A week in Barcelona

Gaudi!Gaudi!Gaudi!: Barcelona is the home of modernista architecture. Take in Parc Guell, the Sagrada Familia, and Casa Mila.
Also the Miro and Picasso museums are worthwhile.
A stroll up the Ramblas provides entertainment for the cost of a Euro or less.
The Santa Semana celebration are a moving experience.

Quick Tips:

Barcelona On Line is an excellent site to search for and book rooms in all price ranges and locations. Viewers are able to read other travelers’ comments concerning the accommodation. It also provides an up-to-date listing of events.

Mercat de la Boqueria, midway up the Ramblas from the harbor on the left, has all the "fixins’" for a great picnic. Fruits, vegetables, sausages, cheeses, and breads are all available. Market prices vary day to day, but expect to pay about six Euros for a filling lunch for two.

The following sites are good sources of general information about sights, accommodations, dining and special events in and around Barcelona.
Timeout.com and Barcelona Scams provide an in-depth look at many of the ways con artists try to separate you from your money.

Best Way To Get Around:

Use public transit.It is inexpensive.Streets are clogged at all hours. The A1 Aerobus provides reliable, economical transportation to the Placa de Catalunya from the airport. The stop is in front of the arrivals door and the cost is 3.25 Euros for the approximately 30 minute rides. Barcelona Transit’s (the TMB) Website provides a good overview of services and products on offer. here's their site.

Taxis are abundant and a fare to the same area generally runs 18 to 20 Euros. The Metro is safe and clean. The Barrio Gotic is very walkable.

A typical family run hostal. We had a basic, (no TV or telephone) very clean double with ensuite bathroom on the fourth floor. There is an elevator and 24 hour locked main door with a keyed area into residential area and room. Helpful staff. Made reservations by internet at their website. In Barri Gotic.

Attentive service, great Catalan seafood dishes, and moderately priced yet good wines. The cost of the meal was 22 dollars including wine. Catalans, as with most Iberians, dine late. Plan to arrive no earlier than 9:30 pm if you wish to dine with others.

At Parc Guell, all Barcelona lies before the visitor. The gatehouses, entrance stairway, market place, meeting area, and pathways all reflect Guadi’s exuberance and originality. Whether seated in the bench “where no ill wind ever blows”, walking covered pathways, listening to music echoing inside the market area, or marvelling at the multi-coloured mosaic dragon, this is a place to surrender to mystery and magic and be a child again. The park entrance is a steep 15-minute walk from the nearest Metro station. A taxi to the gates may be a prudent consideration.

Casa Mila’s unique, naturalistic designs in iron, marble, brick, ceramic, wood, and stone seduced us. Mirrors, chairs, doorknobs, and tea sets are testimonies to Gaudi’s genius and ability to turn everyday objects into art works.

A small museum in the attic provides a good overview of Guadi’s influences and techniques. Fantastically-shaped chimney pots and air ducts on the roof create a magical air. Evenings are the best time to visit the roof. Entrance at this time is limited. It is best to obtain tickets beforehand. On Fridays and Saturdays, you can purchase wine as the sun sets in the hills behind the city.

Barcelona’s oldest church, the Esglesia de Sant Pau del Camp in the El Raval district, provides an insight into Romanesque architecture. Its cloister and gardens create a quiet and reflective atmosphere.

The Esglesia de Santa Maria del Mar at the southern end of the Passeg del Born and a couple of blocks from the Estacion de France shows its austere gothic lines to good advantage. A sound and light show offered on Mondays at 6 pm costs about 12 Euros a person. A commentary on the church’s history is also included. Although interesting, we felt that it was somewhat overpriced for a presentation that lasted less than an hour.

Esglesia de Santa Maria del Pi fronts on a charming square, the Placa de Sant Josep. Of special interest is the huge rose window over the entrance. It is reputed to be the largest in Europe. The stained glass is almost entirely modern because of ravages of fire during the Civil War of the 1930s.

The plaza in front is a place to rest at a café and watch the world go by. It is worth paying the premium of sitting on the terrazzo to hear the buskers. As with most bars, prices increase by about 10% as you move from service at the bar to a table then to a spot outside.

The Cathedral of Barcelona commands its square, Placa de la Seu. Six hundred years in the making, its façade was not completed until the 1900s. Here the sacred and profane mingle in tenuous harmony. Living statues depict Christ, the archangel Michael, and Catalonia’s patron saint, Jordi (St. George); buskers play; balloon and religious article hawkers sell their goods.