57 comments on “Gimme Some Barcelona Travel Guide”

1. Hayley — February 23, 2018 @ 10:20 am Reply

   Yay! We’re coming to Barcelona this July, and I was hoping you would post some recommendations sometime soon. Thank you for this comprehensive list!

   Have you visited any vineyards yet near Barcelona?

   • Anna Mlynski — February 23, 2018 @ 2:53 pm

     My daughter and I took this day wine tour . The 3 vineyards on the tour were fantastic.
     https://www.viator.com/tours/Barcelona/Wine-and-Cava-Day-Trip-to-Jean-Leon-Torres-and-Freixenet-Wineries-form-Barcelona/d562-2140BCNWINECAVA

2. Michelle H. — February 23, 2018 @ 11:36 am Reply

   What an amazing list! Thanks for putting this together for us.

3. Julie — February 23, 2018 @ 12:07 pm Reply

   This guide is AMAZING! I visited Barcelona back in college (15 yrs ago) and have been itching to go back ever since. These recs may have just bumped the city back to the top of our list. Everything looks so delicious. I bet you guys are having the time of your lives!

4. Vicky @ AvocadoPesto — February 23, 2018 @ 1:01 pm Reply

   SO excited about this guide! Going to be in Barcelona staying in Barceloneta for 2 months w my fiance (we’ve been traveling around the world for the last 6 yrs) and normally I do alllll of our travel research and planning and I’m so happy to see it’s all been done for me by you guys! YAY! : ))) So many amazing spots I cannot wait to check out!

5. Jessica — February 24, 2018 @ 9:23 pm Reply

   This makes me want to come back! We were in Barcelona last year and loved this little tapas place in El Born – El Xampanyet. It’s noisy and chaotic in a good way, the house cava is delicious and the tapas were the best we had!

6. Marina Gisbert — February 25, 2018 @ 2:15 am Reply

   If you are craving a good burger, head to OVAL, close to the University of Barcelona. It’s a build-your-own-burger kind of place with high quality ingredients. I also wanted to recommend El Comidista blog, El Pais newspaper food blog. You will find recipes, the history of some famous Spanish dishes and restaurant reviews, mainly from Barcelona, as most of the staff lives there. I hope you enjoy Barcelona and if you come to Madrid, I’d be glad to give you some recs!
   Marina

7. Heather — February 25, 2018 @ 10:14 am Reply

   Thank you for doing this! My partner and I will be there in late June for a too short two days before we train north to a family wedding in France. We’re going to stay in the El Born neighborhood so I’m basically just going to plan to look at all of your recs for food and drink! Woohoo! If we see you and I say hello, please know I’m a friendly, not creepy, blog fan. LOL.

   And now to make your crockpot beef ragu on a rainy Sunday!

8. Kristen — February 25, 2018 @ 1:38 pm Reply

   I love seeing so many of the places that we loved on your list! ??? Our favorite eats while we were there visiting last fall included Bar Del Pla, El Nacional, Can Paixano, and La Paradeta. We also loved FireBug for brunch!

9. Linda Ebright — February 25, 2018 @ 9:53 pm Reply

   Too bad you two haven’t had time to go out and have some fun since you got there?! WOW. This was worth the wait. What a comprehensive guide, and so thoughtfully and beautifully prepared. Can’t wait to check it out this summer.

10. Chlo — February 27, 2018 @ 5:53 pm Reply

    Any recommendations for gyms tourists can use?

11. Michelle — March 4, 2018 @ 12:30 pm Reply

    We loved Boca Chica and El Nacional!

12. Carrie — March 19, 2018 @ 5:31 am Reply

    This guide has been an enormous help planning our trip to Barcelona this coming month. Thank you!!! We can’t wait to try out your recommendations!

13. danielle — April 17, 2018 @ 10:13 am Reply

    We used your guide in Barcelona this past week and loved so many of your recommendations!!! Bar Mendizabal and Tantarantana were two of our favorite meals. Thank you so much, Ali! It’s easy to see why you guys love it there!

