Botafumeiro is open for dinner on Sundays.
https://www.botafumeiro.es/en/
Sounds like a great little trip!!! Have a great time!!!
Was there this summer. 3 days wont be enough but pick your choices.
Eat and Drink:
- ABAC or Lasrate: highly recommended with a price to match.
- Restaurant Angle: Same chef as ABAC, my favorite spot to eat.
- Cinc Sentits: another great spot, all about harmony.
Try a pinxtos place. Tekita berri or BCN Sagardi Gotic.
Gaudi:
Do online booking for sagrada familia. I would recommend night tour of Casa Mila.
An excellent moderately priced tiny restaurant is Viana, owner trained with Adria brothers. Always a line outside, make resi. Located just off plaza on Las Ramblas across from Western Union office.
Very atypically, took a guided walking tour of Gothic Quarter with additional exposure to Picasso’s early life + express entry at Picasso Museum. Our non tacky, polished, educated, guide had great historical insights about the city and the quarter and brought many of Picasso’s works to life and then left us to explore more. We found his ceramics in a unique display downstairs. Well worth one morning, or afternoon, especially if early Barcelona and Picasso are of interest and assuming your guide is equal.
thanks for all the recc’s so far ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Really enjoyed Montiel for dinner last time I was there - went based on the recommendation of a few on this board. Monvinic is a great wine bar. I prefer sitting at the more casual tables up front than in the restaurant itself. Although, most of my best experiences are just walking aimlessly around the Gothic Quarter & Born and popping in places that look interesting.
Right now, there have been a bunch of protests, strikes and rioting in Barcelona. Check out what is going on before you go. Barcelona is on fire as pro-independence protesters clash with police | CNN
we leave in 10 days
any last minute insight?
going to do 1 michelin lunch and the rest tapas/pintxos
thanks
Hold on to your wallet near/on Las Ramblas. I’ve had quite a few friends/locals pick-pocketed or mugged in the area. Totally get that all big cities deal with these issues, but the Las Ramblas area felt like ground zero for it in Europe. Has been two years since I’ve been back to Barcelona, so could be fantastic now…
Overall, it’s a fantastic city and you’ll have a blast! Only other note I’d add is to head over to the Barri de Gracia area and have lunch on one of the squares. Lot of fun shops and alleys to wander through, and the buildings are a blast to look at (specifically some of the cool windows and doors).
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thanks andrew
i’ve heard this about las ramblas and some areas of the subway and will be careful
barri de gracia is part of our plan
Mark,
I know I mentioned it upthread, but I highly recommend Bar Mut for dinner. Have the best time.
have it booked mike
thanks again
Last there a year ago. Barcelona is fantastic, one of my favorite cities in Europe. 3 days can go really fast. I loved visiting the outskirts, less touristy places and doing some Cava and wine touring. The coastline up by Cadaques is gorgeous (not to mention the Pyrenees, Banyuls, Collioure), although shut down for the season at this point.
Andrew raises a good point about crime and crowds. I believe the authorities are trying to space out the Cruise Ship timing but it’s the largest Mediterranean port. When several land at once…suddenly there can be 10k+ additional tourists flooding the Rambla simultaneously. I was dumbfounded at the size of the crowd last visit, compared to previous years. The Barri Gothic has lots of tall tight streets and it’s a different experience when crowds are shoulder to shoulder. An irresistibly target rich environment for petty crime…concentrated, en masse…largely unsure of where they are or where they’re going. That said…in general, it’s a very safe city IMHO. Just need to keep your wits about you as you would in Rome, Paris or any major tourist destination.
RT
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Nice! Make sure to get the egg “carpaccio”
I’m curious about the petty crime issue that is being reported here (and elsewhere). I’ve seen mention of it happening in Paris, Rome, now Barcelona, etc. I’ve been to all three of these places within the past few years…Barcelona this past August, Rome the August before that and I’ve never felt unsafe or nervous. I live in a suburb of NYC and work in NYC. I’m out and about in NYC most of the week so I’m predisposed to taking normal precautions and being aware of my surroundings.
I guess I’m curious about the specific details around the reports of excessive crime.
One anecdote…was in Barcelona in August with my parents who mentioned the number of pickpockets in Spain. When I asked who they heard it from, they mentioned a friend who was pocket was picked in the 1970’s…
Barcelona crime wave tarnishes boom in tourism - BBC August 2019
In general Mike, you’re right, the risk is small. It’s not non-existent.
RT
I hadn’t seen that article. My main intent wasn’t to scare anybody, more directed to be super thoughtful in that particular area of Barcelona, as I have had 8-10 friends (tourists and locals) get hit there over the past several years. I can’t say that about any other European cities, maybe with the exception of Paris, which had a spike in Metro pick-pocketing/purse snatches for a few months while I was there (2015-2017). Big cities are going to be big cities and normal rules apply.
I’m curious about the petty crime issue that is being reported here (and elsewhere). I’ve seen mention of it happening in Paris, Rome, now Barcelona, etc. I’ve been to all three of these places within the past few years…Barcelona this past August, Rome the August before that and I’ve never felt unsafe or nervous. I live in a suburb of NYC and work in NYC. I’m out and about in NYC most of the week so I’m predisposed to taking normal precautions and being aware of my surroundings.
I guess I’m curious about the specific details around the reports of excessive crime.
One anecdote…was in Barcelona in August with my parents who mentioned the number of pickpockets in Spain. When I asked who they heard it from, they mentioned a friend who was pocket was picked in the 1970’s…
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i live on the island and am in nyc every week. i’m thinking just normal precautions as well, but based on these recent posts i know i’ll be a bit more alert than usual.
thanks for the heads up
This is true Andrew, but I think there are target rich Tourist areas in major destination cities, especially at peak times of day/year. I usually avoid busy times/places and visit major Tourist cities in the off-season when crowds are way down. Wandering around the Boqueria is awesome but less so if there happen to be a few thousand people doing the same thing. YMMV.
My understanding is that Christmas and New Years tend to be busier in Barcelona than the rest of the Winter…still should be down considerably from the Summer peak.
RT
Back on topic!
One of the great things about being in Barcelona at Christmas is seeing the Caganer sitting in the back of Nativity Scenes. I’ve got one sitting on my shelf at work, which is always a conversation starter 
Little background on the Crapper → https://www.barcelonas.com/caganer.html
My all time favorite was the giant crapping Santa in the mall, which might be the single greatest Santa Claus I’ve ever seen. Laughing Squid