Does anyone have any suggestions on a 4 or 5 day itinerary in Barcelona in mid October?

Question

We like a good mix of history historical sites but not too many museums or churches. A couple key ones are good. Are there cute neighborhoods we must see that gives a good taste of how Barcelona/Spain is? Is there somewhere we can watch bullfighting? Are there day trips we should go to?

Also, does anyone have suggestions on great local restaurants/hidden gems that aren't touristie? I love places with smaller plates where I can try a greater variety.

Answer 1

the historical centre, looking like San Francisco, the medieval fortress, LAS RAMBLAS ... Barcelona houses a great number of museums, which cover different areas and eras. The City History Museum, situated in a medieval building that used to be a royal residence, explains the story of the city, and includes a visit to the Roman ruins in the museum's basement. It also comprises the Museum-Monastery of Pedralbes, one of the best examples of Catalan Gothic architecture, the Museum-House Verdaguer, dedicated to poet Jacint Verdaguer, the Park Güell Interpretation Centre and several other minor sites.[30]

The Museum of the History of Catalonia, opened in 1996, covers the story of Catalonia since prehistoric times and administers the monuments that belong to the Generalitat de Catalunya.[31] The Archaeology Museum of Catalonia covers the story of Catalonia up to the Middle Ages, and of the cultures it came into contact with, and also runs several other archaeological sites in Catalonia.[32]

The National Museum of Art of Catalonia possesses a well-known collection of Romanesque art, including wall-paintings from Romanesque churches and chapels around Catalonia that have been transferred to the museum, Gothic art from the thirteenth–fifteenth centuries, Renaissance and Baroque art from the 16th-18th centuries, Modern art from the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, as well as the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection.

The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, usually known as MACBA (acronym of Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona), focuses on post-1945 Catalan and Spanish art, though it also includes foreign works. Adjacent to the MACBA, the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, or CCCB, hosts temporary exhibitions, a cinema, concerts and other cultural events.

The works of Joan Miró are found in the museum of the Fundació Joan Miró, together with guest exhibitions from other museums around the world, while the Picasso Museum features early works by Pablo Picasso and his "Las meninas" series. The Fundació Antoni Tàpies holds a collection of Tàpies works.

The Museu Marítim de Barcelona,[33] founded in 1929, is a nautical museum situated in historical Barcelona's royal shipyard complex, with the purpose of illustrating Catalan seafaring culture and maritime history. Cosmocaixa (formerly the Science Museum) is a science museum run by La Caixa Foundation that received the European Museum of the Year Award in 2006.

The Erotic museum of Barcelona[34] is the first Museum of erotic art and culture where the visitor can contemplate the development of eroticism through the various artistic and cultural facets of the human being. The Museum's assets consist of more than 800 pieces of great historical value, spanning various cultures' erotic manifestations of both a ritual/religious as well as recreational nature.

Answer 2

Most visitors stay in or near the Ramblas or in the Gothic Quarter just to the east. This is a good base from where you can explore the city's sights by day including Gaudi's masterpiece, the unfinished Sagrada Família Cathedral, and Parc Güell in the north. Or maybe visit the 98,000 seater Nou Camp stadium the home of Barcelona football club. See http://www.spain4uk.co.uk/places/barcelo... for more details

Answer 3

I just returned from Barcelona last week.  It's a great city to visit and I found it very easy to walk around.  I did find that what the tourbooks (from Borders or Barnes and Noble) highlighted about Barcelona to be pretty accurate and we followed a couple of the walking tours and day trip suggestions and enjoyed all the historical Museums, Las Ramblas boulevard, Gaudi/Picasso Museums/structures, etc.

Tapas, Tapas, Tapas and Cava are everywhere.  From the main tourist/business routes on La Ramblas to the Barri Gottic to the Passieg De Gracia, we enjoyed all the variety of food and wine at breakfast/Lunch/Dinner (actually we pretty much ate small orders of Tapas and Cava (Wine/Champagne) all day long.   One Restaurant that served as good introduction was Tapa Tapa on the Passieg de Gracia right across from the Gaudi "Batlo" house (house of bones museum).  It had pictures and menus in English, French, Japanese....whatever you needed.  Prices were better than La Ramblas.

Barcelona is pretty much a party town all night long, but being along the Mediterranean gave it a much more attractive experience.

Check out the tour books.  There are couple of websites (See the Travel Channel website, Samatha Brown highlights) since they also give you good and accurate visual of what to expect both during the busy and off season periods.

One thing I noted is that the native Catalans seemed to appreciate (or were amused) when I spoke a few phrases in their native Catalan dialect.   Castillian Spanish and English is understood everywhere as well, but you can pick up a few phrases in the back of a couple of Barcelona travel books at Borders or Barnes and Noble.

Good Luck and Have Fun.