Our last stop in Spain was Barcelona. We were there for four days, and went to Montserrat for one of them. I really enjoyed Barcelona. There are a lot more tourists there than anywhere else I was in Spain and it’s pricier, but the architecture, beauty, and feeling of the place are great. Felt like a more refined Madrid.
We stayed at the Hosteria Grau, which was nice and in a great location, but a bit pricey.
We took a bus tour to start but there was so much traffic that it didn’t help. We took Barcelona Tours, but the other one (Touristica?) seemed to have a lot more buses and is likely a better choice. I found Barcelona to be much bigger and decentralized than Madrid from a tourist perspective.
The best thing about Barcelona for me was all the great modernist architecture, especially Antonio Gaudi’s work. It’s great, and you should make a point to see at least some of it even if you don’t think you’ll be interested in it. It’s unlike anything else you’ve seen. The Sagrada Familia is unbelievable, especially considering that it is a cathedral. It’s a must-see. And you definitely should go up to the top. (The elevator is worth the money and will save you a lot of time! It’s so crowded on the stairs.) The view is great and you can cross between the spires. Parc Guell is a really nice park designed by Gaudi also and is worth going to for sure, but it is a bit out of the way. Casa Mila is another terrific Gaudi. The exterior and the roof are the highlights.
The Palau de la Musica Catalana is a beautiful modernista concert hall that is worth a visit. The Museo Picasso had loads of paintings but most were from his early stages.
Las Ramblas is the well-known pedestrian street, and it is awesome. Musicians, street performers, pet animal vendors, and lots of people (and after hours, prostitutes). Such a fun street. The whole Bari Gothic area was nice, and the waterfront was pretty nice too. The top of Montjuic offers a great panorama of the city, and it’s accessible by cable car.

We also took a day trip to Montserrat, a monastery in the mountains about 45 minutes outside Barcelona. Definitely a great daytrip and one worth doing if you’re going to be in Barcelona for more than a couple days. You go by train to cable car. The monastery is nice, but it’s the mountains and the views that make the place special. The rock formations are unusual. Good hiking, and a great break from the city.

That’s all for Spain! After Barcelona, I went on to Nice then Cinque Terre, Venice, Florence and Rome in Italy, before heading to a Greek island and then Athens. Although this is a Spain message board, I’d be happy to comment on any of the other places I went if you’d like.

Thanks again for all the great advice on the board. It made my trip that much better.

Adam

Adam-
It looks like I'm going to be going nearly the same route as your trip. I'd be very interested in hearing more. Do you have an email address i could write you at? mine is bstark@webtaha.com
thanks
Bob

I agree totally with OP. Barcelona is a fantastic city. I fell totally in love with it. We went for 6 days and it didn't feel like to much.

I agree with all comments and would like to add some other points:

On the weekend there is a fountain by the art museum (sorry I can't be more specific)and it is surprisingly hypnotising. It's very beautiful and certainly unusual with the way it changes shape and colour with the music. That is also another good spot for a great view over Barcelona, but unless you're very fit it might be worth noting the escalators on the sides.

If you follow the Ramblas past the most touristy area it gets cheaper and less crowded and the quality of tapas increase dramatically.

The Spanish Village however is the one thing I would NOT recommend. It was expensive, totally dire and terrible overrated.

[ 09-05-2001: Message edited by: Ria ]

You said Parc Guell was 'out of the way.' If you are at Sagrada Familia you can walk over to Avda. Pi y Maragall and catch a bus (#65, I think) to Parc Guell. As I recall from my July stop in Barcelona, the bus cost 160-pesetas or something like that.

I guess different people like different things. I went to the Spanish Village this summer in Barcelona and absolutely loved it - probably because it had been a while since I had been in any Spanish pueblos, and it brought back so many memories. I also just love the varied architecture of the buildings in pueblos from the different Spanish regions. I enjoyed the shops there as well - everything was "Made in Spain," and for the most part, there was no junk. Actually, the Pueblo Espanol was the highlight of my stay in Barcelona. Oh, well.