The Barcelona Sangria Kicked my Ass
Overview - Barcelona, properly pronounced Bah-tha-loana in the best sissy voice you can muster, is the capital of Catalonia, on the eastern coast of Spain. It's nestled gorgeously on the Mediterranean, and the temperature rarely drops below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. The city is busting with artists and art enthusiasts, intellectuals and partiers, foodies and junkies, worker bees and queen bees, tourists and travelers, with just the right blend of the cosmopolitan and the freakish. It's quite possible to enjoy what the city has to offer on both a bare bones budget and luxurious accommodations and food are affordable enough to indulge without emptying your bank account.
What the City is Known For - Do the names Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Antoni Gaudi ring a bell?
Clubs/Bars - For live music and a chill vibe, check out the dark, smoky Harlem Jazz Club in the Gothic Quarter. A toker's paradise, and unsurprising that right out front is where we scored a chunk of hash the size of my big toe for 20 euros. Look for the ragged crew who look like they just stepped off dead lot. Cuevas de le Sortie, also in the Barri Gotic, feels like the inside of a cave, hence the name. Not only is it a trippy spot with a mellow vibe, but they also serve absinthe to enhance the experience. Barcelona Pipa Club, located in the Plaza Reial, is not only a worthwhile venue with live jazz and a pool table, but will make you feel like you accomplished something just by actually finding it. The entrance is merely a buzzer on the ground floor of a building. Once inside, you will feel like you just stepped into some sort of exclusive gentleman's club.
Also in the Gothic Quarter, right off of La Rambla, is the Bosque de las Fades, or Forest of the Ferries. It's connected to the Barcelona Museum of Wax and consists entirely of theater built trees, rivers, waterfalls, and ponds. Drinks are expensive, but get you really messed up. Manchester, in the Gothic Quarter, only plays music from, you guessed it, Manchester. So if you want to hear Radiohead, The Smiths, and Joy Division all night, this is the place to go. I was there for about 3 hours and heard Love Will Tear Us Apart no less than 3 times. Perfect.
L'Ovella Negra (The Black Sheep) in El Raval is a loud, young bar with cheap beer and lots of opportunity to hook up with other backpackers. Also in El Raval is Bar Marsella, a dimly lit lounge, and another place to score some absinthe, though the sangria is what kicked my ass. For those looking to grind up against scantily clad chicas on a jam packed dance floor, try Moog in El Raval and for the too cool for school fashionistas, Plastic Club in El Born might be your scene.
Food - Perhaps one of the best things about Barcelona is the fact that even the classiest of restaurants are affordable, at least by a New Yawker's standard. That said, cheap eats abound. For those who eat just for sustenance, Maoz Falafel has several locations. The falafel sandwiches run about 5 euros, and they have a do it yourself "fixins bar" so you can stuff your sandwich to the point where it could feed a small city. Another affordable chain option is Buenas Migas, with three locations and large variety of lick yer lips focaccias (kinda like pizza). There are tapas bars everywhere, though in some of the places I wandered into, the little snack sized offerings looked like they were about to grow fuzz - and considering many are seafood, well, yeah, pretty unsavory.
For the best and most authentic tapas experience, check out Bar Celta Pulperia, on the corner of Carrer de la Merce and Carrer de Simo Oller in the Barri Gotic. It's a low key counter service place where you can just point and shoot. For the foodies with a little bit of dough to burn, Attic on La Ramblas is a must. It's in the most touristy spot of the most touristy area, and part of a corporate chain, but well worth the sell out. A delectable two course meal with decent wine will run you about 30 euros. In the same price range, but independently owned and with a not so posh atmosphere is El Trillo on Carrer Dels Angels. Many Barcelona guidebooks will direct you to El Quatre Gats (4 Cats), Picasso's old hang out. I highly advocate checking it out, taking a snapshot of the front, maybe even a cup of coffee in the front café area - you can feel the history when you walk in. However, I do not recommend taking in a meal here. The food, which was way overpriced, sucked, and because of its fame it's always packed and it feels more like an assembly line than a dining experience.
I Love You, Don't Eat Me - If you get your recipes from vegweb.com, and are sick of your paella containing pork cubes after telling the waitress 10 times "soy vegetariana", you might want to check out the Gothic Quarter's only vegan restaurant, Juicy Jones. The food is terrible, but it's pretty well guaranteed that they did not cook it in bacon grease. They alse sell bumper stickers that proclaim "Killing is for fun, not for dinner". I couldn't agree more. La Locandar, just off Cathedral Avenue in the Gothic Quarter has terrific gnocchi and about 5 other veggie dishes.