14. Natasha Prokhnevska — April 17, 2018 @ 1:19 pm Reply

    Hi! I love reading your blog about Barcelona and all the amazing food. I lived there for a summer a few years ago and it was incredible, I still miss it everyday. I have a couple of my favorite places I wanted to tell you about. My favorite brunch place is Caravelle Cafe, its off the ramblas towards El raval, but the food and the coffee are amazing! Also the Rambla del Raval has some super cute cafes, and a kind of crafts market on the weekend when I used to go visit. My favorite rooftop bar is definitely at Hotel 360, you can go up without being a guest, and the view is amazing. It’s the whole city and you can walk around with a gin tonic in hand and just enjoy the view. My other two favorite bars are little getaways from the cramped city. One is El Jardin, which is off Carrer L-Hospital also towards el raval, its just in this beautiful corner of an old church that has gardens where you can sit and enjoy a summer day. The last bar that I love, a local showed me, called L’antic Theater. It is right by the Palau de Musica Catalana. It is literally an open air bar with a giant tree and lights all around. Such a great place to grab a beer in the city center. Hope you have time to explore some of my favorite spots.

    Natasha

15. Caryn — May 1, 2018 @ 11:02 am Reply

    Hola! I’m a fan of the blog and headed to Barcelona in a few weeks (last minute, just now planning) our way to Naples (and then coming back to Madrid). I am looking at your travel guide recommendations and wondering if there is a way for me to print it? I can’t seem to figure it out!

    Also wondering what area you suggest at for staying that is closest to most of the things and transportation we would want to see in a short, 3 day visit? Plan to do Montserrat one day (Whole day? Or combined with a visit to the Winery Ollas?) and possibly some kind of food/wine tour, and a performance at the Palau. So excited to visit!! Thanks!

    • Ali — May 6, 2018 @ 5:50 am

      So glad you’re coming! And sorry, we don’t have a great print feature yet for this page, but you’re welcome to highlight the parts you’d like and then print just those.

      As for a good neighborhood to stay, we highly recommend El Born, which would be closest to most things. Or the Gothic, which is also close but considerably louder and more touristy. You probably need to only allot a half day for Montserrat (try to time it when the boys choir is singing!), but it’s a great destination to combine with a food/wine tour. And the Palau is terrific — just book tickets in advance, since the tend to sell out quickly. Enjoy!!

16. Rachel — May 7, 2018 @ 5:49 am Reply

    Thank you so much for this! We just spent four days in Barcelona at the end of our European vacation, and planned all of our itinerary around your recommendations and had SUCH an amazing time! The paella at Barraca was our favorite meal. But I have to admit… Aire Barcelona may have been my favorite 90 minutes of the whole trip. ? We hope to come back and visit again sometime soon!

17. Kris — May 8, 2018 @ 9:01 pm Reply

    We were in Barcelona for 2 days a couple weeks ago (before we left on our Mediterranean cruise). Thanks for your travel tips. My husband and I read them to prepare for our trip.
    We did the Barcelona City Tour (hop on/hop off bus tour) – which we would highly recommend for a great overview of the city.
    Also wanted to tell you that we are from Omaha. I read your review of your Omaha weekend and have not eaten at a lot of the restaurants you reviewed. Can’t wait to try them.

18. Bridget — May 15, 2018 @ 5:51 am Reply

    All of your amazing posts have inspired me to take a trip to Barcelona this fall! Just purchased my tickets and can’t wait! ?

19. Lynn Bainbridge — June 15, 2018 @ 6:27 pm Reply

    Just got back from a week in Barcelona with my 25 year old daughter! Thanks for the map and tips! We had dinner one night at the San Pedrito bar and Orlando the bartender was great! Makes fantastic mojitos and margaritas. A couple of recommendations we got from tour guides that we really enjoyed were Un’Altra Storia which is a mother/son Italian restaurant. We had the suggested dinner and it was wonderful! Another spot was SportsBar (pizza makers from Naples) which is close to Sagrada Familia. Great lunch spot after visiting the Cathedral. Finally we did a cooking class at La Foodieteca. So fun! Thanks for all the information you provided!

