down with a head cold, so we're chilling today, catching up on laundry, and enjoying the rooftop views. We're staying in Gracia, and I enjoy having everything I need within 100 ft of me. We're by the Plaza Revolucio.

Had tapas, mojitos, good cheap red wine, beer, etc. Vegetarian food and booze are cheap here; I love getting a meal for 2 under 20 euros. Can't even eat in Durham that cheap!

What we learned: if you want to do any of the tourist shit, book online and skip the lines. We saved so much time just doing it that way.

Siesta time is seriously Official Naptime, especially in the non-touristy areas for retail. Everything closes down somewhere between 1 and 6, and re-opens for Round II. We adapted to the schedule quite easily; sleep till 8 or 9, grab brunch by 1, go do tourist stuff, eat dinner around 7, back to the flat for nap/rest, go out again 10-11 till 1 or 2.

AirBnb worked fine for us for a room, YMMV.

4/3/2015 8:38:46 AM

One of the coolest things I saw was the Castellers. These are the human tower builder groups. They have a calednar on their website. I definitely recommend checking them out if they are performing while you are there. I saw them on a Sunday in a random, hard to find plaza.

http://www.castellersdebarcelona.cat/
http://barcelona.de/en/barcelona-castellers-human-towers.html

4/3/2015 9:28:56 AM

Glad to hear everything is going well on your trip! how is the weather?

4/3/2015 10:04:47 AM

Weather has been perfect- 60s-70s with lows in the 50s. Rained a bit on Wednesday. My only disappointment is I wasn't able to get in the water at the beach- temps still in the 60s there.

4/3/2015 11:54:43 AM

I never got to go in the water either I'm sure that in early June or early September Barcelona is heaven on earth at the beach since most of the tourists are gone.

4/3/2015 2:16:20 PM

Early September Barca still had plenty of tourist.

Early September Seville was the best.

4/3/2015 2:29:08 PM

Take a train to the Salvador Dali House in Cadaques. Make a reservation. Well worth it.
http://www.salvador-dali.org/museus/casa-salvador-dali-portlligat/info-practica/en_com-arribar/

4/4/2015 10:02:26 PM