Mike & Amanda's Mini Guide to Barcelona

Getting There - Again, we travelled with Easyjet from Liverpool.  We acquired really cheap tickets in conjunction with the Daily Express Offer, but they usually start from around £27 each way.

Tip 1 .. Check out the Pyrenees as you fly over, absolutely breathtaking

From the Airport - You have 3 choices -  the train is the cheapest at around £1.50 each and is quite quick, although Catalunya station can be confusing (and a long walk) when trying to find your Metro line. The Airport Bus costs a little more and takes longer than the train and you end up at the same point - it is also less frequent.  Taxis - There are millions (yellow/ black) of these, and a green light means available. Be careful .. they charge extra for airport transfers and luggage.  Then the sting - you've worked out the fare to be about £11 with the aforementioned extras - the cabby then proceeds to press several buttons whilst mumbling Spanish he knows damn well you don't understand, and the price leaps up to about £15 ???

Tip 2 .. Get the train from the airport, assuming you're in no rush (head for the big white bridge - you can't miss it).  When going home, treat yourself to a taxi as lugging the cheap booze and presents around the metro system is difficult, especially if your partner is like Amanda who trundles along at the pace of a heavily pregnant, disabled, tight-rope walking snail (must have been the make-up bag weighing her down !!!!!!)

Accommodation - Not the cheapest place I've stayed, but what City centre is? you're looking at £35 pp per night for somewhere nice.  Our hotel was the Astoria, which is on Paris, near it's junction with Avenue Diagonal.  This was a good hotel and fairly plush (chocs on your pillows !!), and within about 5-10 minutes of the nearest Metro station.  The cheapest hotel rates we could find were at bestbarcelonahotels.com. Tip 3 ... If you do book with Easyjet, give Octopus a miss as their 'cheapest prices on the web' promise seems to be utter rubbish, and when I e-mailed them about price matching they just ignored me.

Tip 4 ... If you want to sleep well, avoid hotels on La Rambla - it is busy 24 hours and many hotels have nightclubs next door.

Stuff to Do:

If you arrive in the City centre by train or bus, you'll end up here, The Placa de Catalunya.  Whatever you do, check this place out anyway - pigeons and fountains.  A great place just to chill out for an hour or two.

You'll be drawn to La Rambla like a magnet, everyone is.  It used to be a sandy gully that carried rainwater down to the sea (ramla = Arabic for torrent). The main street is bustling 24-7 with street entertainers, beggars, tourists, the lot.  Check out the pet stores selling all types of animals, including ducks.  Tip 5 ... Ignore the beggars, everyone does, but DON'T ignore the street entertainers. Most of them are damn good and will give you a personal little show for about 30p.  Particularly good is the squeaky voiced boy with 3 sticks (you'll see !), and the Bruce Lee imitator will give you a unique photo to take home.

One for the girls - don't miss this place at number 85 on La Rambla.  Unbeknown to us before we went, Barcelona is steeped in chocolate making history, and this place has been making and selling the stuff since about 1908.  The cakes are yummy and if you buy a bar of chocolate to take home they gift wrap it for free.

At one end of La Rambla is Placa de Catalunya, and at the other end is the Monument a Colom, commemorating Christopher Columbus' return from America in 1493 (with chocolate - it starts to become clear ??).   Tip 6 ... Go around the harbor side of the monument to find a virtually hidden door, which leads to a lift (for about £1.50)  There's some great views from up there, including Montjuic (seen here) - sore point, see later

Probably the World's most famous building site, the Sagrada Familia (Temple of the Holy Family) is a must.  Gaudi's unfinished cathedral costs about £4 to get in, but it is very interesting and well worth it.  Tip 7 ... Do pay the £1 extra for the lift, because the views are amazing. Estimated completion time - another 80 years !!!!

Our (attempted) trip to Montjuic.  "Don't Miss This" said the guidebook, so off we went. "Go to Espanya Metro Station" said the guide book, so we did. (The photo on the left is Placa Espanya).  Then What ??? We trekked up millions of stairs until we reached this little watering hole (on the right).  During beers I decided to cast aside the £7 guidebook and look at my free map from the railway station.  "Hang on" I exclaimed "there's a cable car up Montjuic from Parallel Metro Station - hurrah !!"  When we got there .... wait for it .... it only runs on Saturdays during winter !!!!. Anyway, we never went up Montjuic, so you'll have to make your own minds up about it.