20. Nancy — July 9, 2018 @ 8:50 pm Reply

    We just got back home to CA from a trip to Paris and Barcelona. Thank you so much for your advice, need to know knowledge and recommendations!! The Aire Barcelona baths are, as you said, 1 million % worth it! We were in an AirBnB apartment right across the street from La Sagrada Familia-so amazing! We purchased a 3 day pass for the metro and were able to find our way around easily. We also did a food tour and a free walking tour-well worth it! Thank you, Ali for your inspiration!!

21. Rachel — July 27, 2018 @ 11:20 am Reply

    Loved looking through your list and am excited to visit one day!

    My question is on expat life (and excuse me if this has already been covered somewhere in your blog– I am a first time reader and haven’t looked through other posts yes).

    Do you have any blog posts that dive into your life/experiences as an expat? My partner and I are considering expat life in Portugal and have began the research process. There is a lot to think about, but my main concern at the moment is getting a visa and/or residency. I’m sure Spain has a different process than Portugal and I’m not sure if you came from somewhere in the EU or States or somewhere else. Do you have any advice on expat life– specifically residency?

    Thanks in advance and if this is too much to get into, don’t stress about responding!

    Be Well,
    Rachel

22. Paige — July 29, 2018 @ 9:44 am Reply

    This was unbelievably helpful on our vacation to Barcelona this month. Thanks for all of the work you put into everything! We loved our time there! ?

23. Carley — August 6, 2018 @ 6:00 pm Reply

    Hey Ali,

    Thank you so much for this guide! I went to Barcelona a few weeks ago and hit up so many of the spots on your list! All were delicious and so cute. Definitely my favorite food stop on my three week trip!

24. Truly — September 8, 2018 @ 10:44 am Reply

    Hi Ali,
    Coming to Barcelona at the end of the month; I’m wondering if you know of a good spot for an afternoon snack near Parc Guell on Sunday. It’s hard to find places that are open on Sundays! Thanks in advance!

    • Barclay — November 16, 2018 @ 11:28 am

      Hello Truly! That’s a good question. We’ve usually done our snacking oustide of that neighborhood, but a well-reviewed option could be Guelly Sandwichpark. It’s short on seating, but it does say that it’s open on Sundays. Plus, it’s a good excuse to carry your snack with you on your way to or from the Park. Have a wonderful time in Barcelona – I hope our guide helps!

25. Patty — October 21, 2018 @ 8:04 pm Reply

    Hola! We just returned from 6 months in Barcelona and had the most wonderful time! Going back again next year and hopefully permanently sometime soon. I was surprised that Teoric in the Eixample district was not listed as a restaurant favorite. I know there are over 8000 restaurants but honestly this one is truly a standout. Delish and innovative tapas and super nice folks. Check them out and tell Teo that Patty and Todd said hola!

    • Barclay — November 16, 2018 @ 11:04 am

      Hello Patty! Ali and I are excited about this one. We’ve never been, but it’s at the top of our list now, thanks to your suggestion! We’ll keep our eye out for Teo :)

26. Neliya — October 24, 2018 @ 9:39 am Reply

    Hello, would you recommend renting a car in Spain or is it easier/more cost effective to use public transportation?

    • Barclay — November 16, 2018 @ 11:03 am

      Hi Neliya! It really depends how much traveling you’d like to do while you’re here. If you’re mainly going to spend time in Barcelona, or a few other big cities, we tend to love going carless. Barcelona and Madrid both have great public transportation and their metro and bus systems are quite affordable. That said, if you want to see some of Spain’s charming smaller towns and places of interest, a car will be nearly essential and would save you a lot of time getting from place to place.

