Best Barceclona, Spain guide book? Las Ramplas, cathedrals, turisto bus routes...?

Question

Frommers, Fodors, Lonely Planet, Time Out, Eyewitness, Rough Guide, and all the others... which are the best for first time visitors , who don't speak Spanish, love art, architecture, and particularly tapas (dining is very important - casual, yet amazing and creative to foodies - recommends on markets for fresh berakfast on ramblas whould be amazing)? This is a middle aged farily well traveled adventurous couple, looking for fun, romance, and a bit of fun . The hotel is right off of Las Ramblas, and we are considering doing the hop-on-hop-off bus already. Also we are looking at getting F1 tickets, since we will be there during the Grand Prix. Choosing RELIABLE guide books seems the hardest part...

Please help!

Answer 1

We loved the Eyewitness book.  Had so much in it, that we wanted to do everything!  It is a good guide, with lots of good information and history, as well as food recommendations, and places to eat.  And Excellent photos!  Really make you want to see what they are showing.

Don't miss las Ramblas!  It's a treat unto itself!  Make sure you stop at one of the (MILLIONS of) Ice cream places and have hand crafted ice cream.  

I generally avoid those tourist busses.  They are not my style, but we sprang for the one that goes through the Eixample, which turned out to be a great deal.  It's very large and spread out.  This way, we got to see what there was to see all in one day.  

For breakfast on the Ramblas, find the Café Opera.  It's across from the Opera, and have Churros and Chocolate there.  Don't know what kind of fresh breakfast you were actually thinking of, but they don't typically do breakfast in Spain.  And the Boqueria is DEFINITELY to be done, even if you aren't foodies...it's worth going through, just to get a nice picnic, or even just to see it.

Answer 2

Time Out is the best for specific "Barcelona" most up-to-date restaurant info. Covers everything else, but Eyewitness is better for Architecture.

Check out Time Out web site to see restaurant coverage.

"Discovering Spain" by Penelope Casas is the best Guide to the whole country from a foodies perspective and worth buying, especially if you are going to return and visit other parts of Spain.  It has a good section on Barcelona

http://www.longitudebooks.com/find/p/199...

I have tried her recommended restaurants in other pats of Spain, and she is very reliable.  She also has a food and wine guide to Spain with over 400 recipes.