Activities/Sights - There are the obvious: the beach, the museums, a stroll down the famed La Ramblas. All are wonderful, and you can refer to your handy-dandy guidebooks for details. If you happen to pick up a Lonely Planet, they have a fantastic mapped walking tour of all of the Modernista architecture throughout the city. It took about 5-6 hours total and, taa-daa, absolutely free. The following are absolute MUSTS while in Barcelona: Parc Guell - You have to climb a gazillion steps from the subway station, which results in a magnificent view of the entire city. The park itself is lush with funky stone-step trails. When you stumble onto the area with Gaudi's mosaics and his house, you will feel like you just stepped onto a Candyland game board. La Sagrada Familla - Gaudi's masterpiece, the spires alone are breathtaking, and the church itself looks like it is dripping. Even if you don't have the funds for the entry fee, just the outside of this gothic extravaganza is enough to fill an hour of gawking. Parc de la Ciutadella - a perfect place when you need to just meander, lush and green, and home to the Cascada a monumental fountain with gargoyles protecting the layers upon layers of cascading water and statues, whose design was - surprise, surprise - touched by Gaudi's hand. There's so, so much to see in this city, and again, the best thing to do is wander around aimlessly for at least a day. While you're doing so, take in the gorgeous ironwork displayed in the streetlamps as well as the plethora of graffiti, which competes with art I've seen in galleries. Also, Barcelona hosts an International Jazz Fest during the month of November.
Accommodations - No matter what your budget, if you intend to visit Barcelona during the summer months, you MUST book ahead. For budget accommodations and a party-hardy atmosphere, the Kabul Youth Hostel offers a dorm bed for $25 per night, a pool tables, 50 cent beers and lots of rowdy Aussies. If you're traveling with a partner, and are willing to splurge ( a little) for a private room with a bathroom and balcony, Pension Dali has rooms for $35 (per person) and is on one of the quieter streets in the center of the Gothic Quarter. But the best accommodations of them all can be found at globalfreeloaders.com or hospitalityclub.org - both hospitality exchange websites that allow you to seek accommodations in people's homes - for free.
Day Trips - When visiting BCN, it is absolutely essential that you make a day trip to Figueres, home of the Teatre-Museu Dali. Dali was born in Figueres and maintained his roots by converting the municipal theater into a home for the most bizarre collection of artwork you may ever come across. Beside the statues and frescos (the ceiling of one room is Dali's answer to the Sisteen Chapel), there are two entire floors dedicated to Dali's trippiest pen and ink drawings. If you can, score an eighth of mushrooms before you drop by. The train ride is about 1.5 hours and costs about $10 each way.
Another worthwhile excursion is Tossa De Mar on the Costa Brava. Medieval structures dating back to the 13th century against the backdrop of breathtaking Mediterranean beaches are reason enough to visit. If you plan to stay overnight in the summer, it's best to book well in advance. However, when we trekked up to Tossa in November, we were the only guests in Can Lluna B&B, our room cost us only 30 euros for the night and included a huge roof deck with a picture perfect view. We practically had the whole town to ourselves, and opted to purchase our dinner at the local grocery store, where, for 14 euros total, we got a fresh baguette, a pound each of slices chorizo and manchego and two bottles of decent Rioja. To get there, you need to take a train to Llorets De Mar, the official first city on the Costa Brava (and Spain's cheesy equivalent to Atlantic City) and then a short bus ride to Tossa.
Getting There and Away - From other spots in Europe and the UK, you can hop a flight on Easy Jet or Ryan Air. Flights are dirt cheap if booked in advance. An Easy Jet ticket will run you about 25 pounds (almost 50 bucks) from London to Barcelona, while Ryan Air will only run you 13 pounds. However, Ryan air flies only to Girona, about a 1.5 hour bus ride from Barcelona. For flights from the USA, check out Airhitch.org, though you need to be very flexible, and patient enough to spend hours, possibly days, waiting in an airport.
Modes of Transportation While in Town - The underground metro system is cheaper than most European cities, efficient and easy to navigate. But the best bet is to walk, as you never know what kind of freakshow or wildly designed building you'll come across off the beaten path, and these are the true gems of BCN.
Websites -
Barcelona Guide
Milvets Travel.net
Barcelona City Website
Tossa de Mar