27. Temple Morris — November 10, 2018 @ 10:49 am Reply

    Thank you so much for this travel guide! It’s wonderful and very helpful. Might I ask your favorites among the budget-friendly restaurants that serve dinner? We’ll be in Barcelona with 5 teenagers this December, so we’re trying to find places that won’t drain our budget. We’re definitely not looking for fast food or fluorescent lights — a nice sit-down meal is important to us. I’m just a bit overwhelmed by all the choices!
    Many Thanks!
    Temple

    • Barclay — November 16, 2018 @ 11:48 am

      Hello Temple! Thanks for reaching out. You’re right…it’s pretty overwhelming. Generally, tapas are a really fun way to eat, and Bar del Pla in El Born is one of our favorites. It’s a casual, fun environment. Depending on how picky your eaters are, patatas bravas are usually a good bet. Not too expensive, and pretty filling fried potatoes. To keep costs down, you can always order a few and see how everyone’s doing. We often end up needing less food than we thought.
      One quick note: paella is also popular here, but decent paella is sneakily expensive. Usually €15-€20 per person, which can add up quickly.
      I hope this helps!

28. Janelle — November 13, 2018 @ 1:13 am Reply

    This is so great, thank you! For an unlocked iPhone, do you recommend picking up a SIM card there or ordering one online (any particular brand/company?) thank you!

    • Barclay — November 16, 2018 @ 10:55 am

      Hello Janelle! Thanks for reaching out. We’d recommend just picking up a SIM card once you arrive. If you want to make sure you’re connected the whole time, you can pick up a SIM card at the Crystal Media Shop in Terminal 1 of Barcelona’s main airport, El Prat. Otherwise, you can go to nearly any mobile shop in the city. Three of the main mobile companies are Vodafone, Orange and Movistar. It’s really nice to have someone walk you through the process so you know you’re connected when you walk out of the store. Have a wonderful trip!

29. Lea — November 23, 2018 @ 1:15 pm Reply

    Thank you for all your recommendations, they were so helpful when visiting Barcelona this week. We ate at a really nice tapas bar called Elisabets (Carrer d’elisabets 2) in El Raval. Delicious food, low prices, not touristy at all, I can only recommend it! Also, I loved all the little alleys in El Born, so pretty!

30. AJ — January 19, 2019 @ 8:23 am Reply

    I would recommend this guide to anyone traveling to Barcelona! We had an unforgettable culinary tour of the city thanks to Ali’s recommendations, and would agree that the patatas bravas at Bar Mendizabal are the best we’ve ever tried. Thank you for this generous resource.

31. Catherine — February 1, 2019 @ 4:40 pm Reply

    Ali, your recommendations were SPOT ON! We used your guide to plan basically every single meal on our trip and not a single dish let us down. Thank you for sharing all of your favorite spots with all of us!! :-) It’s so easy to see why you guys love this city.

32. Katelyn — February 2, 2019 @ 6:47 pm Reply

    This guide is amazing, thank you for the time you put into this. I am taking every recommendation seriously when my husband and I go to Barcelona this summer.
    We are thinking about staying at a hostel near the Arc de Triomf (La Isla Hostal) but are nervous it may be too touristy. I’d love your thoughts! It seems quite central but I’d hate to be in the Times Square of Barcelona without realizing it. Thank you!!

    • Ali — February 10, 2019 @ 4:51 pm

      I think you’ll really enjoy the Arc de Triomf area! It’s a bit touristy, but charming. And it borders our favorite neighborhood (El Born), and has nice central access between the city center, the beach, Sagrada Familia and more northern neighborhoods like Gracia.

      Hope that you have a wonderful trip!

33. Lara Walters — March 16, 2019 @ 10:50 am Reply

    Where is the top photo taken? I am leaving tomorrow so am so excited. Thanks for this post!

    • Ali — April 22, 2019 @ 9:13 am

      It’s near a store called Angle in El Born! :)

34. Barbara Ruka — March 30, 2019 @ 5:03 pm Reply

    Heading to Barcelona in September of 2019. Do you know if the Park Guell construction will be done by then? Also loved all your restaurant recommendations, but we are not very adventureus eaters. Can you recommend a good middle of the road place?

    • Ali — April 22, 2019 @ 9:12 am

      I’m not sure whether the construction will be wrapped up by then, but I’d recommend just emailing them closer to your date to ask. And I would recommend ordering chicken paella, bravas, or pan con tomate at any of the recommended restaurants if you want more familiar flavors. :) Bormuth would be a great restaurant for classic tapas.

