My friend went last fall, I just went through her Instagram and grabbed a list of her favorites.

Parc Guell

Casa Batlo

La Sagrada Familia

La Boqueria Market

Football game

Palau de la Música Catalan

The Nativity facade

FAVORITE dining spot in Spain, Honest Greens

@deegw

This is a fantastic list! I will Google all of these places. Thanks!

We LOVED Barcelona! We stayed in an historic hotel directly accros from the cathedral in the old city with a sweet balconly overlooking the square. They hold folk dancing in the square on Sunday night. I can’t recall where we ate but Sagrada Familia is so much more amazing than I had expected, everything Gaudi is fab, the Picasso museum as cool and the museum of Barcelona near the harbor was excellent. We saw LaBoheme at the opera and walked everywhere.

On the same trip we went next to Bilbao and stayed in a cool modern hotel accross from the Guggenheim. A wonderful juxtaposition.

The Barcelona hotel was the Colon.

I would definitely check out Honest Greens. She's a well-traveled foodie and for her to refer to something as a favorite in all caps is high praise. I think they ate there more than once.

@lissam We had season tickets to the opera for years. When we got married, instead of having a traditional reception, we took our guests to the opera. The performance was LaBoheme. I will keep your recommendations in mind. I am going to Google the Colon now. Thanks!

@deegw

I Googled Honest Greens. There are several locations. The food looks great. I will check them out.

The Barri Gotic is great fun for walking and shopping. Lots of sweets shops and ice cream. Just remember (wherever you go) that everything shuts down for a couple hours in the middle of the day.

Sagrada Familia is can't miss, Parc Guell too.

I don't have any specific restaurant recs, although I can say that most of the restaurants near Placa de Catalunya (and probably in most heavily-touristed areas) don't feel very authentic.

Other sights I visited that aren't necessarily must-sees but I enjoyed include Parc de la Cuitadella, the Picasso Museum, Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat, the Fundacio Joan Miro and other attractions on Montjuic, and the Barcelona Maritime Museum.

I’ve been to Barcelona twice, most recently in late June of this year.

CDLC (Carpe Diem) is a great place for dinner. We sat on the patio on the beach. The address is Pg. Marítim de la Barceloneta, 32, 08003 Barcelona, Spain. It is directly behind the Sofitel Barcelona Skipper, where I stayed.

Sofitel Barcelona Skipper is a beautiful hotel about half a block from the beach. In 2019, we stayed in H10 Universitat very close to Place de Catalunya. The address is Ronda de la Univ., 21, 08007 Barcelona, Spain. It may have been the smallest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in.

If you book a tour of La Sagrada Familia, be sure you book for the exterior and the interior. When I was there in 2019, the tour was supposed to include both. It did not. It was only the exterior. In June, we had an excellent tour guide who was very thorough. We saw the interior and the exterior. She also does private tours. If you are interested, I can get her name from my friend who was with me.

We also did a tour of the Benedictine retreat at Montserrat.

I’ve done 3 tours through Julia Tours. My experience with the company is varied, one was fantastic, one was good, and one was awful.

Bbtx

Omg this is fantastic. You are on it with the hotel addresses and all! I will check out Carpe Diem and Sofitel Barcelona Skipper. Thanks for the offer of the name of the tour guide but we plan everything at the very last minute and I doubt that we have time to book a private tour.

@cawaps

Thanks for mentioning that things shut down in the middle of the day. I had not thought of that. I think I will enjoy strolling around The Barri Gothic.

El Xampanyet near the Picasso Museum for great tapas.

If you like Dali, take a day trip to the Dali Museum in Figueres. Very fun!

I was there for a business meeting and DH joined me but we left town as soon as I was done and went up the coast to Cadaques. I’m not a fan of big cities especially where cruise ships dock. I loved the big market but watched a cruise ship visitor realize in horror that she’d been pick pocketed. Be very careful of that.

We had season tickets to the opera for years. When we got married, instead of having a traditional reception, we took our guests to the opera.

