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Hi,
I´m going to Barcelona next week and was wondering if you can help me out with nice areas and places etc for party/local restaurants/maybe some shopping...!!! couldnt find a useful thread, so maybe i can get some insider-infos! thanks !!

Go to Pinotxos tapas bar on the market. It's not that cheap and you'll probably have to wait around a bit but the salt cod / lentil salad is actually amazing. Alternatively there's a no-frills fish restaurant on Carrer del Baluart in barcelonetta that looks dingy as but serves really fantastic, fresh, stupidly cheap fish.

Go the Sagrada Familia like everyone else, but also go to the Palau de Musica (and do the tour) and, if you get the chance, the Pavello Mies Van Der Rohe.

The Born and the Raval seem to be where Barcelona people go to party (as in, it's where the Barcelona people that I know go to party), but I don't know much about specific places.

It's a great town, even if it does smell a bit.

http://matadortravel.com/traveler/ross/ ... -barcelona

Perfect way to spend an afternoon. Best to arrive starving

for bars, i usually go out in el raval- there are a couple of decent ones on the rambla, one that i always went to but for some reason have forgotten the name is just off it in a small side street, on the right about a third of the way down. if i remember it i'll tell you!

bar manolo in calle lancaster, nevermind in el gotico, bar oviso in plaza george orwell (more commonly known as plaza tripi) and a few along calle joaquin costa are worth checking out....the area also has a wide selection of hookers for your delectation. due to my weed addled memory i can never remember bar names, only where they are and if i like them or not. i'll try and recall some more names though.

definitely head to gracia for one evening, much more laid back and less touristy than the city centre....plenty of nice bars to sit outside and watch the world go by, or just buy sexy beers off one of the many street sellers and drink in a plaza (virreina is my favourite)

i very rarely eat in restaurants so won't be much use here...but the best tapas i've ever had is a basque tapas place on calle verdi in gracia- gasterea- every 10 minutes or so they bring out fresh hot tapas from the kitchen, shout out what it is and you decide if you want some. fantastic.

for world cuisine, get some ethiopian food from abissinia in torrent de los flors. tastes ridiculously good and even the eating is an experience (you'll see if you go). there are loads of other good restaurants around this part of town, calle verdi/torrent de l'olla

for good snacks....queue up outside bo de b for a fantastic baguette with a million different salad fillings (at the end of via laietana, in a small street next to the giant correos building.....mendizabal on calle junta de comerc does great ones as well....go to mucci's on calle de les ramelleres for some argentinian pizza or get cheap, incredible empanadas in a bakery on calle de la cera (i've never known the name but it's at the junction with calle botella)

re: the champagneria....you definitely should go once but it's just too busy for me, being wedged up against loud sweaty tourists while trying to hold and consume a burger and the contents of a bottle of cava grates a bit the second time round. it's crazy though and afaik there's nothing like it anywhere else so do it once. it apparently used to be really quiet and locals only about 5 years ago but got featured on a holiday programme and custom went up accordingly....i like how they've changed absolutely nothing, they still even have a mini shop at the back where pensioners fight through concert-style crowds to buy some olives and cooked meat. the system for keeping track of all the orders is to write them down on the back of a paper bag, and lots of gesticulation (i don't think they speak much english, or refuse to, which makes their job about a million times harder)

enjoy anyway- it's a fantastic place!

thanks for your recommendations, will definately check some out, as there are too many!!
will report what i liked most! thanks again guys, helped me a lot with my planning!

I love that part of the world

Hire a car or get the train to Sant Pau de Mar, about twenty minutes outside of Barca. Beautiful little Catalonia seaside town with some amazing seafood restaurants and bars.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserRe ... lonia.html

This place is outstanding, and worth every €. The tasting menu comprises 13 courses and will take you 3 to 4 hours. I would recommend lunch rather that dinner for this treat. I would also recommend skipping the aperitif. The measures of alcohol are far too much and will leave you inebriated before the delicacies begin, and that would be a shame. They're also incredibly expensive at 15€ each! We also had the wine selection with the meal, 11 glasses of mostly local houses, and all matched beautifully to the food. We've had the pleasure of eating at the Fat Duck, which was amazing. This place is as good, though very different. I think it's the jewel in Catalonia, especially since you can't get into El Bulli.

<3 Catalonia

slothrop wrote:Alternatively there's a no-frills fish restaurant on Carrer del Baluart in barcelonetta that looks dingy as but serves really fantastic, fresh, stupidly cheap fish.

It's the first place reviewed here:
http://www.seriebcn.cat/de-tapes-per-la ... ta?lang=en