Some questions about Barcelona

[StarG]

I have been planning some side trips to Europe for my upcoming business trip to Turkey in May.

I have just realized that I am scheduled to arrive BCN on a Saturday, and leaving on the SQ flight back to SIN on the following Monday.

My questions are:
1) Is BCN mostly closed like FRA on Saturdays/Sundays? If yes, I am considering going to CDG or LON during Sat/Sun before I move on to BCN.
2) Can anyone share if there is any must see in Barcelona? I am not into museums etc., but love good sightseeing places as well as local shopping.

Would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks much in advance!

[jjpb3]

On Saturdays, Barcelona definitely is not a sleepy town. I think you should book a hotel near Las Ramblas or the Passeig de Gracia: the parade of people is amazing. You have to go see the various Gaudi buildings, because you'll be given puzzled looks if you tell people you've been to Barcelona and didn't see them. The famous church La Sagrada Familia underwhelmed me, because it was covered in scaffolding, but you might have better luck.

I also recommend the Placa Espanya because it's breathtaking as central squares in Europe go.

Then head back to Las Ramblas because the shopping near there is quite good. I got my favorite Alfredo Dominguez sneakers from his boutique off the avenue.

Of course, do explore the old town area (or whatever it's called), again walkable from Las Ramblas. Some beautiful buildings, and nice local handicrafts.

My friends and I found a very good tapas and seafood place just walking around (sorry, I wouldn't be able to tell you where it is, because the find was completely serendipitous ) so I recommend doing the same. Then it was just a matter about being good-humored about communicating in stilted Spanish (I have no knowledge of Catalan). The Barcelonians (?) were good-natured about my attempts, in any case.

Sunday, I wouldn't know anything about. I was too exhausted from partying during the night and early hours so I just wanted to get back home in London to get some rest. .

If you've seen Paris or London before, I would recommend staying in Barcelona. Paris isn't that alive on Sundays, and London is going to take you out of the way. (If you're in Europe on any weekend in May but the last, StarG, I'd be more than happy to act as host in London. Or even fly to BCN to have a cortado with you. )

[CGK]

... (If you're in Europe on any weekend in May but the last, StarG, I'd be more than happy to act as host in London. Or even fly to BCN to have a cortado with you. )

Looks like you have to host BCN DO for StarG. According to his lounge meet, he will be in BCN SQTalkers Gathering May 5-7.

Tentative schedules:
05MAY FRA LH SEN Lounge 0830-0930 StarG
07MAY BCN Salvador Dali Lounge 0830-0930 StarG

[StarG]

Thanks for the suggestions, jjpb3.
It would be nice to meet up with you again in LON or BCN.

I am currently still trying to figure out the best way to do this. SQ only flies 3 times a week from BCN so my flight back is going to be either on 07MAY or 09MAY. Visiting LON means I have to apply for one more visa for this trip.

Alternative 1:
05MAY IST-BCN arriving 1pm-ish --> do you know what time stores close on Sats? I would at least like to check out Spanish brands like Loewe etc.
06MAY BCN --> is it possible to visit the Gaudi buildings on Sunday? What else to do on Sunday? I am all for a relaxing Sunday but don't want to just do nothing - I don't know when I will be returning to this city.
07MAY BCN-SIN on SQ.

Alternative 2:
05MAY IST-LON or IST-CDG
06MAY/07MAY LON/CDG-BCN
09MAY BCN-SIN

Alternative 3:
Just stay in BCN from 05MAY to 09MAY

Any more suggestions?

[jjpb3]

Hmm ... I vote for Alternative 2, partly because I'm not too familiar with the retail scene in BCN. I'm pretty sure the boutique stores close by 6 pm on Saturday, but I'm not sure they open on Sundays. Boutiques don't in London, and I've found London shopping hours to be the most consumer-friendly in Europe. Alternative 1 is viable if you don't mind spending Sunday looking at the different sights, rather than shopping.

For Alternative 2: landing in London on a Saturday means you'll have time to walk up Bond Street where the boutiques open until 6 pm. Then you can continue on to Selfridges on Oxford Street, which closes later (and which contains some of the stores you would have just visited; you can visit the Tumi store there ). Or you could do Sloane Street and Harrods / Harvey Nicks instead, and reserve Selfridges for Sunday.

I think Barcelona is even more charming if you get to experience its laid back rhythm during the work day, which is why I think being there on a Monday would be fine (it's a Bank Holiday in London that day, so London will be relatively quiet). But I'm biased: when I'm a shopping tourist, I prefer to hit the stores on weekdays.