This place (left) you simply can not miss. Another Gaudi creation, this is the hill top Parc Guell, and looks in parts like a scene from a fairy tail.  Allow a couple of hours to chill out here and soak the place up, but be prepared for a damn hard slog from Vallcarca metro station (right). These outdoor escalators are everywhere, but seldom work.  The Gaudi museum is here also.

A quick tour around the Gothic part is a must.  Starting from Liceu Metro station on La Rambla (like a magnet ?) head down Ferran, following the sign for Placa de Sant Jaume.  Tip 8 ... On this small road you will find (about ½ way along) a tacky looking shop with booze in the window. DO go in here for the best booze, chocolate and biscuit bargains.  Running parallel and slightly north of Ferran is a much narrower winding street, with some cool shops (look for the one selling just swords and knives !!).  Both roads will take you to Placa de Sant Jaume, with the Palau de la Generalitat (Government Palace) on your left (left) and the Casa de la Cuitat (Town Hall) on your right.  Try to sneak a peak through the windows at the ceiling of the Palau de la Generalitat.  To the left of the Palau de la Generalitat photo is the narrow winding street I mentioned.

To the right of the Palau de la Generalitat photo is Carrer de Bisbe (left) with it's fantastic architecture and buskers.  Follow this little lane past the statue on the left and the turn right - this leads to Casa de l'Ardiaca with it's magical vines and fountain.  You'll eventually pop out at the main entrance to the Cathedral (centre).  By the aforementioned statue, you can sneak into the Cathedral's quaint cloister.  The cathedral is free and well worth a visit.

Barcelona is famous for architecture, and a quick stroll along Passage de Gracia will prove this to you.  For the ladies, the designer shops are along here, but the best buildings can be seen at:- number 35 (left - check out the floor inside), Number 41, Number 43 (right) which is one of Gaudi's designs which  depicts the battle between St. George and the Dragon.  You can't get into any of these buildings, but they are worth a look whilst passing.

Definitely worth a visit is the Arc de Triomf, which is right next to it's namesake metro station.  Tip 9 ... As you exit the station, there's a cool little bar which you can site outside and chill out.  If you feel adventurous, walk through the Arc to come to Parc de la Ciutadella.

Eating (and drinking !!) Out There are literally millions of places to eat and drink.  Avoid La Rambla - almost all places are over priced and the food served isn't that nice.  The only exception to this seems to 'Nuria', which is near Placa de Catalunya (on the right looking down La Rambla). This place is frequented by locals and serves authentic Spanish grub.  Try the paella, but avoid the squid tapas (garlic-tastic !!). Seen in the photo is Placa Reial (just off La Rambla) which was constructed in 1848 and the two tree like lampposts are Gaudi's earliest work in the city.  This is a nice spot for lunch whilst watching the street entertainers.  The food here is cheap and cheerful, so give it a miss for a romantic evening meal. If you like Chinese, head for the junction of Paris with Muntaner where you will find the nicest food at bargain prices. Drinking - the best bit - those who know me will be aware of my opinions on lager.  I make 2 exceptions to this - lager from The Caribbean and from Spain.  Spanish beer is great, not too fizzy and tastes damn fine.  Look for liquor 43 which is unique. Tip 10 ... DON'T just drink beer, the spirits measures are huge and most bars serve a huge variety of each spirit.  Tip 11 ... Be careful when ordering a large beer - you may end up with a huge jug to yourself (OK if that's what you want, but not advised just before heading to the airport, eh Mand ??)

Getting Around - The metro is great, buy a T10 ticket which gives you 10 trips and works out the best value.  There is the Bus Turistic, which is quite expensive, but if you want to get around the city in record time, this is the way - apparently in summer though, there are long queues.  Give the buses a miss, they are not user friendly for visitors and are often very crowded.

Tipping - allow around 10% in restaurants.  Hotel staff will expect something - maybe 3 Euros (£2) for carrying your bags.

Summary - Seeing this lot at a leisurely pass took us about 2½ days and there was other stuff we didn't get time to do.  There are plenty of museums we didn't get chance to see.  Don't go to Barcelona with the intention of dashing around to see everything.  Barcelona is a slow city which begs to be enjoyed.  At every site you go to see, take time to chill out and have a beer in the sun.  Enjoy !!