35. Amandeep Sonik — April 14, 2019 @ 4:26 pm Reply

    This guide is great!

    My fiance is moving to Barcelona for 6 months for work and i will be travelling back and forth the UK. so will be sure to check out all your recommendations (or as many as we can!)

    Just a questions in regards to you’d recommend to get an apartment for the 6mos- currently scouring websites, any you would recommend ?

    Thanks!
    Amandeep

    • Ali — April 22, 2019 @ 9:10 am

      Sure thing — we used SHBarcelona for our short-term rental. But we also searched on Engel&Voelkers and Idealista. :) Best wishes!

36. Jess — April 22, 2019 @ 9:15 am Reply

    Everyone, this guide is ? spot-on!!!! We followed all of your recommendations and had the best trip. Move over TripAdvisor…this is the best place to get Barcelona recs. Thanks, Ali and Barclay!

37. Chelsie — May 2, 2019 @ 12:06 pm Reply

    This guide is amazing! I’ll be there in 2 weeks and am SO excited! Can’t wait to see everything and more importantly, eat everything!
    Any recommendations for the best souvenirs to take home?

38. Christina — May 5, 2019 @ 3:50 pm Reply

    Ali, your recommendations were amazing!!! We had the best time in Barcelona thanks to all of the great places on your list. Thank you so much for sharing the best of your city with us!

39. Kristen — May 6, 2019 @ 1:40 am Reply

    La Central Burger there is beyond yummy!

40. Shana — May 12, 2019 @ 9:09 pm Reply

    Hi Ali and Barclay! My husband and I are headed to Barcelona in June. We work in the Napa/Sonoma wine industry and are interested in heading to Penedes for Cava. Any tips or recommendations? We are torn between and organized tour or just setting up appointments on our own and taking the train. Any insight or ideas? Gracias!

41. Ana @labellesociety — August 28, 2019 @ 5:03 pm Reply

    Super helpful post. I’ve been living in Barcelona for 3 years and I have to say this is very well written and informed. Have you ever had a chance to participate in Fiesta de la Merce? It is so much fun and I definitely recommend if you are around. The true Catalan spirit is absolutely amazing!

42. Kristin — September 27, 2019 @ 9:12 am Reply

    We’re planning to go back to Spain in the summer, and this is THE BEST travel guide for Barcelona. We haven’t been in years, and I’m hoping to really dig in to some of those tapas spots! If you haven’t been to Girona yet, plan a day trip. We LOVED it. But, I’ve heard it’s gotten a bit crazier since Game of Thrones filmed there.

43. Paul Moore — January 19, 2020 @ 3:18 pm Reply

    My wife and I are actually been researching to relocate to Barcelona area and now that I have seen this site I am hoping you can either recommend moving there or not ? And are you still living there ? Any information will be greatly appreciated by us.

44. hannah — February 6, 2020 @ 12:17 pm Reply

    I just spent the last 4 hours combing through all this information (not nearly finished), I feel as if thank- you does not even cut it!! Do you have any recommendations for unique clothing boutiques?

45. Kamilah Sayyidi — October 5, 2020 @ 9:08 am Reply

    Best Cheap Lunches: I crave and miss their sandwiches, so good!
    Al Atlas
    Rambla del Raval, 30, 08001 Barcelona, Spain

46. Suzy — September 14, 2021 @ 2:16 pm Reply

    Amazing guide! We mainly used it for food ideas and we tried the following and absolutely loved it.
    Barraca for Paella was fantastic though I wish we had more vegetarian friendly option because all the various seafood in it was a tad overwhelming. Cerveseria Catalana was a fantastic option for tapas – we just went a tad early and got seated inside without any wait. They also have barriers between the tables so we felt very safe & COVID friendly. El Nacional was beautiful for the ambiance but we chose not to eat there.
    L’antica Pizzeria Da Michele, Parking Pizza, Hummus Barcelona, Arigato were amazing to break up our meals between overloading on tapas.