[StarG]

Great! I will try to work on my flight itins.
Thanks.

[cawhite]

YGPM

[planemad]

I'll be in Barcelona in the last week of Feb and have already made dinner reservations at two (supposedly) hot Barcelona restaurants, Alkimia and Commerce 24. Check link below for write-ups on these places and others:

http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/...t-in-barcelona

Will let you know what I think of them after my return.

[planemad]

And yet another link to look at:

http://www.travelandleisure.com/arti...g-up-barcelona

[9V-JKL]

You could use the Bus Turistic http://www.whatbarcelona.com/barcelo...-turistic.html
It stops along most of Gaudi's works. Hop-on, hop-off. Great stuff!
The weekend you're there is just before the F1 GP so there maybe some F1 stuff happening.

If you can, do make a trip to the coast as its quite nice.

[StarG]

Thanks for the suggestion, cawhite.

Looking forward to hearing more about the restaurants from you, planemad.
I actually browsed the T+L website and Conde Nast Traveller website yesterday - thus my alarm about many shops being closed on Sundays.

Sounds great, 9V-JKL. Will check out the site later.

[SQFAN]

I was there for a weekend as part of my week holiday...found Barcelona to be quite a pleasant city. StarG, my suggestion is to aim for Gaudi's work followed by Food/Drinks.

Gaudi's work is best appreciated on the outside but some would require you going in. Parc Quell and the Palau Musica is a must. I also did La Pedrera. I'll be back home later this month and I can dig out my wee book on Gaudi to remind myself which sights I saw.

There is a very nice wine place right besides Picasso museum but it not that obvious. It opens at night. More like a private residential place (with a inner courtyard entrance) but inside it is full of gothic knick knacks. The place is to the left of the museum as you look towards it from the outside.

[jhm]

I've never been to BCN but if it's like Bilbao which I have been to, most shops and restaurants will be shut on Sunday. Alternative 2 seems best to me as well.

[planemad]

Barcelona update

Thanks for the suggestion, cawhite.

Looking forward to hearing more about the restaurants from you, planemad.
I actually browsed the T+L website and Conde Nast Traveller website yesterday - thus my alarm about many shops being closed on Sundays.

Sounds great, 9V-JKL. Will check out the site later.

Got back from Barcelona on 1 Mar but have just been too busy with work to update you. Anyway here goes. Things are fairly quiet on Sundays, meaning most shops are closed. However many tourist sights are opened, albeit some have shorter opening hours. The best way is to buy a one-day or 2-day consecutive pass on the Barcelona Bus Turistic (http://www.tmb.net/en_US/turistes/bu...usturistic.jsp) which allows you to hop on and off anyway along the route. I must say that Gaudi's architecture just took my breath away. Don't miss out on the Sagrada Familia and the La Pederera, which are absolutely stunning masterpieces of architecture. The La Boqueria market along La Ramblas is also worth seeing if you like visiting markets and food. There are also small tapas bars and seafood eateries on the rim of the market.

I dont know where you're staying but the El Born distric in the Barri Gothic area where my hotel was located was full of great restaurants. Senor Paralleda (http://www.senyorparellada.com) in particular is a charming place with very reasonable prices. I cleaned up every morsel of the lamb shank I ordered for dinner one night.

Another restaurant that just blew me away was Alkimia (located near the Sagrada Familia area). This was by far the best restaurant we tried in Barcelona. The gourmet 8-course tasting menu was superb and had me and my wife raving about it for days afterwards. You can pick your own eight courses or let the chef decide. We picked six dishes (two starters, two main courses and let the chef pick the two desserts; the remaining two dishes were amuse bouche surprises but were fairly substantial). It was pricey (about 140 euros for 2 people) but for 8 courses and 3 glasses of wine it was worth every cent. You won't regret eating here. Another highly rated place called Comerce 24 (near El Born in the Barri Gothic) however turned out to be a disappointment. I found it overpriced (about the same price as Alkimia) for what it is and the dishes that were a mix of hits and misses were mainly misses (a case of fusion that had gone a bit mad).

I'll be happy to answer more queries on Barcelona if you have any. It's a truly stunning city and its already got me planning a return trip!

[StarG]

I will be staying at Hilton Diagonal Mar.
Thanks for remembering to post the updates, planemad.
Much appreciated.