What a cool idea for a wedding, which opera house?

I used to go to Barcelona for a conference every year, and have been 5 or 6 times. It was always held at the Four Seasons, so no hotel recc. Our dinners were usually catered at some landmark so no dinner reccs either. Just wherever you go, eat the gazpacho and pan con tamate I think it is? One yar DH came and we did a driving tour to Tarragona, to see fireworks in the harbor, and we stayed in a Bnb in the olive groves. Lovely. Spain is one of my fave countries. Enjoy!

Just remember (wherever you go) that everything shuts down for a couple hours in the middle of the day.

I don't know if you will be alone or coupled, but this is DH's fave part about vacationing in Spain.

@3katz4me

To combat crime, my dh has insisted on wearing one of those passport holders that goes around the neck and under the shirt but he refuses to put it under his shirt. Omg.... My kid is mortified at the look. I am also....

@mtn

We live in Chicago and there is an outdoor music venue called Ravinia. The opera was performed there. It was perfect for a wedding reception imo.

A couple of overlooked places in Barcelona

Parque de la Ciutadella

Hospital de Sant Pau

Check out Viana restaurant. Best meal we had in Barcelona. You've got to try the beef cheeks. Soooo good!

@rich69b

Dinner at Viana was amazing. I loved the beef cheeks! I want to come here again tomorrow. It was a fabulous suggestion. Thank you.

@deegw

Next on my list is Honest Greens.

Are you in Barcelona right now and just asked for recs a day ago? Oh my gosh, you clearly don't share the "obsess about details" gene that many of us have! I hope you are having a great trip!

Can't wait to hear more about your last-minute trip to SPAIN! How fun!

oh my, you are already there! Enjoy! As I write this, the streets and buses are probably still packed, like at 1:45 am on Saturday.

@Gooster

Yes, we left the restaurant close to midnight and then walked around a little. The streets were still very busy but some shops had begun to close. It is a city with a huge night life. I don't have a lot of night life in me and never have. I am an early to bed and early to rise kind of person.

I like your style. Pre-Covid, my DH and I always took a last minute holiday in January or Feburary. We would watch for last minute deals and decide where to go and often left within 48 hours of deciding.

@deew

I could eat here every single day. We had ginger lemon kombucha, poke with quinoa, falafel and steak. Huge thank you to you and friends of deegw for the recommendation. I love the vibe of this place and wish it were closer to home.

We have not had dessert yet but there is a cauliflower brownie with Maldon salt that we will have. Dh is going on and on about how he needs to find that salt for his cooking. Not sure if you saw my salt box post. I haven't given it to him yet. Not until we return home.

Thanks!

@nekotish

It makes for very adventurous travel. I love it. My best vacations are the unplanned ones with unexpected adventures.

@ilikefriday You and my friend must have ordered the same thing! Her picture looks very similar. So glad you enjoyed your meal. Love that your DH is wishing for Maldon and that you've already ordered it.

You are my adventure travel hero, friday!

Too funny about the Maldon! Your meals look wonderful.

I loved Barcelona!!! And I love how spontaneous your family is!!!!

Have a great time. Enjoy every minute.

P.S. Take the speed train to Madrid and stay there a couple of days. We did their electric bike tour. So fun. Enjoyed their guitar bars and took in a flamingo show. Shopped at the open market and ate at the cafes. It’s such a different city from Barcelona and so worth the trip.

I knew you'd like it. I recommend Viana to everyone I know who's going to be there. Coincidentally, we were there a few years ago first week of August for our son's 21st birthday.

Yes, if you have time, take the high speed train to Madrid. We took a tour to Segovia and another city which i forgot the name. Beautiful places rich in history.

I love how spontaneous you are!

@rich69b

Thank you again. It was a really fantastic evening out.

@njmomma

I would love to go to Madrid and all the places!

At the moment I find myself headed in the direction of Amsterdam. Any recommendations for restaurants in Amsterdam?

Sorry I have never been to Amsterdam, but will follow this thread to hear all about it.
Glad you’re having a great time!