We stayed in a room in someone’s apartment 2 blocks from La Sagrada Familia
Since we were there for a while it was nice to have a place to spread out unlike a hostel
I liked the location but staying on the outer edge of the Gothic area is also good
To Do
Park Guell- Buy tickets in advance!!
La Sagrada Familia- Buy tickets in advance!!- also recommend getting some sort of guide (even the audio guide would be good) because otherwise you are just looking at a beautiful building and don’t really know what a lot of the elements mean
Casa Batllo- Buy tickets in advance! (audio guide comes with ticket)
Picasso museum- Sundays is free from 15:00-19:00 but the line can be really long. We waited in line, which actually moved pretty fast, and I thought it was worth it BUT students are free all the time!!
Sandeman Free walking tour- explore the gothic and el born area
Walk down la rambla for lots of tourist shops and street performers
Hang out in Parc de la Ciutadella
Beach
The most popular and busy one with tourists is La Barceloneta- it is still nice but lots of people and guys trying to sell you stuff
We also went much further down the beach to the Selva del Mar metro station for a very quite beach with pretty much all locals but there aren’t really any bars or restaurants there
Bars and Clubs
We didn’t really go to any bars (just one near our airbnb the last night)
Highly recommend Opium for a crazy party. Put your name on the guest list online. Entry is free before 2am but don’t get there much before then because it didn’t really start getting started until around 3am.
Eats
Get paella
tourist places near La Barceloneta will have non traditional kinds without shellfish
La Boqueria market- awesome cheap food and lots of choices (check to make sure they are open before you go)
Flax and Kale- can be pricey but super yummy healthy food. It is always crowded so make a reservation online but the restaurant is huge so the wait usually isn’t too long if you don’t make a reservation
Bo De B- famous sandwich place by La Barceloneta which is really cheap
Woki organic market- great for all types of food (especially woks) if you don’t want Spanish food
We were not into tapas but I have heard Vinitus
Eyescream and friends- fun ice cream/shaved ice place that gives your ice cream a face but nothing that special (near La Barceloneta)
Transportation
We took the aerobus into the city and then the metro which was a little pricey but nothing crazy
Other than that we used the metro. We bought a T-10 pass, which gives you 10 rides for about $10 which is less than half the price if you were to buy each ticket separately. We planned pretty well and our pass lasted us exactly to the end except for our ride to the airport.
Dana Around the World 